42 Avignon Close, Mountbatten Estate, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8YH
Condition: The property was found to be in good tenantable condition, well maintained with effective storage heaters.
Evidence considered
- Tribunal considered one-bedroom studio flats within about a one mile radius, with asking rents ranging from £600 to £728 pcm
- Landlord submitted adverts for six comparable studio flats at the same estate, marketed between March 2024 and January 2025 at asking rents of £675-£695, but these were all let by the same managing agent and were asking rents rather than achieved rents, so given limited weight
- Tribunal relied on its own expert knowledge of local rental values alongside the comparables
Tenant submitted evidence: no. Landlord submitted evidence: yes.
Tribunal's reasoning
The tribunal inspected the ground floor studio flat and found it in good tenantable condition, making no condition-based adjustment. It weighed broader local comparables (studio flats ranging £600-£728 pcm) against the landlord's evidence of similar flats at the same estate, discounting the latter somewhat as asking rents from a single letting agent. Combining this evidence with its own expert knowledge, the tribunal determined a market rent of £650 pcm.
Read the original decision (PDF, GOV.UK)
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