12 St James Court Heysham Morecambe LA32BQ
Condition: Ground floor flat in a modern three-storey development, standard condition with tenant disputing quality of landlord repairs.
Evidence considered
- Tenant referenced a newly refurbished 4 bedroom house available at £950 pcm but provided no further specific comparable evidence
- Landlord provided no comparable evidence, only confirming the revised notice figure
- Tribunal relied on its own expert knowledge of local rental values rather than submitted comparables
Tenant submitted evidence: yes. Landlord submitted evidence: no.
Tribunal's reasoning
The tribunal determined the market rent using its own expert knowledge of local rental values, as neither party submitted substantive comparable evidence. It assessed the rent that the modernised property, with white goods and curtains, would achieve in the open market, arriving at the landlord's revised proposed figure of £775 pcm. The tenant's request to delay the effective date on hardship grounds was rejected due to lack of supporting evidence, so the new rent took effect from the date in the landlord's notice.
Read the original decision (PDF, GOV.UK)
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