RLA : RPI : Void calculation held to be void

News from the Residential Property Investor, the bi-monthly magazine for RLA members

other artilces from the August / September 2001 issue

Void calculation held to be void - August / September 2001

Undeterred by its recent loss before the House of Lords when contesting the legality of a cap on regulated rent increases, Spath Holme has won another victory in its campaign for lawful administration of the fair rents legislation.

This time the landlord, where Manchester solicitor Paul Willan is principal, had challenged the North Western Rent Assessment Committee over its determination of a fair rent.

The case concerned a tenant of Spath Holme who had moved from one of its flats to another that had been held under a regulated tenancy. No fair rent was registered at that time, but 10 years later, in 2000, tenant and landlord made a joint application to have the rent registered. At that time it stood at £950 per quarter and the landlord was seeking a rent of £998 per quarter.

When the determination eventually reached assessment committee it substantially reduced the figure on two grounds: that capping applied to the previously registered rent and also that the market rent should be determined by comparison with other rents charged in the block and adjustment should be made for 'void periods'. As some other flats had been empty for more than a month, this should be factored into the calculation.

The Queen's Bench Division backed the assessment committee on capping, saying the oversight of non-registration could have been noticed before. But it agreed with Spath Holme that there should be no adjustment for 'voids' in arriving at the fair rent. The committee was wrong to have made the deductions that it did.

other artilces from the August / September 2001 issue