36 Towyn Road, Birmingham, West Midlands, B13 9NA
Condition: The house was in very poor, basic condition requiring extensive renovation, lacking cooking facilities, white goods, carpets and curtains, with cracked plaster and no working ground floor lighting.
Evidence considered
- No comparable evidence was submitted by either party.
- Tribunal relied on its own inspection of the property and general knowledge of local rental values.
- Tribunal estimated a refurbished market rent of around £950 pcm but applied no increase due to the property's poor condition and lack of facilities.
Tenant submitted evidence: no. Landlord submitted evidence: no.
Tribunal's reasoning
The property, a Victorian terrace house let on a weekly assured periodic tenancy, was found to be in very poor condition - no working kitchen, no carpets/curtains/white goods, cracked plaster, and no electrical supply to ground floor lighting at inspection. The tribunal held that in its current state the house would be virtually unlettable on the open market, and while a refurbished rental value would be around £950 pcm (~£219/week), no increase was justified given the poor condition and lack of facilities. The rent was therefore left unchanged at the existing weekly rent of £138.00 (converted to monthly: £138 x 52/12 = £598), rather than increased to the landlord's proposed £220/week.
Read the original decision (PDF, GOV.UK)
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