[2023] UKUT 214 (LC)

In making his claim for compensation of £35,000, the claimant relied on a letter dated 1 September 2021, written by Mr Tony Cathro of Fenn Wright, estate agents based in Manningtree, Essex. The claimant explained that Mr Cathro had over 30 years’ experience of selling residential property in the area and was the contracted selling agent for the new houses in Stour View, so there could be no-one better informed on property values in Brantham. Mr Cathro’s single page letter was an appraisal of the property, of the type made in anticipation of an instruction to sell, although the claimant understood it to be a valuation. In the letter Mr Cathro stated:

“I believe that if the property were offered for sale in the current market it would be possible to attract interest in the region of £375,000 (three hundred and seventy five thousand pounds). However, if the property still backed on to open land without the intrusion of the road or street lights directly behind the property I would expect it to achieve in the region of £410,000 (four hundred and ten thousand pounds), subject to contract.”

At the case management hearing I explained to the claimant the limitations of the letter as evidence, but he confirmed that he did not wish to instruct an expert to produce a report. He was therefore given 21 days to produce a schedule of comparable sales data from the calendar year of 2021 which he wished the Tribunal to take into consideration. The respondent’s expert report was to be submitted 21 days later, taking into account the claimant’s evidence of sales.

The claimant provided details, extracted from rightmove.co.uk, of 13 sales in 2021 of four bedroom detached houses in the locality, which included sales in the nearby villages of East Bergholt, Capel St Mary and Stutton . He also provided details of the sale in May 2022 of 9 Hardy Close, which had been on the market since the spring of 2021. It is situated against a raised and busy road, and the claimant compared its sale price with that of 10 and 26 Hardy Close, which were both four bedroom detached houses sold in 2021, although not included in his original selection from Rightmove. A total of 16 property sales were therefore in evidence.

The respondent had outsourced its property services to Concertus Design and Property Consultants, who instructed Mr Roger Moore BSc BA(Hons) MRICS of Lambert Smith Hampton (“LSH”) to prepare an exert report on the compensation due to the claimant. Mr Moore is a director in the compulsory purchase team at LSH, with over 35 years’ experience in dealing with compulsory purchase and property valuation. He had previously been in negotiations with the claimant over this matter on behalf of Concertus, but had informed them of his duty to the Tribunal and his report complied with the requirements of the RICS set out in the 4^th edition of the RICS Practice Statement and Guidance Note “Surveyors acting as expert witnesses”. Mr Moore produced a helpful spreadsheet and location plan of sales evidence, which included 14 of the sales referred to by the claimant, but not 9 or 26 Hardy Close.