Top Floor Flat, 46 Cardiff Road, Reading, RG1 8EP
Condition: The flat is furnished but the tribunal noted the property's condition reflected evident landlord inactivity/lack of maintenance.
Evidence considered
- Neither party submitted comparable rental evidence.
- Landlord provided a floor plan showing approximately 420 ft2/39 m2 of space.
- Tribunal relied on its own expertise and knowledge of local rental levels in the absence of submitted comparables.
Tenant submitted evidence: no. Landlord submitted evidence: no.
Tribunal's reasoning
The tribunal disregarded the previous rent history and the parties' personal circumstances, focusing only on what a hypothetical willing tenant would pay in the open market. As neither party submitted comparable evidence of rental values, the tribunal relied on its own expertise and knowledge of the local market, factoring in the property's one-bedroom size (~39m2), furnishings, lack of garden/parking, and condition reflecting apparent landlord inactivity, to determine a rent of £1,050 pcm, below the landlord's proposed £1,070.
Read the original decision (PDF, GOV.UK)
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