18 St Johns Square, Cinderford, Gloucestershire, GL14 3EY
Condition: The property suffered extensive disrepair including damp, mould, water ingress into the kitchen ceiling and electrics, a broken bathroom window and an unusable main bedroom due to mould.
Evidence considered
- Tenant submitted four advertised (asking) rents for comparable two-bedroom houses in the locality (£760-£800 pcm), which the Tribunal treated only as evidence of general asking-rent tone since it was unclear if any had actually been let at those figures.
- Landlord submitted no comparable rental evidence, only an assertion that the tenant's difficulty finding alternative accommodation showed market rents had risen, which the Tribunal rejected given the tenant's disputed non-financial reasons.
- Tribunal relied on its own expert knowledge to set a hypothetical open-market rent of £800 pcm for the property in good condition.
- A tenant-provided Environmental Health 'Condition Report' and around 232 photographs documented damp, mould, water ingress and other hazards, which the Tribunal found persuasive and relied on to justify a 40% deduction from the hypothetical rent.
Tenant submitted evidence: yes. Landlord submitted evidence: no.
Tribunal's reasoning
The Tribunal first determined a hypothetical open-market rent of £800 pcm for the property in good condition, relying on its own expert knowledge rather than the parties' evidence, since the tenant's comparables were only asking rents and the landlord provided none. It then assessed the actual condition of the property, finding extensive disrepair (damp, mould, water ingress affecting electrics, a dangerous bathroom window, and an unusable bedroom) that fell well short of the standard expected of a typical market letting, and gave no value to the landlord's mouldy furniture which the tenant did not want. Applying a global 40% deduction for these defects (with a nominal allowance for the tenant's own washing machine), the Tribunal determined a market rent of £480 pcm, taking effect from the date in the landlord's notice.
Read the original decision (PDF, GOV.UK)
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