As many of you will know, the BMA is supporting five GP practices who have started court proceedings against NHS Property Services (NHSPS) to clarify the basis on which NHSPS calculates service charges. Since 2016, many practices have received increasingly costly service charge demands from NHSPS. In defence of these expensive non-reimbursable charges, NHSPS had argued that it was moving to a “full cost” approach to the recovery of charges via a “consolidated charging policy”. The BMA position was – and continues to be – that the consolidated charging policy cannot be unilaterally incorporated into the terms of individual practices’ tenancy agreements.
NHSPS has filed Defences and Counterclaims in each of those claims. Within the five Defences, NHSPS has finally conceded that the consolidated charging policy has not varied the existing leases and that the service charges are not due pursuant to the policy.
Supported by the BMA, the test claimants are now applying to the High Court to ask that it upholds their claims against NHSPS and issues declaration that the ‘consolidated charging policy’ does not form part of their tenancy.
Although such judgments would not automatically bind any GP practices beyond the five test claimants, they will be highly persuasive evidence that other GP practices in similar circumstances can rely upon when facing disputed demands from their landlord.
You can read more about the case and the BMA’s position in the attached letter to practices.