448 Wimpson Road, Southampton, Hampshire, SO16 4PU
Condition: Flat in relatively poor condition with dated kitchen/bathroom, defective ceilings, inadequate hot water supply, rat infestation, and a poor 'F' energy rating.
Evidence considered
- Tribunal used its own expert knowledge of Southampton rental values to assess a full market rent of £1,000 pcm for the property in good condition.
- Landlord provided a 'Best Price Guide' for a comparable 3-bedroom flat asking £1,150 (marked let agreed) but no evidence of rent actually achieved, limiting its weight.
- Tenant provided photographs, videos, and a disrepair inventory documenting condition issues, which the Tribunal relied on to justify deductions from the full market rent.
- Tribunal itemised specific deductions (white goods, carpets/curtains, decorative condition, flooring, rat infestation, dated kitchen/bathroom, hot water supply, EPC rating) totalling £310 off the full market rent.
Tenant submitted evidence: yes. Landlord submitted evidence: yes.
Tribunal's reasoning
The Tribunal assessed the open market rent for the property in good tenantable condition (with white goods, carpets, curtains provided) at £1,000 pcm, based on its own expert knowledge of local rental values rather than the landlord's unverified comparable. It then applied itemised deductions totalling £310 pcm for poor decorative condition, dated kitchen/bathroom, inadequate hot water, rat infestation, tenant-provided white goods/carpets, flooring gaps, and a poor EPC rating, arriving at £690 pcm. On review, the Tribunal declined to adjust the rent further for a since-replaced non-compliant front door, and found the tenant's financial hardship evidence insufficiently convincing to postpone the rent's effective date from that specified in the landlord's notice.
Read the original decision (PDF, GOV.UK)
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