Market rent set at £1,110 pcm for three-bedroom Accrington house

PCM means per calendar month. Non-monthly rents are converted to monthly equivalents for comparison. The assessed market rent can exceed the landlord’s proposal. New Rent is the payable amount after any statutory cap. A strike-out is not a rent determination; a new rent shown for a struck-out case is the rent the parties agreed, not a figure set by the tribunal.

Landlord’s position and arguments

The landlord contended the proposed rent of £1,110 pcm represented the open market rent, supported by lettings on the same development and in the locality, including identical or substantially identical three-bedroom properties on David Lloyd Way and Ribbleton Drive whose recent rent reviews resulted in rents of £1,110 pcm. It argued the tenant's condition complaints amounted to normal wear and tear and that maintenance issues had been addressed where appropriate. It made no substantive submissions in response to the tenant's hardship application.

Tenant’s position and arguments

The tenant contended the current rent of £970 pcm better reflected the open market rent, submitting the property should be assessed in its actual condition, citing cracking, windows not closing properly, wear and deterioration, and communal maintenance issues. He questioned the comparability and reliability of the landlord's comparators and relied on advertised rents for other local three-bedroom properties of roughly £795 to £1,050 pcm. He also requested a later start date for the new rent on hardship grounds.

Tribunal reasoning and decision

The tribunal placed little weight on the tenant's advertised-rent evidence for lack of comparability detail, and greater weight on the landlord's evidence, especially a broadly comparable property on the same development marketed at £1,135 pcm, adjusted for its larger floor area. It accepted cracking exists but found the defects minor and not materially affecting rent, and made no adjustment for the communal matters. It determined an open market rent and a payable rent of £1,110 pcm from 11 October 2026. The tenant's request for a postponed start date on hardship grounds was refused for lack of supporting documentary evidence.

Original sources

• Read the decision on GOV.UK
• Tribunal document 1 (PDF)