106 Dibdin House, Maida Vale, London, W9 1QF
Condition: The flat was dilapidated, having needed comprehensive refurbishment including bathroom, kitchen, joinery and replastering, with the tenant providing furniture, white goods and soft furnishings.
Evidence considered
- Landlord provided details of 9 recent lettings in the same block (Dibdin House), averaging around £1,750 pcm - given significant weight as the basis for the unadjusted market rent
- Tenant's representative cited a previous Rent Tribunal determination for another flat in the block (£1,072.50 pcm) - disregarded as inadmissible rental evidence
- Tenant provided no other written comparable rent evidence
Tenant submitted evidence: no. Landlord submitted evidence: yes.
Tribunal's reasoning
The tribunal began from a market rent of £1,750 pcm, based on the landlord's evidence of nine recent comparable lettings in the same block averaging around that figure. It then applied a 27.5% deduction to reflect the property's dilapidated condition at the start of the tenancy and the tenant's contribution of improvements, furniture, white goods and soft furnishings, which could not be reflected in the open-market rent under the s.14(2) disregards. A Rent Tribunal determination for a comparable flat in the same block, cited by the tenant's representative, was held inadmissible as evidence. This produced a determined rent of £1,268.75 pcm, up from the passing rent of £1,225 pcm and below the landlord's implied market figure of £1,750 pcm.
Read the original decision (PDF, GOV.UK)
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