Flat 34 Bishops Court, Radcliffe Road, Croydon, London, CR0 5QH
Condition: The property is an unmodernised first-floor purpose-built flat with double glazing, central heating and carpeted floors; the tenant reported unverified ongoing damp and wall issues.
Evidence considered
- Tenant provided internal and external photographs of the property but no comparable rental evidence
- Tenant referred to unspecified lower rents paid by family members on the same estate, without tenancy details, given no weight
- Landlord submitted no evidence as it missed the tribunal's deadline and was refused an extension
- Tribunal relied on its own expert and general knowledge of local rental values
Tenant submitted evidence: no. Landlord submitted evidence: no.
Tribunal's reasoning
The landlord proposed increasing the rent from £1,665 to £2,250 pcm, but failed to submit evidence within the tribunal's timescales (a late extension request was refused). The tenant provided no comparable rental evidence, only anecdotal claims about family members paying less, and unsubstantiated reports of damp. In the absence of landlord evidence, the tribunal relied on its own expert knowledge of local rental values and the property's configuration and condition to determine a market rent of £1,750 pcm, higher than the tenant's suggested range of £1,665-£1,700. The tenant's request for a later start date on hardship grounds was refused due to lack of supporting evidence, so the new rent took effect from the date in the landlord's notice.
Read the original decision (PDF, GOV.UK)
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