ex tenant taking us to small claims court for re fund of rent

[suziesuze]

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[Melboy]

Anyone can take you to Court but winning their case might be a different matter. You will present your side of the matter with all the evidence you have to the presiding Judge who will determine if you have a case to answer.

If your case and argument are as strong as you say it is after you have presented your evidence then it is unlikely your ex- tenant will win the judgement. Keep your cool and present it without emotion and just the facts.

The chances are they won't even turn up.

I hope you protected the bond money in a registered deposit bond scheme because if you didn't then it will cost you a lot of money in compensation to the tenant.

[Mortitia]

Susie - he won't get 8 % interest that is for sure! Be calm and answer a few questions.

What court is he using - money claim online or the county court where you live?

What is the actual wording on the claim form (in brief).

Did you protect his deposit? When did the tenancy start and how long was it for?

[Grampa]

If it is down to rent owed or not that should be black or white. If he left before the end of the fixed term of the tenancy he has to pay to the end or until another tenant was found.

If the tenant left when the tenancy was periodic (month to month) he has to give one months notice.

What ever the council paid or didn't pay has no bearing on the situation and don't even mention in court (other than the amount they paid) unless brought up.

It is down to the tenancy agreement and if the council stopped paying it doesn't matter he still has to fulfil the obligations of the AST.

Make sure you have a very clear simple spreadsheet showing payments made and owed for the court on the day of the hearing as judges don't like to have to work scriblings on the back of a fag packet.

If you join https://www.landlordsguild.com/ and speak to Adrian who runs it he will help you out with all the court papers and defence and you will also have a years membership as well. Give him a call and speak to him before joining.

[Carryon Regardless]

So far I don't see a claim, althouhg yur postt is very confuusing.

I only see the threat of a claim, so really hot air.

Last year I had similar, after writing a couple of letters in response I realised that should the ex T claim it was an ideal opportunity for me to counter claim and they would be putting up the claim fees. So far I have been disappointed that there is no claim.

As above,

was the deposit protected in an approved scheme ? That one could leave you at risk of paying out.

Organise a statement of account for the tenancy to demonstrate monies due and monies paid and when. The resultant balance, demonstrable where possible, would be the answer fora judge.

For a counter claim of other costs you would need to demonstrate out of pocket expences.

Accusing your ex T of being Ghenghis Khan is just emotion and won't interest a judge.

[suziesuze]

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[Grampa]

Keep it simple.

Tenant moved in on xx, tenant moved out on yy but was liable up to zz.

Rent is £xxx pcm. xx to zz = aa months which equals to £xxxx. Don't confused things about rent advance all that matters is how long he was there against much he paid and/or you received.

[suziesuze]

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[Grampa]

If its not in writing I doubt a judge will take any notice then.

Are you the landlord or agent?

[Melboy]

No independent witness to the conversation nor anything in writing?

Just a case of "he said-- she said" which holds no guarantee of any success in a court of law.

[suziesuze]

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[Mortitia]

Speaking from experience 'the court' which will just be you, her and the judge will not be interested in your failure to check this ex tenant out thoroughly. The judge will soon tell you this in no uncertain terms. All the judge is interested in is what is on the court papers. What is on the court papers? What is the claim?

At what point did you ask about her sons criminal record before the tenancy started? All this is piffle irrelevant to the case. The case is that she is claiming rent money from you so stay focused on that.

If you are going to counter claim start do so now in the one case as the documents will be suggesting to you.

[Carryon Regardless]

I'm with Mortitia in that the Judge won't be sympathetic to you concerning the criminal past.

I'm not sure that we as LL's are even entitled to the information. Although my application forms do ask for such history and has even been volunteered. Then there are those that maybe don't progress an application due to the question.

However it won't do you any harm when counterclaiming to mention that the tenancy wouldn't have commenced had the criminal history been divulged. How you are aware that the criminal behavior continues may be questionable but to mention that this demonstrates good reason for you being given opportunity to reject an application on these grounds could be worthwhile.

We are told that spent convictions should be ignored in life anyway but to validate asking for criminal history is to say that property insurance is of great importance for mortgage compliance so such knowledge is important.

All of this can 'only' help in trying to show the type of attitude the 'claimant' may have to life.

Have you created a statement of account yet? That should demonstrate the financial facts that matter.

[suziesuze]

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