8 Greenwood Close, Bushey Heath, Hertfordshire, WD23 4GE: CAM/26UE/MNR/2025/0822 CAM/26UE/MNR/2025/0822
REASONS
[1]1 2 The First Tier Tribunal received an application dated 16 Deeember 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). The notice, dated 13 November 2025, proposed a new rent of £1150 per calendar month from and including 25 December 2025. This rent does not include other services. © CROWN COPYRIGHT 2013 3 4 The tenancy is an assured periodic calendar monthly tenancy succeeding an earlier fixed term lease, with effect from and including 25 March 2023. A copy was provided. The rent payable from up to and including 24 December 2025 was said to be £980 per calendar month. Directions 5 Directions, dated 19 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/ living room. It is on the firt floor of a former semi detached house from the 1920’s, since converted into flats. There is a shared small hallway on the ground floor and a garden. (Google Streetview August 2024). The block is half of a pair of former family houses in a street of similar aged and constructed dwellings, some converted to flats. The building within which the Property is located is finished to brick ground floor, render to first, with double glazed windows and double pitched double lap clay tiled double pitched conventional roof above. There appears to be 2 parking spaces to the side and front of the former house. There does not appear to be any on street parking restrictions. The accommodation is arranged 1 bedroom, living room/ kitchen, bathroom/ WC with space and water heating. Tenant Representations 8 9 The tenant provided written submissions via the Application Form and the separate Reply Form. The tenant mentioned the following defects which had arisen some of which had been corrected by the landlord: Including poor ventilation to the bathroom, loose shower door, mold growth, leaking pipework. The letting included white goods but no other furniture, The carpet was the landlords, the curtains were the tenants. The tenant included some 7 photographs to illustrate their observations. The tenant did not provide details asking or let rental prices of similar flats locally. Landlord’s Representations 10 The Tribunal did not receive any representations from the landlord. 2 11 The Tribunal is grateful for such information as was provided by both parties in the application and standard Reply Forms and in separate representations. Law 12 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 Bushey Heath, it determines that the Property would let on normal Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) terms, for £1,150 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 £1,150 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, 25 December 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