Tribunal Sets Fair Market Rent for Assured Tenancy

OUTCOME: Allowed in Part

MR22 First-tier Tribunal – Property Chamber File Ref No. HAV/00MR/MNR/2025/0635

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 [ADDRESS] [POSTCODE]

[NAME] Mr [RESPONDENT]

Landlord Mr [RESPONDENT] [NAME] 9 [ADDRESS], [POSTCODE]

Tenant Ms [APPELLANT]

1. The rent is: £ 900.00 Per Calendar Month (excluding water rates and council tax but including any amounts in paras 3)

2. The date the decision takes effect is: 28 February 2025

3. The amount included for services is not applicable n/a Per n/a

4. Date assured tenancy commenced 2001

5. Length of the term or rental period Monthly

6. Allocation of liability for repairs Landlord

7. Furniture provided by landlord or superior landlord

8. Description of premises One bedroom flat on top floor of purpose built block.

[NAME] of Decision 20 August 2025

© CROWN COPYRIGHT 2025

FIRST-TIER TRIBUNAL PROPERTY CHAMBER (RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY) Case Reference : HAV/00MR/MNR/2025/0635 Property : [ADDRESS] [POSTCODE] Applicant Tenant : Ms [COUNSEL] :

None

Respondent Landlord : Mr [COUNSEL] : None Type of Application :

Determination of a Market Rent sections 13 & 14 of the Housing Act 1988

Tribunal Members : Mr [NAME] Mr [NAME] of Application : 19th February 2025 Date of Decision : 20th August 2025

DECISION

The Tribunal determines a rent of £900 per calendar month with effect from 28th February 2025.

HAV/00MR/MNR/2025/0635

SUMMARY REASONS

Background 1. On 21st January 2025 the Landlord served a notice under Section 13(2) of the Housing Act 1988 which proposed a new rent of £950 per month in place of the existing rent of £600 per month to take effect from 28th February 2025.

2. On 19th February 2025 under Section 13(4)(a) of the Housing Act 1988, the Tenant referred the Landlord’s notice proposing a new rent to the Tribunal for determination of a market rent.

3. A number of procedural issues ensued with final Directions being issued by the Tribunal on 24th July 2025. Inspection 4. The Tribunal did not inspect the property but considered this case based on the papers provided by the parties and information freely available on the internet. Evidence

5. The Tribunal has considered the written submissions provided by the Tenant and the Landlord. Determination and Valuation 6. Having given consideration to the comparable evidence provided by the parties and of its own expert, general knowledge of rental values in the area, the Tribunal determines that the open market rent for the property in good tenantable condition would be £1,000 per calendar month.

7. Such a tenancy would normally include white goods, carpets, curtains/blinds and associated fittings to all be provided by the Landlord.

8. In this case the property is not let in such condition or with white goods, carpets and curtains all supplied so some adjustments to the ‘open market rent’ are necessary. In particular the Tribunal has made the adjustments for the Tenant’s provision of some white goods and improvements to the bathroom, and general wants of repair.

9. The full valuation is shown below: Full open market rent in good condition £1,000 Less deductions for:- Tenants’ provision of white goods

£20 Tenant’s provision of bathroom fittings

£30

HAV/00MR/MNR/2025/0635

General wants of repair

£50

____ TOTAL Deductions per Month

£100

_____ RENT PAYABLE PER MONTH

£900

10. The Tribunal therefore decided that the rent at which the subject property might reasonably be expected to be let in the open market by a [NAME] under the terms of this assured tenancy and in its present condition was £900 per month.

11. The Tenant made no representation that the starting date for the new rent specified in the Landlord’s notice would cause the Tenant undue hardship.

12.

Accordingly, the Tribunal directed that the new rent of £900 per month should take effect from 28th February 2025 this being the date specified in the notice. APPEAL PROVISIONS

These summary reasons are provided to give the parties an indication as to how the Tribunal made its decision. If either party wishes to appeal this decision, they should first make a request for full reasons and the details of how to appeal will be set out in the full reasons. Any request for full reasons should be made within a month. Any subsequent application for permission to appeal should be made on Form RP PTA.

© CROWN COPYRIGHT 2025

None

DECISION

HAV/00HQ/MNR/2025/0724 2 Summary of Decision

1. On 20th August 2025 the Tribunal determined a market rent of £900 per month to take effect from 28th February 2025.

Background 2. The case concerned the determination of a market rent for the subject property following a referral of the Landlord’s notice of increase of rent by the Tenant pursuant to sections 13 and 14 Housing Act 1988.

3. On 21st January 2025 the Landlord served a notice under Section 13(2) of the Housing Act 1988 which proposed a new rent of £950 per month, in place of the existing rent of £600 per month, to take effect from 28th February 2025. The notice complied with the legal requirements.

4. On 19th February 2025 the Tenant applied to the Tribunal under Section 13(4) (a) of the Housing Act 1988.

5. A number of procedural issues ensued and the Tribunal issued Directions on 24th July 2025 informing the parties that, unless either party objected, the Tribunal intended to determine the rent based on written representations. The parties were invited to make submissions which could include photographs or videos.

6. Both parties submitted documents which were copied to each other.

7. Neither party objected to the matter being determined without an oral hearing, so the Tribunal determined the case on 20th August 2025 based on the written representations received.

8. These reasons address in summary form the key issues raised by the parties. They do not recite each and every point referred to either in submissions or during any hearing. However, this does not imply that any points raised, or documents not specifically mentioned were disregarded. If a point or document was referred to in the evidence or submissions that was relevant to a specific issue, then it was considered by the Tribunal. The Tribunal concentrates on those issues which, in its opinion, are fundamental to the application. The Law

S14 Determination of Rent by First-tier Tribunal

(1) Where, under subsection (4) (a) of section 13 above, a tenant refers to a First-tier Tribunal a notice under subsection (2) of that section, the Tribunal shall determine the rent at which, subject to subsections (2) and (4) below, the Tribunal consider that the dwelling-house concerned might reasonably be expected to be let in the open market by a [NAME] under an assured tenancy-

(a) which is a periodic tenancy having the same periods as those of the tenancy to which the notice relates;

HAV/00HQ/MNR/2025/0724 3 (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 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 [NAME]; (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.

(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.

HAV/00HQ/MNR/2025/0724 4 The Property 9. From the information given in the papers and available on the internet, the property comprises a self-contained flat situated on the fourth floor of a purpose-built block with commercial units on the ground floor.

10. The building is situated on the south side of the city, close to Southsea Common.

11. A full range of commercial, educational and recreational facilities are available in the city.

12. The accommodation comprises a living room/kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. With central heating and double-glazed windows. The Energy Performance Rating is ‘D’. Submissions 13. The initial tenancy began in 2001, but the most recent tenancy agreement is dated 30th March 2018 when a rent of £600 per month was agreed, since when the rent has not been increased.

14. The Landlord maintains that in addition to paying the rent the Tenant had agreed to provide some cleaning services which he values at an additional £150 per month.

15. The Tenant maintains that, as the Landlord has refused to carry out repairs over the years, she has often maintained the property at her expense. The works include plastering and refurbishing the bathroom at a cost of more than £1,000 and restarting the boiler at a cost of £160.

16. The Tenant refers to other repair issues that have occurred in the past including [NAME].[NAME] in the drinking water She has also experienced leaks through the roof throughout her tenancy and refers to the poor condition of floorings.

17. From the submissions provided it is clear that the Landlord and Tenant do not enjoy an easy relationship. The Tenant refers to having been served S21 notices to quit the flat and avers that the Local Authority has moved other tenants out of the building due to non-compliance with building regulations.

18. The Tenant confirms that carpets, curtains and cooker are all supplied by the Landlord and provides the Tribunal with photographs in support of her assertions as to the general disrepair of the property.

19. The Tenant also refers to some personal circumstances, not least the recent death of her partner. Whilst sympathetic to her situation the Tribunal cannot take personal circumstances into account when assessing a new rent.

20. In his statement the Landlord states that the flat includes a fridge but does not confirm who provides it. He states that the boiler is inspected every year, and a Gas Certificate is in place.

HAV/00HQ/MNR/2025/0724 5 21. The Landlord states that the property is in good condition and that carpets to the common areas have been replaced in the last 2 years. 22. The Landlord includes a Rightmove ‘Best Price Guide’ and a valuation from a local agent suggesting a rental value between £900 and £1,00 per month. He also avers that many of the Tenant’s comments are false and unsupported.

Consideration and Valuation

23. The Tribunal first considered whether it felt able to reasonably and fairly decide this case based on the papers submitted only with no oral hearing. Having read and considered the papers it decided that it could do so.

24. The Tribunal is required to determine the rent at which the subject property might reasonably be expected to be let in the open market by a [NAME] under an assured tenancy. The personal circumstances of the Parties are not relevant to this issue.

25. Having carefully considered the representations from the parties and associated correspondence and using its own judgement and knowledge of rental values in Portsmouth, the Tribunal decided that the market rent for the subject property if let today in a condition that was usual for such an open market letting would be £1,000 per month.

26. Such an open market letting would be for a tenantable property in good order with the Landlord responsible for internal decoration and on the basis that carpets, curtains and white goods would all be provided by the Landlord.

27. From the evidence provided is clear that the property is not in a condition to command such a rent and a number of adjustments need to be made, not least for the Tenant’s provision of some white goods and the general wants of repair as evidenced in the photographs provided.

28. In addition, the Tribunal needs to reflect the Tenant’s improvement refitting the bathroom.

29. Using its experience the Tribunal decided that the following adjustments should be made: Tenant’s provision of white goods £20 Tenant’s provision of bathroom fittings £30 General wants of repair £50

Total deduction per month £100 30. The Tenant made no representation that the starting date for the new rent specified in the Landlord’s notice would cause the Tenant undue hardship.

HAV/00HQ/MNR/2025/0724 6 Determination 31. The Tribunal therefore decided that the rent at which the subject property might reasonably be expected to be let in the open market by a [NAME] under the terms of this assured tenancy was £900 per month. 32. The Tribunal directed that the new rent of £900 per month should take effect from 28th February 2025, this being the date specified in the notice.

RIGHTS OF APPEAL

1. A person wishing to appeal this decision to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) must seek permission to do so by making written application to the First-tier Tribunal at the Regional office which has been dealing with the case. Where possible you should send your application for permission to appeal by email to [EMAIL] as this will enable the First-tier Tribunal Regional office to deal with it more efficiently.

2. The application must arrive at the Tribunal within 28 days after the Tribunal sends to the person making the application written reasons for the decision.

3. If the person wishing to appeal does not comply with the 28-day time limit, the person shall include with the application for permission to appeal a request for an extension of time and the reason for not complying with the 28-day time limit; the Tribunal will then decide whether to extend time or not to allow the application for permission to appeal to proceed.

4. The application for permission to appeal must identify the decision of the Tribunal to which it relates, state the grounds of appeal, and state the result the party making the application is seeking.