Issues with ex tenant

[Pat]

Ok first thing, is this the right section. I seem to be losing the plot

Right
Someone I know is having a serious problem with a past tenant, he left the house with damage and also 4 or 5 months rent outstanding. The bills to make good the damage are 50% more than the deposit give or take
Naturally he did not get his deposit back
The tenancy was being managed by a large regional estate agent

He managed to get a default judgement for the amount of the deposit but as the owner was living in Australia at the time and didn't know about the claim she successfully applied for a set aside. The judge then gave some time limits, the main one for the claimant to reserve the claim by last Friday, that the judge thought it suitable for mediation and then set a date for a hearing which would be expected to take about 3 hours.
The defendant (landlord) had decided that if he claimed she was going to counterclaim for the missing rent etc as well as defend

The claim did not appear on Friday and still hasn't
A letter was delivered by RM saying it was a copy of an email he (the claimant) had sent . He does not have the email address of the landlord so go only knows where he was sending the emails to.
In it he is saying
1) he does not want mediation as it is too complex
2) he is prepared to settle for a 50% return of the deposit
3) If this goes to court he thinks it will need a whole day and he will be claiming back the original 7 months rent (over 7K) as well as the deposit and damages , all in all about 10K
4) He wants to cross examine the landlord over here "fraudulent and inflated invoices for the repair work"
5) He wants all his rent back as a major factor in renting the house was a Jacuzzi/spa that was, apparently too dirty to use. my understanding on that was that the previous tenants did not use it so it stood idle for over a year and as soon as he reported it to the estate agent they got it seen to

I believe it was clearly intended to frighten the lady who is back here just sorting things out before returning to Aus where her husband is

Of course he hasn't served the claim

The lady has spent a few £100 on seeing a solicitor

I know this is currently a small claim but is there any chance she can get some of her costs back?
I have seen the letter and it seems to be written by some deranged loon

Any thoughts, advice etc . Greatly appreciated

[Undercover Elsa]

Re: Issues with ex tennant

Hi Pat, not my area, but I'm sure PlanB will be along soon to help

[PlanB]

Re: Issues with ex tennant

Have I got this right?

Tenant leaves property owing 4-5 months rent and alleged damage to the property.

Landlord withholds deposit against cost of putting right the alleged damage which would only cover half the amount it will actually cost, but nothing left of the deposit after that to cover the 4 - 5 months rent arrears owed.

Tenant issues county court claim against Landlord for return of his deposit.

Tenant (Claimant) gets default judgement because Landlord (Defendant) is in Australia and fails to file the AOC or Defence.

Landlord (Defendant) applies for a set-aside and states that if this is to continue they (Landlord) will not only file a Defence but also counterclaim for the rent arrears due and damage to property.

A date has been set for the hearing (what's the date?)

The court has recommended Mediation which the Tenant (Claimant) rejects. It takes two to mediate so that's not going to happen and it's off to court.

[PlanB]

Re: Issues with ex tennant

Ok first thing, is this the right section. I seem to be losing the plot

Nope, I'll get you relocated to the right place

[PlanB]

Re: Issues with ex tennant

The tenancy was being managed by a large regional estate agent

^^^^ This is the key thing here. If there was an agent managing the property then they were responsible for collecting the rent and sorting the repairs such as fixing the all-important Jacuzzi.

My gut feeling is the Landlord (Defendant) may stand a better chance of getting back the money owed by tackling the agent since they may have been in breach of contract (between agent and Landlord). If the Landlord lived overseas the agent would have been heavily involved since they are obliged to deduct tax from the rent and pass it on to HMRC etc.

She (Landlord) needs to check her Ts & Cs with the agent because some (most) say that the agent should take legal action against a Tenant to recover rent. They should also have inspected the property and be authorised (in the Ts & Cs) to carry out repairs and deduct the cost of them from the rent (up to a certain level).

So name names. Who is the letting agent? If they are large they will have professional indemnity insurance in place to pay any successful claim against them.

I'm making this suggestion without knowing if the ex-Tenant (Claimant) has got any money to pay even if the Landlord (Defendant) wins her counterclaim. There's never any point in suing someone if they can't pay up. Always go for the deepest pockets and letting agents with PI insurance cover have deep pockets

[Pat]

Re: Issues with ex tenant

PlanB
Thank you, as always you come through

I do not know the date of the hearing , however at the set aside hearing to which the tenant (claimant) failed to appear the judge instructed that a new claim should be filed by last Friday and also recommended mediation.
. No claim has yet been received so I am not sure if the claim is dead. The landlord (defendant) has been told to continue as per the court procedure which means se will pay her money (£450) and enter a defence to the original claim and also her counterclaim . This may mean something to others but not really to me, that is the honest truth

The agents are Bridgfords who have 90 offices in the North and Northwest . Apparently the two "girls"-could be almost any age up to about 50 , are no longer at that office although no one knows if they have moved offices or left or even"left" the company.

Part of the claimants case is that the previous tenants had an issue getting the deposit back and that the landlord did not respond to emails (on the advice of the agents) . We are talking small Cheshire village here where most of that crowd know each other and the previous tenants are still on good terms with the landlord, hope that makes sense. The local Mafia are not really keen on the claimant so there maybe a touch of an unbalanced view although I do believe the part about the damage and the cost , it would just not be cricket you know

[PlanB]

Re: Issues with ex tenant

I'm not sure I've fully understood the legal position. It sounds like the Landlord (Defendant) was successful in setting-aside the Tenant's (Claimant) claim but the DJ may have made an Order giving a time limit for the Tenant (Claimant) to revive their claim, and a time limit for the Landlord (Defendant) to file their counterclaim. I simply don't know. If that was the case and the Tenant (Claimant) failed to comply with the Order within the timescale ordered then it may be possible for ther Landlord (Defendant) to get the claim struck out.

However, that letter written by the "deranged loon" (Tenant) appears to be an offer to settle which shouldn't be ignored. It's bound to say that they (Tenant) have a strong case and that in their view the Landlord has a weak case because that's how negotiations under pressure work.

If the Order for the Landlord (Defendant) to pay the Tenant (Claimant) the full deposit was set-aside then as it stands the Landlord (Defendant) doesn't owe the Tenant (Claimant) a penny. So the Tenant (Claimant) is saying that they will settle for being reimbursed only 50% of the deposit in F & F.

It's hard to comment without knowing the sums involved. How much are the rent arrears? How much is the alleged damage going to cost to fix? How much is the deposit being withheld?

If this is in the small claims court as you say, there is no way your friend will get back her solicitor's costs unless there is a 'conduct' issue.

[PlanB]

Re: Issues with ex tenant

The agents are Bridgfords who have 90 offices in the North and Northwest

The good news is Bridgfords are a big agency and part of the Countrywide group. They are members of the Property Ombudsman scheme. She should make a complaint to them over poor service levels and breach of contract. That way she may be able to recover some of her losses. She will need the original contract she signed with them etc. If she chose the full management service then these are the promises they should have fulfilled:

http://www.bridgfords.co.uk/landlords/letting-agents/

Her first stop would be to contact Bridgfords for a copy of their Complaints Procedure. Then make a formal complaint asking for them to pay her compensation for her losses (failed rent collection, lack of care of the property, her legal costs etc etc). If/when that fails she can refer her complaint to the TPO:

http://www.tpos.co.uk/make_complaint_rents.htm

[Pat]

Re: Issues with ex tenant

Right
This is my understanding

Deposit was £1100
Costs of making good £1600 approx.

Rent I believe £1100 pcm and the tenant paid 7 months up front on a 12 month AST. He did not pay anymore rent after that and Bridgefords did not seek to end the tenancy. He left at the end of month 11 so depending on your point of view the rent owed is either £4400 or £5500

The letters are a mix of threats such as " I need a full day to cross examine you in court" and if you don't accept the offer I will go for everything including the rent. He has also said do not bother to respond and if you do don't waste your money on signed for.He has also said he wants his expert witness to look at the boiler . I have suggested to her that she must be able to track the letter or otherwise it would be quite easy for him to claim no response .

I know the lady is an absolute bag of nerves , her husband is the other side of the world and she has a grown up daughter who is lovely but has certain care needs(she seems very innocent ).

[PlanB]

Re: Issues with ex tenant

Deposit was £1100
Costs of making good £1600 approx.

Rent I believe £1100 pcm and the tenant paid 7 months up front on a 12 month AST. He did not pay anymore rent after that.

The Tenant undeniably owes her 5,500 rent. He signed a legally binding contract to pay 1,100 per month for 12 months. He only paid 7 months. So what if he walked out early. It wouldn't matter if he never even moved in. A contract is a contract.

She should make a claim (or counterclaim if those proceedings the Tenant issued are still live but I'll need more info on that) for 5,500 rent arrears and 1,600 damage to the property.

The Tenant is likely to counterclaim for the 1,100 deposit and also file a Defence stating reasons why the Tenant thinks that she (Landlord) has breached the terms of his tenancy agreement so he shouldn't have to pay the rent. Saying "the jacuzzi malfunctioned" is unlikely to lead to the court writing off 5,500 of rent arrears. And even if a DJ made such a loopy decision it wouldn't affect her (Landlord) claim for 1,600 of damage caused by the Tenant.

How long ago did the tenancy agreement end?

Was the deposit placed in a Government approved scheme?

If so why didn't the Tenant raise a dispute through the scheme?

If the Landlord didn't place the deposit in a scheme then the court may be less sympathetic in attitude towards her, but they will still have to deal with the evidence without bias. If she's got the inventory check-in and check-out to prove the 1,600 damage she should be ok.

[Pat]

Re: Issues with ex tenant

Hello PlanB
I have passed all your comments on . As far as I know the whole tenancy was above board with the deposit protected etc. Without talking to the guy I have no idea why he didn't raise a dispute through the scheme, he may have done. I think it has taken something like 6 months for the house to be sorted . It has now been sold .
The tenant even stated that he was in touch with the previous tenants who were siding with him and going to appear on his behalf. It seems that was all BS , in fact the previous tenant denied this the case . I also know her from the local pub quiz , it really is a small village where people of a certain group know all about everyone