Market rent set at £950 pcm, below the £960 pcm proposed

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 maintained that the proposed rent of £960 pcm represented the open market rent, relying principally on recent lettings and rent reviews on the David Lloyd Way development, including a two-bedroom semi-detached house let in July 2026 at £955 pcm and a two-bedroom end-terrace let at £950 pcm, plus rent reviews on identical properties showing £960 pcm, contending the increase aligned the rent with local comparables.

Tenant’s position and arguments

The tenant contended the existing rent of £885 pcm already exceeded market rent and that the proposed £960 pcm was unjustified, citing advertised two-bedroom terraced rents in Accrington of £650 to £750 pcm and a larger three-bedroom property at about £900 pcm. He argued the landlord's evidence relied only on its own portfolio on the same development and asked for a rent at or around £885 pcm. He also requested a later start date on hardship grounds.

Tribunal reasoning and decision

The tribunal determined the market rent under section 14 of the Housing Act 1988 at £950 per calendar month, giving most weight to an actual open-market letting of a substantially identical two-bedroom end-terrace house on David Lloyd Way at £950 pcm in July 2026, while placing limited weight on the tenant's asking-rent advertisements and little weight on the landlord's portfolio rent reviews. The new rent takes effect from 11 October 2026; the tenant's request for a postponed start date on hardship grounds was refused for insufficient evidence.

Original sources

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