18 St.Swithins Drive, Lower Quinton, Stratford upon Avon, CV37 8SB
Condition: Dated ground floor flat with old, less efficient night storage heaters and some double glazed windows suffering interstitial condensation, EPC band E.
Evidence considered
- Landlord submitted four Rightmove listings of comparable properties (asking rents £700-£925 pcm) but no evidence of rents actually achieved
- Tenant raised condition issues (damp, poor insulation, window seals, inadequate heating, high electricity bills) which the Tribunal partly accepted but considered to have only marginal effect on rent
- Tribunal relied mainly on its own expert knowledge of local rental values, starting from an assumed modernised market rent and applying deductions for specific defects
Tenant submitted evidence: no. Landlord submitted evidence: yes.
Tribunal's reasoning
The Tribunal assessed the market rent for the flat if modernised and in good order at £750 pcm, based on its own expert knowledge of local rental values rather than the landlord's unverified asking-price comparables. It then deducted £25 pcm for interstitial condensation affecting some double glazed windows and £25 pcm for the age/inefficiency of the night storage heaters, arriving at £700 pcm, which coincided with the landlord's originally proposed rent.
Read the original decision (PDF, GOV.UK)
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