428A London Road, Ashford, Surrey, TW15 3AB
Condition: The property had multiple unresolved disrepair issues including damp, mould, blown window seals, rusted radiators, peeling decoration and trip hazards, subject to a council Improvement Notice.
Evidence considered
- Landlord-submitted letting of a two-bedroom flat on the same road at £1,700 pcm (let agreed, November 2025)
- Landlord-submitted letting of a three-bedroom first-floor flat on the same road at £2,150 pcm (June 2025), of similar 1930s semi-detached style
- Tribunal's own physical inspection of the property and knowledge of local rental values
- Council Improvement Notice (section 12, Housing Act 2004) listing category 2 hazards including damp, mould, fall risks and fire risk
- Tenant stated no comparables were relevant due to the property's poor condition
Tenant submitted evidence: no. Landlord submitted evidence: yes.
Tribunal's reasoning
The tribunal assessed the property as a modernised, well-maintained three-bedroom converted flat would let at about £2,000 pcm based on landlord-supplied comparables, inspection, and its own market knowledge. It then deducted £15 pcm because the tenant (not the landlord) provides the washing machine, and £350 pcm as a single overall adjustment for multiple items of disrepair identified at inspection and in a council Improvement Notice (damp, mould, blown window seals, rusted radiators, peeling decoration, trip hazards, plaster decay), producing a determined rent of £1,635 pcm. On the landlord's later appeal, the tribunal initially found the large increase would cause the tenant undue hardship and deferred the start date to the date of decision, and after a partial appeal and further directions, upheld that start date because the landlord failed to make further submissions as directed.
Read the original decision (PDF, GOV.UK)
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