Andrew Fraser v Hertsmere Borough Council
Decision date: 11 May 2023
Neutral citation: [2023] UKUT 94 (LC)
Overall AI summary confidence: high
Short overview
This short overview is intended to summarise the case, issues and outcome so far as they are supported by the judgment.
AI confidence in this short overview: high
This appeal concerned the market value on 9 March 2018 of 111 Strafford Gate, a long-unoccupied, disused 1935 semi-detached house subject to a CPO, focusing on its state of disrepair and any development potential. The Tribunal accepted a comparable sale approach (preferring 63 The Walk), adjusted for plot, lack of parking and proximity to town, deducted realistic repair costs scaled from a contractor tender, and fixed value at £345,000 with a Basic Loss Payment of £25,875 plus statutory interest.
Ratio decidendi
This summary is intended to identify the ratio decidendi, meaning the legal reasons for deciding and the binding part of the decision.
AI confidence in this ratio decidendi summary: medium
When valuing a derelict house for compulsory purchase compensation under Rule 2, start from market comparables that reflect likely purchasers’ expectations, adjust for site-specific factors (size, location, disamenities such as absence of parking) and then make realistic deductions for repair works; where contractor tenders are used, apply them in full to essential structural items but scale or discount other elements to reflect the actual scope required to bring the property to the comparable standard.
Obiter dicta
This summary is intended to identify obiter dicta, meaning observations made by the way that were not necessary to deciding the case and are not binding.
AI confidence in this obiter dicta summary: medium
The Tribunal expressed that the phrase “development potential” is preferable to “hope value” where development prospects were reasonably foreseeable at the valuation date; it also warned against mechanically averaging imperfect comparables without close scrutiny and indicated that absence of parking can be quantified as a negative adjustment when comparables include parking.