Simmons & Anor, R (on the application of) v London Rent Assessment Committee

When reviewing a rent tribunal’s valuation, the court should preserve the tribunal’s role as fact finder and should substitute its own figure only where satisfied that it is the only figure a reasonable tribunal could have reached. A figure that is merely reasonable, likely or possible is insufficient.

Where corrected reasons are unintelligible or materially inconsistent with the tribunal’s valuation methodology, the proper course is ordinarily to remit the decision for redetermination. The court should avoid deciding wider points of valuation principle without a proper factual foundation.

The claimants challenged a decision of the London Rent Assessment Committee concerning rent and service charges. The committee’s decision had been corrected by a certificate of correction, but the corrected reasons appeared inconsistent with the valuation methodology and did not explain how the final figure included services.

The Administrative Court considered whether it should determine the figure itself or remit the matter to the committee, and also dealt with costs.

1. The court had power to fix the figure itself, but that power had to be exercised cautiously. The tribunal remained the fact finder, and its valuation judgment, rather than the court’s own assessment, was the relevant judgment.

2. Substitution was appropriate only if the court was satisfied that the figure it proposed was the only figure which a reasonable tribunal could have determined. It was insufficient that the figure appeared reasonable, likely or possible.

3. The committee’s corrected reasoning was unintelligible and internally inconsistent. It appeared to use a comparable which excluded services, while the final figure included services without a sensible explanation. The court therefore remitted the matter to the committee rather than quashing it.

4. The committee was required to redetermine the matter and explain whether the figure of £510 included £80 for services and, if so, why that treatment was consistent with the evidence. The court declined to impose a timetable but stated that every effort should be made to reach a redetermination promptly.

5. The interested party was ordered to pay the claimants’ costs, summarily assessed at £1,021.25 inclusive of VAT.

• London Rent Assessment Committee: determined the rent and service-charge issue and later issued a certificate of correction.
• High Court (Administrative Court): remitted the decision to the committee for redetermination and ordered costs against the interested party.