Flat 1, 439 Chester Road, Old Trafford, Manchester, M16 9HA
Condition: The property was found to be in good condition.
Evidence considered
- Landlord provided comparables of three other flats in the same building: two let at £800 pcm and one at £780 pcm (all excluding utilities) - given significant weight
- Tenant provided no comparable rental evidence, only a counter-proposal of £700 pcm
- Tribunal also relied on its own expert knowledge of local rental values
Tenant submitted evidence: no. Landlord submitted evidence: yes.
Tribunal's reasoning
The tribunal relied primarily on landlord-provided comparables of similar flats in the same building (letting at £780-£800 pcm excluding utilities), together with its own expert knowledge, to set a base market rent of £800 pcm for the property in good condition. It then added £70 pcm to reflect the electricity charges included in the rent, producing a determined rent of £870 pcm. The tribunal also found that applying the new rent from the landlord's notice date would cause the tenant undue hardship given her reliance on Universal Credit, so it delayed the start date to the date of its inspection rather than the notice date.
Read the original decision (PDF, GOV.UK)
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