RAC/0037/02/23: Graigina Farmhouse, Llanybydder – Jurisdiction Decision
| Judgement Number | RAC/0037/02/23 |
| Year | 2023 |
| Date | 20 June 2023 |
| Court | Rent Assessment Committees |
| Subject Matter | Rent Increase |
| Applied Rules | Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 |
Y TRIBIWNLYS EIDDO PRESWYL
RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY TRIBUNAL
Reference: RAC/0037/02/23
In the Matter of Graigina Farmhouse, Llanybydder, SA40 9RP
In the matter of an application under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 &
The Renting Homes (Rent Determination) (Converted Contracts) (Wales) Regulations 2022
APPLICANTS Karen Victoria Whiteland
RESPONDENT Christopher Mooney
DECISION ON JURISDICTION.
UPON the matter being considered by a Tribunal Judge, it is ordered that;
The tribunal lacks the jurisdiction to deal with the purported rent increase as no valid or
effective notice has been given in accordance with the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 and
there is accordingly no valid application before the tribunal.
Reasons for decision.
Background.
1. By letter dated the 20 February 2023, Messrs Llys Cennen, the solicitors for the
applicant Victoria Whiteland, wrote to the tribunal enclosing form RAC1, which is the
application form to be used by a tenant referring to the tribunal a notice proposing a
new rent under section 13(4) Housing Act 1988. Included with the solicitor’s letter was
form number 4D, a form prescribed for the purposes of section 13(2) of the 1988 Act
headed “Landlord’s notice proposing a new rent under an assured periodic tenancy of
premises situated in Wales.” This notice was dated 28 January 2023 and was signed
by the respondent landlord Mr Mooney. It proposed a new rent of £250 per week in
place of the existing weekly rent of £25, to start on 27 February 2023.
2. The applicant’s solicitors also provided a copy of a judgement in the Court of Appeal
dated 1 February 2023 between the same parties, later reported under the reference
[2023] EWCA Civ 67. The Court of Appeal dealt with an earlier attempt by Mr Mooney
to increase the rent when he served a notice under the Housing Act 1988 on 29
October 2018 proposing an increase of rent from £25 per week to £100 per week. The
validity of that notice was challenged and the Court of Appeal, Males LJ at paragraph
46, held that the rent assessment committee does not have jurisdiction to determine
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