First-tier Tribunal Adjusts Rent Due to Property Condition

OUTCOME: Allowed

© CROWN COPYRIGHT 2013

FIRST-TIER TRIBUNAL PROPERTY CHAMBER (RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY) Case Reference : CAM/00JA/MNR/2025/0756 Property : 2 [ADDRESS] [POSTCODE] Applicants : [redacted] Representative : None Respondent : [redacted] Representative : None Type of Application : S.13 Housing Act 1988 Determination of a new rent Tribunal : Mr [NAME]. [NAME] and venue of Meeting : 1 December 2025 First Tier Tribunal (Eastern) [ADDRESS] [POSTCODE] Date of Decision : 1 December 2025

REASONS FOR DECISION

Background

1 The First Tier Tribunal received an application form before the effective date of increase 1 October 2025, from the tenant of the Property, regarding a notice of increase of rent served by the landlord, under S.13 of the Housing Act 1988 (the Act).

2 The notice proposed a new rent of £1150 per calendar month exclusive, with effect from and including 1 October 2025. This rent does not include other services.

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3 The tenancy is now an assured periodic calendar monthly tenancy which originally began for a fixed 12 months term, copy provided.

Directions

4 Directions for the progression of the case, were issued by Legal [NAME]. Neither party asked for a hearing.

Inspection

5 There was no inspection. The Property is a 2 level detached house dating from around 1970 with front and rear gardens. (Google Streetview March 2023). It is set on a residential estate, mainly former New Towns Commission housing of similar age construction and size though mostly semi-detached and terraced. It is on a small corner plot at a residential road junction. There is no garage.

6 The house is anticipated to be of traditional construction, brick fair faced and/or timber clad walls to higher parts of elevations on 2 levels. The main roof is double pitched, single lap concrete tiled. There may be small ground level flat roofed areas out of view.

7 The Property has 4 bedrooms to the first floor with the bathroom/WC; and ground floor 2 living rooms, kitchen, WC. Floor finishes, (mainly carpet). Window coverings are the tenants. No furniture is provided by the landlord.

Tenants’ and Landlord’s Representations

8 The tenants provided written submissions via the Application Form and the standard Reply Form with monochrome photographs. The theme of the photographs - mostly inside, showed damp walls and patches of defective paintwork, timber work and plaster to the living rooms and some bedrooms. The theme outside appeared to be of leaking or otherwise defective rainwater guttering and/or down pipes causing puddling of water at ground level and rot to higher timber cills and siding: There may be a link between the two. The tenant referred to a variety of minor defects that affected their enjoyment of the Property, nothing major, but persistent and as one was fixed it seemed another took its place. There was the reasonable expectation for a new tenant that there would be ongoing minor disrepair with the tenancy in one form or another.

9 The respondent landlord provided light details of other local lettings and availability in support of the rent of £1150 pcm for a house of this size type and location.

10 Neither party referred full details, of other local recent lettings to the Tribunal. However the Tribunal is grateful for information provided by both parties, in the application and in the standard Reply Form.

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Law

11 In accordance with the terms of S.14 of the Act we are required to determine the rent at which we consider the property might reasonably be expected to let in the open market, by a willing landlord, under an assured tenancy, on the same terms as the actual tenancy; ignoring any increase in value attributable to tenant’s improvements and any decrease in value due to the tenant’s failure to comply with any terms of the tenancy. Thus the Property falls to be valued as it stands; but assuming that the Property to be in a reasonable internal decorative condition.

Decision

12 From the Tribunal’s own general knowledge of market rent levels in Peterborough it determines that the subject Property would let on normal Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) terms, for £1,150 per calendar month, fully fitted and in good order.

13 From the representations the Tribunal found that what was a now dated home from the 1970’s was only in fair condition. There were some minor defects and in particular the kitchen and bathroom whilst functional were by now seemed in only basic order and there was extensive minor damp ingress in living and bedrooms. The white goods, carpets and curtains were the tenants. For these various limitations the Tribunal makes a deduction of £150 pcm. The new rent will therefore be £1000 pcm with effect from 1 October 2025.

14 Although the landlord is not obliged to charge this rent and may charge a significantly lower rent as a result of their own choice, policy, or governmental regulation; they may not charge more than this figure.

[NAME] 1 December 2025

Rights of appeal

By rule 36(2) of the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Property Chamber) Rules 2013, the tribunal is required to notify the parties about any right of appeal they may have.

If either party is dissatisfied with this decision, they may apply for permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) on any point of law arising from this Decision.

Prior to making such an appeal, an application must be made, in writing, to this Tribunal for permission to appeal. Any such application must be made

4 within 28 days of the issue of this decision to the person making the application (regulation 52 (2) of The Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Property Chamber) Rule 2013).

If the application is not made within the 28-day time limit, such application must include a request for an extension of time and the reason for not complying with the 28 day time limit; the tribunal will then look at such reason(s) and decide whether to allow the application for permission to appeal to proceed, despite not being within the time limit.

The application for permission to appeal must identify the decision of the tribunal to which it relates (i.e., give the date, the property, and the case number), state the grounds of appeal and state the result the party making the application is seeking.

If the tribunal refuses to grant permission to appeal, a further application for permission may be made to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber).