First-tier Tribunal Sets Market Rent for Property at £1,100 Per Month

OUTCOME: Allowed

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Case Reference : CAM/38UB/MNR/2021/0057

[NAME] : 75, [ADDRESS] [POSTCODE]

Applicant (Tenant) : Ms [APPELLANT] [NAME]

Respondent (Landlord): Ms [APPELLANT] of [NAME] : Determination of a market rent under

Section 13 of the Housing Act 1988

Tribunal Members : Judge JR Morris

Date of Decision : 13th December 2021

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DECISION

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© CROWN COPYRIGHT 2021

DECISION

1. The Tribunal determined a rent of £1,100.00 per calendar month to take

effect from 7th October 2021.

[NAME]

2. [NAME] is a modern semi-detached two storey house with brick elevations

under a pitched tile roof constructed. The windows and doors are upvc with double

glazed units. The rainwater goods are upvc. There is designated on street parking in

bays. There is a small gravelled garden to the front, an enclosed garden at the back

of the house which has rear access.

[NAME] comprises an entrance hall, w.c., living room (16’2’’ x 15’4’’/4.9 3 x

4.67 m), kitchen/diner (9’11’’ x 8’7’’/3.02 x 2.62 m), [NAME] bedrooms (14’1’’ x

9’6’’/4.29 x 2.90 m (less area of ensuite); 10’1’’ x 8’6’’/3.07 x 2.59 m; 7’11’’ x

6’4’’/2.41 x 1.93 m) and a bathroom. The largest bedroom has an ensuite. There is a

conservatory which is adjacent to the living room which is only accessed by an

external door.

FIRST - TIER TRIBUNAL

[NAME] CHAMBER

([NAME])

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Services

Space and water heating is by a gas fired central heating system. [NAME] has

mains electricity, gas, water and drainage.

[NAME] is let unfurnished. Carpets curtains and white goods are provided.

[NAME] is situated in a residential estate near to an open area in a village

about 8 miles from Bicester where there is a range of amenities.

THE TENANCY

3. The Tenancy commenced as a periodic Assured Shorthold Tenancy on 7th April

2014. Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 applies in respect of the

Landlord’s repairing obligations.

THE REFERRAL

4. The current rent is £950.00 per calendar month. By a notice in the prescribed form

dated 6th September 2021 the Landlord proposed a new rent of £1,250.00 per

calendar month from 7th October 2021.

5. On 29th September 2021 the Tenant referred the notice proposing a new rent to the

Tribunal. Directions dated 14th October 2021 were issued informing the parties that

due to Public Health England’s advice the Tribunal did not intend to hold an oral

hearing unless a request was made by 4th November 2021. Neither party made a

request for a hearing and both parties completed the Reply Form attached to the

Directions and provided photographs. The Tenant requested an inspection which

took place on 13th December 2021.

THE LAW

6. The relevant law is in section 14 of the Housing Act 1988 which is summarised

below.

7. By virtue of section 14 (1) Housing Act 1988 the Tribunal is to determine a rent at

which the dwelling-house concerned might reasonably be expected to be let in the

open market by a willing landlord under an assured periodic tenancy-

(a) 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 rent) are the same as

those of the subject Tenancy

8. By virtue of section 14 (2) Housing Act 1988 in [NAME] a determination the Tribunal

shall disregard –

(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 (as defined by section 14(3) Housing Act 1988) carried out by a

tenant otherwise than as an obligation; and

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(c) any reduction in the value of the dwelling-house due to the failure of the

Tenant to comply with any terms of the subject Tenancy.

9. Nothing in section 14 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).

CONDITION

10. The Tribunal inspected [NAME] on 13th December 2021. The Tribunal Judge

and the Tenant carried out a risk assessment prior to the inspection.

11. [NAME] has a modern fitted kitchen. There is an integrated oven, hob and

cooker hood and a free-standing washing machine. The original integrated fridge/

freezer has been replaced and positioned behind the unit door where the original

unit was located. Unfortunately, the doors of the unit housing the replacement

fridge freezer do not correspond to the doors of the fridge/freezer. The doors of the

unit open one way and the doors of the fridge/freezer open the other, [NAME] the

fridge freezer difficult to access. There is an integrated dishwasher but this no

longer works.

12. There is a modern downstairs w.c and wash hand basin off the hall. The bathroom

is modern. However, the spray attachment to the taps is in poor condition and there

is no screen or fixing to enable it to be used as shower. The ensuite to the largest

bedroom is modern with a shower cubicle, w.c. and small wash hand basin.

13. There is a double bedroom and single bedroom and a very small single bedroom

which is only large enough to take a bed and bedside cabinet.

14. There are some watermarkson the ceiling of the living room from an earlier leak in

the ensuite. The use of the conservatory is limited by only being accessed externally.

It is situated over and to some extent obscures the light to the living room window.

REPRESENTATIONS

15. The Tenant made written representations.

16. The Tenant said that the Landlord had committed lots of misdemeanours during the

7.5 years of the Tenancy. The Tenant alleged that:

• The deposit had not been paid into a deposit scheme.

• No gas or electricity safety checks had been carried out until the house was

put on the market earlier in the year.

• [NAME] had never been inspected to identify any disrepair and that

since she had started to live at [NAME] there had been a lot of problems

that needed to be remedied.

17. The Tenant said that:

• She had had all the rooms in the house, except one, updated and/or

decorated.

• The fridge freezer failed in November 2020 and this was not remedied until

after Christmas. It was replaced with a second-hand fridge freezer which fits

into the aperture for the previous integrated model but the outer door has to

be opened before the fridge door itself is open.

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18. The Tenant submitted that the increase in rent was excessive and referred the

Tribunal to a letter she had sent to the Landlord on receipt of the Notice of Increase

in rent. In this the tenant said she had had a lengthy meeting with the [NAME]. During her meeting [NAME] in Bicester were contacted

who said the going rate for similar properties is between £1,100.00 and £1,250.00

per calendar month in Bicester and that there were very few properties in

Ambrosden to rent. In addition, the Tenant said that when a [NAME] is let

thorough an agent the rent includes the agent’s monthly management fee which is

15% plus VAT (£187.50 and £37.50) which equates to £225.00. Therefore, because

the Landlord does not use a manager the rent of £1,250.00 should be reduced to

£1,025.00.

19. The Tenant said that she had offered to pay an increased rent of £1,025.00.

20. The Tenant also referred the to a Notice Seeking Possession of a [NAME] on an

Assured Shorthold Tenancy pursuant to Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 as

amended. This is not within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal whose sole task it is to

assess a market rent for [NAME].

21. The Landlord made written representations.

22. She said that her husband had been made redundant in October 2020 and due to ill

health has been unable to work. She said they wanted to sell [NAME] and did

receive an offer which has since been withdrawn as the Tenant will not leave

without a secton 21 notice which they could not afford to serve.

23. Photographs were provided which the Landlord said had been taken on the day that

the tenancy was signed and showed the house to be in immaculate condition when it

was let.

24. The Landlord also enclosed two quotations from local [NAME] [NAME] as an example

of rental prices in the area as follows:

• [NAME] stated in an email dated 5th August 2021 that in the

current market condition they were confidentthat if [NAME] came to the

market is would achieve a rental figure of £1,250.00 per calendar month as

[NAME] has a conservatory and an ensuite shower room which would

provide an attractive proposition to a potential tenant.

• [NAME] stated in an email dated 5th August 2021 that the amount the

Landlord would receive on rent for [NAME] would be £1,250.00 per

calendar month

25. The Landlord also referred the Tribunal to a semi-detached two-bedroom house in

[ADDRESS], Ambrosden advertised on the Rightmove internet site to rent at

£1,100 per calendar month, which the Landlord submitted was a comparable

[NAME]. This was found to have a hallway, reception room (19’ 11’’ x 10’ 11’’/6.07 x

3.33 m), kitchen (11’8’’ x 7’11’’/3.56 x 2.42 m) with utility room (12’10’’ x 9’11’’/3.91 x

3.02 m) on the ground floor and two bedrooms (11’4’’ x 8’11’’/3.45 x 2.72 m & 14’10’’

x 10’6’’/4.52 x 3.20 m) and a bathroom on the first floor. The garden was said to be

68’8’’ x 28’’2’ /8.58 x 20.97 m which is larger than that of [NAME]. There is also

a garage in a separate block. The house was of a similar style of construction with a

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modern fitted kitchen and bathroom. The house was also in a similar location as [NAME] although on what was likely to be a fairly busy road with a bus route and

school nearby.

DETERMINATION

26. The Tribunal determines a market rent for a [NAME] by reference to rental values

generally and to the rental values for comparable properties in the locality in

particular. A market rent is common to comparable properties, adjusted according

to condition. The Tribunal does not make any adjustment for any overheads that

may be incurred by a landlord or a managing agent, if employed, or for costs

regarding safety checks and maintenance which are incurred by all landlords or

mortgage payments which are specific to an individual landlord. The Tribunal also

does not take into account the present rent or the period of time which that rent has

been charged nor does it take into account the percentage increase which the

proposed rent represents to the existing rent.

27. The Tribunal must not take into account the personal circumstances of either the

landlord or the tenant. Therefore, the Tribunal cannot take into account the

Landlord’s health, employment position or intention to sell [NAME].

28. In addition, the Tribunal does not have jurisdiction to determine any other issue

such as whether the Landlord has complied with legislation relating to a deposit, gas

or electricity safety inspections or served a notice of possession. Nor can the

Tribunal take such compliance into account when assessing the rent.

29. The Tribunal assessed a rent based on the condition of [NAME] as at the time of

the determination. Therefore, it did not take into account disrepair that had been

remedied by the Landlord or that the Landlord intended to remedy in the future.

30. The Tribunal firstly considered the comparable evidence adduced by the parties. It

found the evidence adduced by the Tenant to be a good guide to rents generally in

the area. Notwithstanding that they related to [NAME] the opinion of the [NAME] that a rent for a similar [NAME] is between £1,100.00 and £1,250.00

per calendar month. This was in line with the opinion of the [NAME] consulted by the

landlord who had, on the landlord’s description, adopted the rent attributed to the

upper end of the range.

31. The Tribunal found that the most helpful evidence was that of the semi-detached

two-bedroom house in [ADDRESS], Ambrosden. [ADDRESS] house had

a larger ground floor area than [NAME]. The living room and kitchen of each is

about the same size but the [ADDRESS] house had the advantage of a large

utility room. Balanced against this is [NAME]’s downstairs cloakroom. The

Tribunal did not consider thatthe conservatory would be attractive to a [NAME] due to it only being accessed externally. Also, in spite of the conservatory

being glazed, its position reduced the light in the living room. The Tribunal

questioned whether the [NAME] consulted by the landlord were aware of the

positioning of the conservatory when they gave their opinion. [ADDRESS]

house only had two bedrooms and a bathroom whereas [NAME] has [NAME]

bedrooms, one with an ensuite, and a bathroom. This would make [NAME]

attractive to the [NAME] although the two bedrooms of the [ADDRESS] house are, from the measurements, better proportioned than the [NAME]

bedrooms of [NAME].

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32. [NAME] and the [ADDRESS] house appeared to be of similar

construction although [NAME] was probably built more recently. From the

photographs the kitchens looked to be of similar size and although similarly

appointed [NAME] showed signs of wear as noted at the inspection.

33. Externally from the dimensions provided of the [ADDRESS] house the garden

was significantly larger than that of [NAME]. In addition, the [ADDRESS]

house had a garage.

34. Although each house might attract a different type of tenant, on balance the

Tribunal determined that despite their differences they would each achieve the

same market rent.

35. The Tribunal determined that a market rent for [NAME] in its present condition

is £1,100.00 per calendar month to take effect on 7th October 2021.

Judge JR Morris

Caution: The Tribunal inspected the subject [NAME] for the purposes of reaching this

decision. The inspection was not a structural survey and any comments about the

condition of [NAME] in this statement must not be relied upon as a guide to the

structural or other condition of [NAME].

APPENDIX - RIGHTS OF APPEAL

1. If a party wishes to appeal the decision to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber)

then a written [NAME] for permission must be made to the First-tier Tribunal at

the [NAME] which has been dealing with the case.

2. 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].

3. 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.

4. The [NAME] for permission to appeal must identify the decision of the Tribunal

to which it relates (i.e. give the date, [NAME] and the case number), state the

grounds of appeal, and state the result the party [NAME] the [NAME] is seeking.