A company landlord let a ground-floor studio in Southampton at £874.50 a month. In March 2026 it served notice proposing £975. The tenant referred it to the tribunal, pointing out that the studio has no separate sleeping area and sits next to the main entrance, post room and lift. Similar studios nearby were advertised at £800 and £850, and the landlord's own letting agent was marketing one-bedroom flats in the same building at £925 to £950.
The landlord did not respond. Working from the tenant's evidence and its own knowledge of the area, the tribunal set the rent at £850 a month, £24.50 below the existing rent, with effect from 12 April 2026, the date in the notice.
The cut is small, but the lessons are not. The notice asked more for a studio than the landlord's own agent was asking for a one-bedroom flat in the same building, and nobody defended it. Because this notice was served before 1 May 2026, the new rent could start from the date in the notice. Under the Renters' Rights Act it would only start from the date of the tribunal's decision. Either way, a landlord who does not respond leaves the tribunal with only the tenant's evidence.
What the tribunal relied on
- Studios nearby were advertised at £800 and £850 a month.
- The flat has no separate sleeping area and sits next to the main entrance, post room and lift.
- The landlord's own agent was advertising one-bedroom flats in the same building at £925 to £950.
- The landlord did not respond to the tribunal.