83 Salford Road London SW2 4BE LON/00AY/F77/2022/0058
DECISION
The registered rent with effect from 5 July 2022 is £680 per month. This has been a hearing on the papers which has been consented to by the parties. The form of remote hearing was P:PAPERREMOTE, a paper determination which is not provisional. A face to face hearing was not held because it was not practicable and all the issues could be determined on the papers. The documents that I was referred to are in a bundle, the contents of which I have recorded. © CROWN COPYRIGHT FIRST - TIER TRIBUNAL PROPERTY CHAMBER (RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY) Background[1]On 24 November 2021 the landlord applied to the rent officer for registration of a fair rent of £769.35 per month for the above property.[2]The registered rent at the date of the application was £669 per month which had been registered by the rent officer on 9 January 2020 with effect from 4 February 2020.[3]On 7 January 2022, the rent officer registered a fair rent of £651 per month with effect from 14 February 2022.[4]On 26 January 2022 the landlord objected to the registered rent.[5]The tenant occupies under the terms of a tenancy agreement which commenced in October 1981.[6]Owing to the Covid 19 restrictions the parties were asked if they would consent to the application being dealt with on the papers. Neither party objected. Written representations were received from the tenant, no written representations were received from or on behalf of the landlord. The Evidence[7]The accommodation which is on the first floor of a three storey semi-detached house is not self-contained. It comprises two rooms, kitchen, bathroom and wc, it is centrally heated. Ms Szuts stated that there was water damage to the ceiling in the bay window in the living room due to water leaking from the balcony above. The window frames and cills were generally in poor condition and draughty. The windows are single glazed. The accommodation is expensive to heat. The carpets, curtains and white goods were supplied by the tenant. The Law[8]When determining a fair rent the tribunal, in accordance with section 70 of the Rent Act 1977, must have regard to all the circumstances including the age, location and state of repair of the property. It also must disregard the effect if any of any relevant tenant’s improvements and the effect of any disrepair or any other defect attributable to the tenant or any predecessor in title under the regulated tenancy, on the rental value of the property.[9]In Spath Holme Ltd v Chairman of the Greater Manchester etc Committee (1995) 28 HLR 107 and Curtis v London Rent Assessment Committee (1999) QB 92 the Court of appeal emphasised: That ordinarily a fair rent is the market rent for the property discounted for scarcity i.e. that element, if any, of the market rent, that is attributable to there being a significant shortage of similar properties in the wider locality available for letting on similar terms to that of a regulated tenancy, and That for the purposes of determining the market rent, assured tenancy market rents are usually appropriate comparables; adjusted as necessary to reflect any relevant differences between the comparables and the subject property. Valuation[10]In the first instance the Tribunal determined what rent the landlord could reasonably be expected to obtain for the property in the open market if it were let today in the condition that is considered usual for such an open market letting. The Tribunal relied on its own general knowledge of rental values in Streatham and concluded that the likely market rent for the property would be £1350 per month.[11]However, it was first necessary to adjust the hypothetical rent of £1350 per month to allow for the differences between the terms and condition considered usual for such a letting and the condition of the actual property at the valuation date, ignoring any tenant’s improvements, (disregarding the effect of any disrepair or other defect attributable to the tenant or any predecessor in title). The Tribunal noted that properties available on the open market were modern or modernised, with white goods, floor and window coverings. The Tribunal considered that these differences, the lack of self- containment and the terms and conditions of the tenancy required a deduction of £500 per month.[12]This leaves an adjusted market rent for the subject property of £850 per month. The Tribunal was of the opinion that there was substantial scarcity in London for similar properties and therefore made a deduction of 20% from the adjusted market rent to reflect this element. The Tribunal’s uncapped fair rent is £680 per month. Decision[13]The uncapped fair rent initially determined by the Tribunal, for the purposes of section 70, was accordingly £680 per month which is below the maximum fair rent of £809.50 per month which can be charged under the Rent Acts (Maximum Fair Rent) Order 1999.[14]Accordingly, the sum of £680 per month will be registered as the fair rent with effect from 5 July 2022 being the date of the Tribunal's decision. Chairman: Evelyn Flint Dated: 5 July 2022 ANNEX - RIGHTS OF APPEAL i. If a party wishes to appeal this decision to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) then a written application for permission must be made to the First-tier Tribunal at the Regional office which has been dealing with the case. ii. The application for permission to appeal must arrive at the Regional office within 28 days after the Tribunal sends written reasons for the decision to the person making the application. iii. 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. iv. 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.