First-tier Tribunal Sets Rent at £795 for Assured Periodic Tenancy

OUTCOME: Allowed

MR22 First-tier Tribunal – Property Chamber File Ref No. BIR/00CN/MNR/2023/0266

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 7 [ADDRESS], [POSTCODE]

[NAME] Mr [RESPONDENT] Mr [RESPONDENT]

Landlord [RESPONDENT] 23 [ADDRESS], [POSTCODE]

Tenant [APPELLANT]

1. The rent is: £795.00 Per Calendar month (excluding water rates and council tax but including any amounts in paras 3)

2. The date the decision takes effect is: 1 January 2024

3. The amount included for services is not applicable

Per

4. Date assured tenancy commenced Unknown.

5. Length of the term or rental period Calendar monthly.

6. Allocation of liability for repairs Section 11 Landlord & Tenant Act 1985

7. Furniture provided by landlord or superior landlord Part furnished.

8. Description of premises Victorian two storey two bedroom house.

[NAME] of Decision 14 March 2024

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Case Reference : BIR/00CN/MNR/2023/0266

Property

: 7 [ADDRESS], [POSTCODE]

Applicant: [redacted]

Respondent: [redacted] : Appeal against a Notice proposing a new rent under an

Assured Periodic Tenancy under section 13(4) of the Housing

Act 1988

Tribunal Members : [NAME]. [NAME] B.Sc.(Est.Man.) [NAME] B.Sc. [NAME]. [NAME] and Venue of : N/A. Paper determination. Hearing

Date of Decision : 14 March 2024

____________________________________________________________

REASONS FOR DECISION

© CROWN COPYRIGHT 2024

FIRST - TIER TRIBUNAL PROPERTY CHAMBER (RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY)

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1 The rent is determined at £795.00 (Seven Hundred and Ninety Five Pounds) per month with effect from 1 January 2024.

REASONS

Introduction

2 The Applicant, [APPELLANT], had not provided a copy of any tenancy agreement but is understood to be an Assured Periodic tenant of the subject property.

3 On 27 November 2023 the landlord served notice of increase under section 13(2) of The Housing Act 1988 proposing a rent increase from £600.00 to £850.00 per month with effect from 1 January 2024. The rent did not include Council Tax or water charges.

4 On 18 December 2023 the tenant applied to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to determine the rent.

5 The Tribunal issued Directions on 28 December 2023 and subsequently determined the rent on 14 March 2024 under section 14 of The Housing Act 1988, at £795.00 per month.

6 On 17 April 2024 the Tribunal received a request for Reasons from the tenant which are set out below.

The Law

7 Section 14 of The Housing Act 1988 ('the Act') states:

'(1) Where, under subsection (4)(a) of section 13 above, a tenant refers to a rent assessment committee a notice under subsection (2) of that section, the committee shall determine the rent at which, subject to subsections (2) and (4) below, the committee 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;...'

'(2) In making 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 the

immediate landlord ...

8 The jurisdiction of the Rent Assessment Committee was transferred to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) on 1 July 2013.

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Facts Found

9 The Tribunal did not inspect the property and reached its Decision based on the tenant's submission and views of [ADDRESS] on Google Streetview.

10 The property is a traditional Victorian terraced house in inner Birmingham. It fronts the pavement.

11 According to the tenant's application form, the accommodation comprises two living rooms, a kitchen, bathroom, two bedrooms and back garden.

Submissions

12 The Applicant's Submission

The Applicant provided very little information other than a list of rooms in the property and four points:

a) a note that there was damp in the rooms, some of which had been painted over;

b) the stair rail was loose;

c) the carpets had not been replaced and were claimed to be insanitary and

d) that Miss [APPELLANT] was in receipt of Universal Credit benefits.

13 The Respondent's Submission

No submissions were received from the landlord.

Decision

14 Neither party requested a Hearing and the Decision was reached on the submitted papers.

15 Neither party had provided any evidence of rents of other flats in the area and the Tribunal reached its decision based on its professional expertise and general knowledge. The Tribunal were aware there was very little to let in the area and the asking rents of those properties that were advertised were generally higher than the landlord's asking rent of £800.00 per month. Bearing in mind the location, condition of the property and general levels of market rents, the Tribunal considered the rental value based on the definition in section 14 of the Housing Act 1988 to have been £795.00 (Seven Hundred and Ninety Five Pounds) per month at the effective date of Notice, 1 January 2024.

16 The Tribunal were advised by the Applicant that she was in receipt of Benefit payments and that the Authorities would not pay more than £625.00 per month but were provided with no evidence that the rent determined would cause undue hardship. Accordingly, it determined the effective date of its Decision as the date in the Notice, 1 January 2024.

[NAME] B.Sc.(Est.Man.) FRICS

Chairman

Appeal

In accordance with section 11 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 and rule 21 of the Tribunal Procedure (Upper Tribunal) ([NAME]) Rules 2010, the Tenant / respondent may make further application for permission to appeal to the

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Upper Tribunal ([NAME]) on a point of law only. Such application must be made in writing and received by the Upper Tribunal ([NAME]) no later than 28 days after the date on which the First-tier Tribunal sent notice of this refusal to the party applying for permission to appeal. Where possible, you should send your further application for permission to appeal by email to [EMAIL], as this will enable the Upper Tribunal ([NAME]) to deal with it more efficiently.

Alternatively, the Upper Tribunal ([NAME]) may be contacted at: 5th [ADDRESS] [POSTCODE] (tel: [PHONE]).