Flat 3, 37 Lorne Park Road, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH1 1JL
Condition: The property was found to be in poor repair with mould, water damage, damp, blown glazing, and worn decoration throughout.
Evidence considered
- Neither party supplied comparable market evidence; tenant provided photographs showing disrepair but no rent comparators.
- Landlord asserted a market rent of £750 pcm but provided no evidence or methodology, appearing to base it on management/letting costs rather than market comparables.
- Landlord submitted a professional property inspection report with photographs confirming mould, water damage, blown glazing and peeling paint.
- Tribunal relied on its own expert knowledge as a specialist panel to assess market rent in the absence of reliable evidence.
Tenant submitted evidence: yes. Landlord submitted evidence: yes.
Tribunal's reasoning
In the absence of reliable comparable evidence from either party, the Tribunal used its specialist expertise to assess a notional market rent of £575 pcm for the property in good, tenantable condition with landlord-provided decoration, carpets, curtains and white goods. It then applied a 30% deduction to reflect the property's poor state of repair (damp, mould, water damage, blown glazing), its compact bedsit nature, electric-only heating, and general need for modernisation, arriving at £402.50 pcm, rounded down to £400 pcm. The landlord's proposed rent of £750 pcm was rejected as unsupported by evidence, appearing instead to reflect anticipated repair costs rather than open market value.
Read the original decision (PDF, GOV.UK)
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