9 Joseph Hall Drive, Tipton, West Midlands, DY4 9EF
Condition: Semi-detached house with gas central heating and double glazing, but with frayed/damaged carpets and a fence needing repair, offset by tenant improvements to flooring and garden.
Evidence considered
- Tenant-submitted comparables: 4-bed semi-detached house at £1,200 pcm, 4-bed terraced house at £1,250 pcm, and 4-bed detached house at £1,400 pcm
- Tenant cited two other nearby semi-detached houses at around £1,250 pcm and two detached houses at around £1,400 pcm
- No evidence submitted by the landlord
- Tribunal relied on its own expert knowledge of local rental values alongside the tenant's evidence
Tenant submitted evidence: yes. Landlord submitted evidence: no.
Tribunal's reasoning
The Tribunal assessed the open-market rent for a comparable property in good condition, including white goods and curtains, at £1,500 pcm based on its own expertise and the tenant's comparable evidence (the landlord submitted none). It then deducted £35 for the condition of the carpets and fence damage and £15 for tenant-made improvements to the garden and general repairs, arriving at a determined rent of £1,450 pcm, unchanged from the existing rent and below the landlord's proposed £1,525 pcm.
Read the original decision (PDF, GOV.UK)
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