100 Mortimer Street, Trowbridge, Wiltshire BA14 8BN
Condition: Generally habitable modern terrace in reasonable order, but with worn floor coverings, an unmodernised kitchen and a broken drawer reducing value relative to comparables.
Evidence considered
- Landlord's letting agent Best Price Guide advising £1,150 pcm if remarketed, with one comparable at £1,200 pcm treated as an outlier and given little weight
- Tenant's online portal listings (On the Market / Open Rent) for two adjoining terraced houses at £975 pcm, found possibly to be the same property listed twice and not reflective of the general market
- Tribunal's own knowledge and expertise of local rental values used to set a baseline modernised rent of £1,100 pcm
- Photographic evidence and tenant's MR3 statement on condition, used to support a £30 pcm deduction for kitchen/drawer and carpet condition rather than any deduction for historic disrepair
Tenant submitted evidence: yes. Landlord submitted evidence: yes.
Tribunal's reasoning
The tribunal set a baseline market rent of £1,100 pcm for the property in fully modernised/good condition, based on its own expertise and the landlord's agent comparables (disregarding an outlier £1,200 pcm listing and the tenants' £975 pcm listings as unrepresentative). It then deducted £30 pcm to reflect the unmodernised kitchen, a damaged drawer and worn carpet, giving £1,070 pcm. No allowance was made for historic disrepair, as delayed repairs were treated as remedial maintenance rather than permanent diminution in value, and recently completed works were not treated as improvements justifying an increase. As the determined rent equalled the existing rent, no undue hardship issue arose and the new rent took effect from the next rental period.
Read the original decision (PDF, GOV.UK)
Want the evidence, not just the decision?
Around half of the decisions in this database cite a problem with the evidence submitted — comparable tribunal outcomes are usually what decides these cases, for both sides. We're testing a paid evidence pack and a guided walkthrough of the application, built from this database.
Landlord evidence pack — from £15
Nearby tribunal outcomes, a rent level likely to survive a challenge, and an evidence pack in the format the tribunal expects — timed for when you serve a section 13 notice.
Register interest in the landlord packTenant pack — from £19
Whether challenging your rent increase is worth it, plus the comparable decisions to include with your MR1 application to the tribunal.
Register interest in the tenant packNot built yet — register your interest by email and we'll let you know when it's ready. This isn't legal advice; see the law and free advice options.