301A Eastwood Road North, Leigh- on-Sea, Essex, SS9 4LT
Condition: Property has central heating, double glazing, carpets and a cooker, with a private garden, but has issues including noise from adjacent food/drink businesses, limited ventilation and a high shower step.
Evidence considered
- Landlord cited Rightmove listings showing 13 one-bedroom flats in Leigh-on-Sea with an average asking rent of £1,065 pcm, considered of some but limited weight.
- Landlord noted three other tenants of similar properties had accepted comparable rent increases, though this was not treated as determinative.
- Tribunal applied its own knowledge/expertise and public domain information (Rightmove particulars, Google Street View) to assess value.
- Tribunal factored in disturbance from an adjoining pub, restaurant and takeaway as reducing the rent a prospective tenant would pay.
Tenant submitted evidence: no. Landlord submitted evidence: yes.
Tribunal's reasoning
The tribunal disregarded the existing passing rent and the landlord's prior negotiations, focusing instead on open-market evidence and its own expertise. It gave some weight to Rightmove comparables showing average asking rents of £1,065 pcm for similar one-bed flats locally, but reduced the figure to reflect the property's location adjacent to a pub, restaurant and takeaway causing likely noise disturbance. It concluded a market rent of £900 pcm, taking effect from the date specified in the landlord's notice (24 December 2024), noting rental values had risen since the landlord's earlier lower offer.
Read the original decision (PDF, GOV.UK)
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