Flat 2, Southdown House, Argyle Road, Bognor Regis, West Sussex, PO21 1FP
Condition: A first-floor one-bedroom flat with gas central heating but no double glazing, with the exterior timber windows in want of repair and redecoration.
Evidence considered
- Tenant submitted two online rental adverts for one-bedroom flats in Bognor Regis (£850 pcm and £900 pcm asking rents) as comparables
- Both comparables found to be in superior condition/modernisation and included white goods; one had allocated parking which the subject property lacks
- Comparables given only limited weight as one was 'let agreed' with no confirmed achieved rent
- Landlord submitted no comparable evidence
- Tribunal relied on its own expert/general knowledge of local rental values alongside the comparables
Tenant submitted evidence: yes. Landlord submitted evidence: no.
Tribunal's reasoning
The tribunal started from a market rent of £825 pcm for the property in modernised, good condition, derived from two tenant-submitted comparable adverts after weighting them against its own expert knowledge (noting both comparables were superior in condition/modernisation and one had parking, so were only of limited reliability absent confirmed let rents). It then deducted £65 pcm in total to reflect the tenant's own provision of white goods (£30) and curtains (£10), and disrepair/lack of maintenance to the windows (£25), arriving at a determined rent of £760 pcm.
Read the original decision (PDF, GOV.UK)
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