11 Coniston Drive, Bury, BL9 9PX
Condition: Tenant-improved semi-detached house (fitted kitchen, bathroom, replastering) with some unresolved damp and a disputed blocked chimney.
Evidence considered
- Tenant cited two unverified local rents (£660 and £760 pcm) with no further detail
- Tenant provided Zoopla listing for a two-bedroom terrace at £750 pcm and Rightmove listing for a terrace of unknown size at £795 pcm, both given little weight as not significant comparables due to size/configuration/desirability differences
- Landlord provided no comparable rental evidence
- Tribunal relied primarily on its own expert knowledge of local rental values to set a baseline rent, then adjusted for tenant-provided improvements and fittings
Tenant submitted evidence: yes. Landlord submitted evidence: no.
Tribunal's reasoning
Existing and proposed rents were given fortnightly (£357.69 and £393.23) and converted to monthly figures (x26/12). The tenant's comparable evidence was found to lack detail or relevant similarity and was given little weight, while the landlord submitted no comparables. The tribunal therefore relied on its own expert knowledge of local rental values, setting a baseline market rent of £878 pcm for the property in good modernised condition with landlord-provided white goods and curtains, then deducted £60 pcm to reflect tenant-provided kitchen/bathroom fittings and white goods/curtains, arriving at £818 pcm (£377.53 per fortnight). No undue hardship postponement was granted due to lack of supporting evidence from the tenant.
Read the original decision (PDF, GOV.UK)
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