18 Maple Road, Bitterne, Southampton, Hampshire, SO18 4EE
Condition: Ground floor converted flat with dated kitchen and bathroom fittings and various items of disrepair including insecure patio doors, faulty oven, mould, non-working extractor fan and a 'blown' bay window.
Evidence considered
- Tenant's Rightmove search of six one-bedroom flats to let locally, ranging £675-£825 pcm
- Three comparables in the SO18 postcode specifically referenced: £800 pcm modern one-bed apartment (Bullar Road), £775 pcm unfurnished first floor one-bed flat (Bitterne), £675 pcm one-bed ground floor apartment (Bitterne Road West)
- Tribunal's own expert, general knowledge of rental values in the area
- Tenant-provided photographs and check-in inventory used to evidence disrepair and dated fixtures, resulting in rent deductions
Tenant submitted evidence: yes. Landlord submitted evidence: no.
Tribunal's reasoning
The tribunal determined a market rent for the property in good tenantable condition at £800 pcm, based on tenant-submitted comparables and its own knowledge of local rental values. It then deducted £25 for dated/disrepaired kitchen, £25 for dated/disrepaired bathroom/WC, and £75 for further items of disrepair and defects (assessed on an overall basis rather than item by item), arriving at £675 pcm. The landlord submitted no evidence or statement. The tribunal also considered but rejected the tenant's hardship argument, allowing the new rent to start on the date proposed in the notice rather than being deferred.
Read the original decision (PDF, GOV.UK)
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