First-tier Tribunal confirms validity of rent increase notice

OUTCOME: Dismissed

MR22 First-tier Tribunal – [NAME] No. LON/00AH/MNR/2023/0296

Notice of the Tribunal Decision and Register of Rents under Assured Periodic Tenancies (Section 14 Determination)

Housing Act 1988 Section 14

Address of Premises The Tribunal members were 4 [ADDRESS], [POSTCODE]

Tribunal Judge Aileen Hamilton-Farey

Landlord [APPELLANT] 94A [ADDRESS], [POSTCODE]

Tenant [NAME]

1. The rent is: £ 1350.00 Per Calendar Month (excluding water rates and council tax but including any amounts in paras 3)

2. The date the decision takes effect is: 01 July 2023

*3. The amount included for services is/is

negligible/not applicable Nil Per Nil

*4. Service charges are variable and are not included

5. Date assured tenancy commenced 15 March 2019

6. Length of the term or rental period Monthly

7. Allocation of liability for repairs S.11 LTA 1985 applies.

8. Furniture provided by landlord or superior landlord None

9. Description of premises Ground floor flat comprising two bedrooms (1 ensuite), living room, kitchen bathroom [NAME].

Chairman Aileen Hamilton-Farey Date of Decision 15 December 2023.

FIRST-TIER TRIBUNAL [NAME] (RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY) Case reference : LON/00AH/MNR/2023/0296. Property : 4 [ADDRESS] [POSTCODE]. Applicant : [redacted] : In person Respondent : [redacted] : In person. Type of [NAME] : Decision in relation to section 13 of the Housing Act 1988 Tribunal member(s) : Ms. A. Hamilton-Farey LLB, FRICS. Date of decision(REMOTE) : 15 December 2023.

DECISION

Decision: The Tribunal has determined that it does have jurisdiction to determine the rent for the premises, and confirms the rent sought within the landlord’s S.13 Notice at £1,350.00 per calendar month. Background:

1. The tribunal received an [NAME] on behalf of the tenant, [APPELLANT]. [APPELLANT] on or around 29 June 2023. Included within that [NAME] was a copy of the landlord’s S.13 notice that proposed a rent increase to £1,350.00 per month with effect from 1 July 2023.

2. The tribunal wrote to the parties to say that a legal officer had concluded that the tribunal did not have jurisdiction because the Notice of Increase gave an effective date of 1 July when the tenancy commenced on the 15th of March 2019.

3. Comments were sought from the parties, and the landlord responded to say that although the tenancy started on the 15th of the month, the rent payment date was the 1st and therefore the Notice of Increase was valid to increase the rent.

4. On further consideration, I find that the landlord is correct and that the Notice is valid.

5. In her submissions the tenant suggested that the notice was not valid and that there were other reasons why an increase in rent should not be given including proposed Government revisions to tenancies, presumably through the Renters Reform Bill (which has not yet passed into law). The tenant also said that she was finding it difficult to meet the increase and that the property was poorly maintained by the landlord (although no evidence of this was provided).

6. I find on balance that I am not required to make a determination of the rent in this matter because I agree with the rent proposed by the landlord for a two bedroom flat in this location.

7. In the circumstances I do not make a determination and the Notice of Increase has effect.

The law: 8. Is recited below.

Name: Tribunal Judge Aileen Hamilton-Farey Date: 15 December 2023.

The Law:

(1) This section applies to— (a) a statutory periodic tenancy other than one which, by virtue of paragraph 11 or paragraph 12 in Part I of Schedule 1 to this Act, cannot for the time being be an assured tenancy; and (b) any other periodic tenancy which is an assured tenancy, other than one in relation to which there is a provision, for the time being binding on the tenant, under which the rent for a particular period of the tenancy will or may be greater than the rent for an earlier period. (2) For the purpose of securing an increase in the rent under a tenancy to which this section applies, the landlord may serve on the tenant a notice in the prescribed form proposing a new rent to take effect at the beginning of a new period of the tenancy specified in the notice, being a period beginning not earlier than— (a) the minimum period after the date of the service of the notice; and (b) except in the case of a statutory periodic [tenancy— (i) in the case of an assured agricultural occupancy, the first anniversary of the date on which the first period of the tenancy began; (ii) in any other case, on the date that falls 52 weeks after the date on which the first period of the tenancy began; and] (c) if the rent under the tenancy has previously been increased by virtue of a notice under this subsection or a determination under section 14 [below— (i) in the case of an assured agricultural occupancy, the first anniversary of the date on which the increased rent took effect; (ii) in any other case, the appropriate date]. (3) The minimum period referred to in subsection (2) above is— (a) in the case of a yearly tenancy, six months; (b) in the case of a tenancy where the period is less than a month, one month; and (c) in any other case, a period equal to the period of the tenancy.

[(3A) The appropriate date referred to in subsection (2)(c)(ii) above is— (a) in a case to which subsection (3B) below applies, the date that falls 53 weeks after the date on which the increased rent took effect; (b) in any other case, the date that falls 52 weeks after the date on which the increased rent took effect. (3B) This subsection applies where— (a) the rent under the tenancy has been increased by virtue of a notice under this section or a determination under section 14 below on at least one occasion after the coming into force of the Regulatory Reform (Assured Periodic Tenancies) (Rent Increases) Order 2003; and (b) the fifty-third week after the date on which the last such increase took effect begins more than six days before the anniversary of the date on which the first such increase took effect.] (4) Where a notice is served under subsection (2) above, a new rent specified in the notice shall take effect as mentioned in the notice unless, before the beginning of the new period specified in the notice,— (a) the tenant by an [NAME] in the prescribed form refers the notice to [the appropriate tribunal]; or (b) the landlord and the tenant agree on a variation of the rent which is different from that proposed in the notice or agree that the rent should not be varied. (5) Nothing in this section (or in section 14 below) affects the right of the landlord and the tenant under an assured tenancy to vary by agreement any term of the tenancy (including a term relating to rent). 14 Determination of rent by [tribunal] (1) Where, under subsection (4)(a) of section 13 above, a tenant refers to [the appropriate tribunal] a notice under subsection (2) of that section, the [appropriate tribunal] shall determine the rent at which, subject to subsections (2) and (4) below, the [appropriate tribunal] consider that the dwelling-house concerned might reasonably be expected to be let in the open market by a willing landlord under an assured tenancy— (a) which is a periodic tenancy having the same periods as those of the tenancy to which the notice relates; (b) which begins at the beginning of the new period specified in the notice; (c) the terms of which (other than relating to the amount of the rent) are the same as those of the tenancy to which the notice relates; and

(d) in respect of which the same notices, if any, have been given under any of Grounds 1 to 5 of Schedule 2 to this Act, as have been given (or have effect as if given) in relation to the tenancy to which the notice relates. (2) In [NAME] a determination under this section, there shall be disregarded— (a) any effect on the rent attributable to the granting of a tenancy to a sitting tenant; (b) any increase in the value of the dwelling-house attributable to a relevant improvement carried out by a person who at the time it was carried out was the tenant, if the improvement— (i) was carried out otherwise than in pursuance of an obligation to his immediate landlord, or (ii) was carried out pursuant to an obligation to his immediate landlord being an obligation which did not relate to the specific improvement concerned but arose by reference to consent given to the carrying out of that improvement; and (c) any reduction in the value of the dwelling-house attributable to a failure by the tenant to comply with any terms of the tenancy. (3) For the purposes of subsection (2)(b) above, in relation to a notice which is referred by a tenant as mentioned in subsection (1) above, an improvement is a relevant improvement if either it was carried out during the tenancy to which the notice relates or the following conditions are satisfied, namely— (a) that it was carried out not more than twenty-one years before the date of service of the notice; and (b) that, at all times during the period beginning when the improvement was carried out and ending on the date of service of the notice, the dwelling-house has been let under an assured tenancy; and (c) that, on the coming to an end of an assured tenancy at any time during that period, the tenant (or, in the case of [NAME], at least one of them) did not quit. [(3A) In [NAME] a determination under this section in any case where under Part I of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 the landlord or a superior landlord is liable to pay council tax in respect of a hereditament (“the relevant hereditament”) of which the dwelling- house forms part, the [appropriate tribunal] shall have regard to the amount of council tax which, as at the date on which the notice under section 13(2) above was served, was set by the billing authority— (a) for the financial year in which that notice was served, and (b) for the category of dwellings within which the relevant hereditament fell on that date, but any discount or other reduction affecting the amount of council tax payable shall be disregarded.

(3B) In subsection (3A) above— (a) “hereditament” means a dwelling within the meaning of Part I of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, (b) “billing authority” has the same meaning as in that Part of that Act, and (c) “category of dwellings” has the same meaning as in section 30(1) and (2) of that Act.] (4) In this section “rent” does not include any service charge, within the meaning of section 18 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, but, subject to that, includes any sums payable by the tenant to the landlord on account of the use of furniture[, in respect of council tax] or for any of the matters referred to in subsection (1)(a) of that section, whether or not those sums are separate from the sums payable for the occupation of the dwelling-house concerned or are payable under separate agreements. (5) Where any rates in respect of the dwelling-house concerned are borne by the landlord or a superior landlord, the [appropriate tribunal] shall make their determination under this section as if the rates were not so borne. (6) In any case where— (a) [the appropriate tribunal] have before them at the same time the reference of a notice under section 6(2) above relating to a tenancy (in this subsection referred to as “the section 6 reference”) and the reference of a notice under section 13(2) above relating to the same tenancy (in this subsection referred to as “the section 13 reference”), and (b) the date specified in the notice under section 6(2) above is not later than the first day of the new period specified in the notice under section 13(2) above, and (c) the [appropriate tribunal] propose to hear the two references together, the [appropriate tribunal] shall make a determination in relation to the section 6 reference before [NAME] their determination in relation to the section 13 reference and, accordingly, in such a case the reference in subsection (1)(c) above to the terms of the tenancy to which the notice relates shall be construed as a reference to those terms as varied by virtue of the determination made in relation to the section 6 reference. (7) Where a notice under section 13(2) above has been referred to [the appropriate tribunal], then, unless the landlord and the tenant otherwise agree, the rent determined by [the appropriate tribunal] (subject, in a case where subsection (5) above applies, to the addition of the appropriate amount in respect of rates) shall be the rent under the tenancy with effect from the beginning of the new period specified in the notice or, if it appears to [the appropriate tribunal] that that would cause undue hardship to the tenant, with effect from such later date (not being later than the date the rent is determined) as the committee may direct. (8) Nothing in this section requires [the appropriate tribunal] to continue with their determination of a rent for a dwelling-house if the landlord and tenant give notice in writing that they no longer require such a determination or if the tenancy has come to an end.

[(9) This section shall apply in relation to an assured shorthold tenancy as if in subsection (1) the reference to an assured tenancy were a reference to an assured shorthold tenancy.]

Rights of appeal

By rule 36(2) of the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) ([NAME]) Rules 2013, the tribunal is required to notify the parties about any right of appeal they may have. If a party wishes to appeal this decision to the Upper Tribunal ([NAME]), then a written [NAME] for permission must be made to the First-tier Tribunal at the [NAME] which has been dealing with the case. The [NAME] for permission to appeal must arrive at the [NAME] within 28 days after the tribunal sends written reasons for the decision to the [NAME]. If the [NAME] is not made within the 28 day time limit, such [NAME] 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 [NAME] for permission to appeal to proceed, despite not being within the time limit. The [NAME] 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 [NAME] the [NAME] is seeking. If the tribunal refuses to grant permission to appeal, a further [NAME] for permission may be made to the Upper Tribunal ([NAME]).