22 Whitehall Court Newland Street, Witham, Essex CM8 2AW : CAM/22UC/MNR/2025/0806 CAM/22UC/MNR/2025/0806
REASONS
[1]1 The First Tier Tribunal received an application dated 23 December 2025 before the effective start date of the new rent sought, from tenant of the Property, regarding a notice of increase of rent served by the landlord, under S.13 of the Housing Act 1988 (the Act). © CROWN COPYRIGHT 2013 2 The notice, dated 13 November 2025, proposed a new rent of £1000 per calendar month from and including 23 January 2026. This rent does not include other services. 3 4 The tenancy is an assured periodic calendar monthly tenancy succeeding an earlier fixed term lease, with effect from and including 23 June 2022. A copy was provided. The rent payable from up to and including 22 January 2026 was said to be £860 per calendar month. Directions 5 Directions, dated 15 December 2025 for the progression of the case, were issued by the Legal Officer. Neither party asked for a hearing. Inspection 6 7 There was no inspection. The Property is a one bedroom, one bathroom flat with kitchen and living room. It is on the first floor of a purpose built block of low rise flats from the 1990’s. (Google Streetview June 2017). The Property is part of a small block of similar flats of the same construction. The building within which the Property is located is finished to brick ground floor, render/ brick to first, with double glazed windows, under floor and wall panel heating. There is “slate” tiling to the pitched conventional roof above. There appears to be communal parking spaces off road. The head lease is reportedly restricts occupation to those aged 60 and over, but the restriction is not replicated in this sub letting. Tenant Representations 8 9 The tenant provided written submissions via the Application Form and the separate Reply Form. The tenant mentioned that the property was somewhat dated with some minor access adaptations made for the former occupier the landlord’s mother. There were some minor defects to the interior. The letting included white goods and there was reference to two wardrobes and a dressing table but no other furniture, The carpets and curtains were the landlords. An “on call” service and communal laundry services were available. The tenant did not provide details of asking or let rental prices of similar flats locally. Landlord’s Representations 10 The Tribunal received the Reply Form completed by the landlord. This largely confirmed the details in the tenant’s Reply Form. They included details from September 2025 showing a similar one bedroom flat in 2 Newland Street, to let at £1100 pcm at that time, the price having been reduced to that figure. 11 Law 12 The Tribunal is grateful for such information as was provided by both parties in the application and standard Reply Forms and in separate representations. In accordance with the terms of S.14 of the Act we are required to determine the rent at which we consider the property might reasonably be expected to let in the open market, by a willing landlord, under an assured tenancy, on the same terms as the actual tenancy; ignoring any increase in value attributable to tenant’s improvements and any decrease in value due to the tenant’s failure to comply with any terms of the tenancy. Thus the Property falls to be valued as it stands; but assuming that the Property to be in a reasonable internal decorative condition. Decision[2]13 14 15 From the Tribunal’s own general knowledge of market rent levels sought and obtained in and around Witham, it determines that the Property would let on normal Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) terms, for £1,000 per calendar month including any fixed service charge fully fitted and in good order. From the representations it found that the Property did not suffer from any significant defects sufficient to affect the market rent. The Tribunal therefore leaves the base rent unchanged. The new rent will be therefore £1,000 pcm. Although the landlord is not obliged to charge this rent and may charge a significantly lower rent as a result of their own choice, policy, or governmental regulation; they may not charge more than this figure from the effective date, 23 January 2026. Chairman N Martindale FRICS Date 30 March 2026 3 Rights of appeal By rule 36(2) of the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Property Chamber) Rules 2013, the tribunal is required to notify the parties about any right of appeal they may have. If either party is dissatisfied with this decision, they may apply for permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) on any point of law arising from this Decision. Prior to making such an appeal, an application must be made, in writing, to this Tribunal for permission to appeal. Any such application must be made within 28 days of the issue of this decision to the person making the application (regulation 52 (2) of The Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Property Chamber) Rule 2013). If the application is not made within the 28-day time limit, such application must include a request for an extension of time and the reason for not complying with the 28 day time limit; the tribunal will then look at such reason(s) and decide whether to allow the application for permission to appeal to proceed, despite not being within the time limit. The application for permission to appeal must identify the decision of the tribunal to which it relates (i.e., give the date, the property, and the case number), state the grounds of appeal and state the result the party making the application is seeking. If the tribunal refuses to grant permission to appeal, a further application for permission may be made to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber). 4