Flat 4, 214 Haggerston Road Hackney London E8 4JA: LON/00AM/MNR/2026/0224 LON/00AM/MNR/2026/0224
REASONS
1 A landlord’s notice dated 27 February 2026, was served under Section 13(2) Housing Act 1988 proposing a new rent of £1768 per calendar © CROWN COPYRIGHT 2013 month in place of the passing rent of £1683.83 per calendar month to take effect from 1 April 2026. 2 3 At a date, prior to the effective date, under S.13(4)(a) Housing Act 1988 the tenant referred the landlord’s notice proposing a new rent, to the Tribunal for determination. The assured tenancy is now monthly periodic. Allocation of Repairs between Landlord and Tenant 4 As per S.11 Landlord and tenant Act 1985. Landlord’s Service Charges and Furniture provided and costs. 5 No information on white goods, floor finishes, curtains. No furniture. Liability for Council Tax 6 Tenant. Other relevant terms of tenancy 7 None Inspection and Hearing 8 An inspection is not routinely carried out. The Tribunal is content that it has sufficient information on the Property, its condition and on comparables, from a combination of the written and any photographic representations received and from its own knowledge and specialist expertise. Property 9 10 There was no inspection. The Property appears to be modern flat constructed in a Building of c.2000. It is within a 3 level, purpose built block on the first floor amongst similar modern flats. The Property has 2 bedrooms, living room/ kitchen, bathroom, WC set on 1 level. There are communal internal access areas for these flats in each part of the Building, each served by communal stairs and hallways, with small communal external areas and access. There are on street parking restrictions. Access is off a busy road in Haggerston, LB Hackney, near other mainly modern residential social housing blocks. (Google Streetview September 2025). The Property appears to be of modern framed construction with brick wall finishes and what appears to be a main flat roof above. It seems to be in fair condition. There are timber framed double glazed windows and central heating. 2 Evidence 11 The Tribunal received completed Form 1 from the tenant. Form 1a from the landlord was received. The Tribunal is grateful for such information as was provided by one or both of the parties. Tenant 12 13 The tenant referred to two basis of tenancy and rent levels – the ‘Intermediate Rent‘ set at 80% of the Market Rent and ‘Social Rent’ set at a lower level. The tenant included some 40No. photographs (including duplicates) and 3No. videos, as being internal views within the Property especially of mould damp and decay to the window and door units showing damage and ‘gapping’ due to poor fit. This had led to concerns about increased damp mould and fire risk for the Property within the Building. The tenant provided some information on accommodation and rents for similar flats for ‘Intermediate Rent’. No comparable properties for market rent were provided. Landlord 14 Law 15 The Tribunal received brief representations from the landlord in Form 1a. These included their reference to the notices, the passing rent and the new rent sought. They referred to their standard ‘beacon’ assessment of market rents for the locality prepared before the notice of rent increase was sent out. They did not refer to any market rental evidence in particular. 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. Valuation 16 The tenant and landlord referenced terms “Intermediate Rent” and “Social Rent”. Neither term is recognised, nor form a relevant consideration for the Tribunal in determining a market rent under Section 14 of the Act. The Tribunal makes no reference to them. 3 17 From the Tribunal’s own general knowledge of market rent levels in the London Borough of Hackney it determines that the subject Property would let on normal Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) terms, for £2,500 per calendar month, fully fitted and in good order. This is the rent we would expect the Property to let for in the open market if it was in the same condition as comparable properties including landlord’s white goods carpets and curtains. 18 From the representations made, the Tribunal found that there were significant, persistent and developing defects to the windows and external door to the Property causing damp, mould and rot to the frames affecting their efficacy, sufficient to affect the rent. For this reason the Tribunal makes a small deduction of £100 from the starting rent reducing this to £2400 pcm. Undue Hardship 19 Undue hardship from this increase in the rent was sought by the tenant in their application. However they provided insufficient details in support of their claim and no change to the effective date of the increase is made by the Tribunal. Decision and effective start date 20 21 The starting date of the new rent of £2400 pcm is from and including 1 April 2026. 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. Otherwise any further reduction in this figure on what is levied, is a matter between the parties, only. Chairman N Martindale FRICS Date 22 June 2026 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. 4 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). 5