Section 106 recovery
Repayment rights, unspent and misapplied contributions
Read more →Community Infrastructure Levy
A levy calculated by someone else, on figures you supplied once
CIL is formula-driven, procedurally strict, and unforgiving of administrative error — on both sides. Where the charge was calculated on the wrong basis, or relief was lost to a procedural slip, that is often recoverable.
Free initial portfolio audit
Fee taken from the recovery, not your budget
A trading style of Abbelys Solicitors
Community Infrastructure Levy
Small inputs, large consequences
A CIL charge is the product of chargeable floorspace, the charging schedule rate, and indexation. Get any of those inputs wrong and the error is multiplied across the whole scheme, quietly, on a notice that most developers pay rather than interrogate.
Add the demolition and existing-use deductions, the relief and exemption regime, and the surcharge provisions, and there is a good deal that repays a careful second look.
What we see
- Chargeable floorspace measured or classified incorrectly
- Existing buildings that qualified for deduction but were not counted
- Indexation applied using the wrong index figure or base year
- Relief or exemption refused, lost or never claimed
- Surcharges imposed where the procedural condition was not met
- Payments made ahead of the instalment policy that applied
Where the money usually is
Four things a CIL notice gets wrong
Floorspace and deductions
The measurement underneath the whole charge
Chargeable floorspace and the in-use building deduction drive everything else. Misclassified areas, or existing buildings that met the in-use test but were not deducted, inflate the charge across the entire scheme.
Indexation
The right formula, the wrong figures
Indexation is mechanical, which is precisely why errors in the index figure or base date go unnoticed. On a large scheme the difference is rarely trivial.
Relief and exemption
Procedure that bites hard
Social housing relief, self-build and charitable exemption all depend on strict sequencing. Where relief was available and the procedural position is arguable, it is worth testing rather than writing off.
Surcharges
Penalties applied on shaky ground
Surcharges for failure to assume liability or to serve a commencement notice are frequently imposed. Whether the statutory condition for the surcharge was actually met is a separate question.
The review
What the CIL review covers
- Liability notices, revised notices and demand notices across the scheme
- The floorspace figures used, and how chargeable area was arrived at
- Whether existing buildings met the in-use test and were properly deducted
- The indexation calculation, index figure and base date applied
- Any relief or exemption claimed, refused, or available but not claimed
- Commencement notices, assumption of liability and the surcharge history
- The instalment policy in force and whether payments matched it
- Whether a review, appeal or repayment route remains open
Whether anything is recoverable on a particular scheme depends on the agreement, the evidence, limitation and the facts. Establishing that is exactly what the free audit is for.
Fees
You pay from what we recover, not from your budget
The initial portfolio audit is free. If we go on to pursue a claim and it does not succeed, there is no recovery fee. If it does succeed, our fee is deducted from the sum recovered before it reaches you.
Stage one
Initial portfolio audit
No charge, and no obligation to instruct us afterwards.
Stage two
Recovery
A success fee of 35% of the sum recovered, plus VAT, deducted from the recovery itself. Nothing to pay if the claim does not succeed.
Optional
Portfolio monitoring
A fixed monthly retainer, scoped to portfolio size. Entirely optional.
Because the fee comes out of the recovery, it is taken from money that was not on your balance sheet before we started — sums already paid over and, in most cases, written off internally years ago. Every claim is subject to legal merits, evidence, limitation and formal case acceptance. Precise terms, including the basis of the fee, VAT treatment and how any disbursements are handled, are set out in the client engagement documentation and agreed with you in writing before any recovery work begins.
FAQs
Common questions
Isn’t CIL non-negotiable?
The rate is set by the charging schedule and isn’t open to argument. The inputs are a different matter: floorspace, deductions, indexation, relief and surcharges all depend on facts and procedure, and those can be wrong.
We’ve already paid. Is it too late?
Not necessarily. Some routes are time-limited and strictly so, others less rigid. The point of the audit is to establish quickly which routes are still open on your particular notices rather than assume none are.
Does this apply to schemes still in build?
Yes, and earlier is usually better. Reviewing before further payments fall due gives more room to correct the position rather than reclaim it.
Who carries out the technical measurement work?
Corelain carries out the specialist survey and assessment work where a floorspace or existing-use question needs to be evidenced properly. The legal assessment sits with Abbelys Solicitors.
Also worth reviewing
Other recovery areas
Book your free audit
Tell us about the portfolio
A short, confidential conversation is enough to tell whether a full review is worth your time. No charge for the first-stage audit, and no obligation to instruct us afterwards.