10 Leicester Street Kettering NN16 8EF : CAM/34UE/MNR/2024/0621 CAM/34UE/MNR/2024/0621
REASONS
[1]The First Tier Tribunal received an application dated 14 January 2025, before the effective start date of the new rent sought, from tenants 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 December 2024, proposed a new rent of £1250 per calendar month exclusive, with effect from and including 15 January 2025. This rent does not include other services.[4]The tenancy is now an assured periodic calendar monthly tenancy which originally began for a fixed 6 months term on 15 November 2022 for an initial rent of £895 pcm. A copy was provided. The rent payable up to and including 14 January 2025 was £985 per calendar month. Directions[5]Directions, dated 28 February 2025, for the progression of the case, were issued by Legal Officer Laura Lawless. Neither party asked for a hearing. Inspection[8]There was no inspection. The Property is a 3 level mid terraced house dating from around 1890. It has no front garden or yard but faces directly on to the pavement. It has a small rear yard/ garden. (Google Streetview October 2022). There is no off-road parking but there is on street parking. The house is of traditional construction, brick fair faced walls to front elevation to 2 levels. The main roof is double pitched finished to concrete single lap tile, encasing the second floor attic rooms, as built. It is set within the town, within streets of small 2 and 3 bedroom houses built around the 1900’s of similar houses of similar age and construction. The Property has 4 bedrooms, 2 to the second/ attic floor, 2 to the first with the bathroom/WC; and ground floor 2 rooms with kitchen. It is assumed that there central heating, with full double glazing apparently visible to front exterior, both provided by the landlord. The carpets, curtains, white goods are assumed also provided by the landlord. Tenants’ and Landlord’s Representations[11]The tenant provided written submissions via the Application Form and the completed standard Reply Form. The tenant referred to some minor maintenance works they had carried out at the house including: garden cultivation, painting outside garden walls, inside walls, renewing handrail fixings, a “bathtub cover”, new silicon sealing to bathroom suite. The Tribunal received no representations from the landlord or agent. The Tribunal is grateful for such information as was provided by both parties in the application and in the standard Reply Form. 2 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[15]From the Tribunal’s own general knowledge of market rent levels in Kettering it determines that the subject Property would let on normal Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) terms, for £1100 per calendar month, fully fitted and in good order. From the representations the Tribunal found nothing of significance to warrant any reduction from this figure. The new rent will therefore be £1100 pcm with effect from 15 January 2025. 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. Chairman N Martindale FRICS Date 28 April 2025 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). 3 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