Oakeley, Dewsbury Road, Tingley, Wakefield, WF3 1LE
Condition: The property had significant disrepair including a blocked main drain making the toilet unusable, non-functioning central heating controls, cracked kitchen floor tiles, a leaking kitchen sink waste pipe, damp/mould in the living room and bathroom, and a blocked tumble dryer vent causing damp.
Evidence considered
- No comparable properties were submitted by either party.
- The landlord's proposed rent of £800 pcm and the tenant representative's acknowledgement that £800 pcm would be reasonable if the property were in good repair were treated as the open market rent for the property in good condition.
- The tribunal made itemised deductions totalling £320 pcm from the £800 baseline for specific disrepair items (floor tiles, sink waste pipe, mould in lounge and bathroom, dryer vent/damp, non-working central heating, and blocked main drain/unusable toilet).
Tenant submitted evidence: no. Landlord submitted evidence: no.
Tribunal's reasoning
With no comparable evidence from either side, the tribunal adopted £800 pcm as the market rent for the property if it were in good condition, based on the landlord's proposed rent and an acknowledgement by the tenant's representative that this figure was reasonable for a property in good repair. It then made itemised deductions totalling £320 pcm to reflect disrepair found at inspection, the largest being £150 pcm for the blocked main drain rendering the toilet unusable and £50 pcm for the faulty central heating, arriving at a determined rent of £480 pcm.
Read the original decision (PDF, GOV.UK)
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