What's the worst that can happen now?

clutton_2

the courts have not yet ruled on the legality of bank charges - and many of the terms in an AST that tenants hate are merely Reccommended unfair terms - not actually illegal terms.

guppy

clutton wrote: »

the courts have not yet ruled on the legality of bank charges - and many of the terms in an AST that tenants hate are merely Reccommended unfair terms - not actually illegal terms.

Agree regarding bank charges, I mentioned them as its the same principle and its something most people can relate too

I don't know much about unfair terms in ASTs generally, but the law is quite clear about penalty charges.

You can't charge someone a penalty simply for breaking a contract - the amount they have to pay under such a clause has to bear some resemblance to the innocent party's actual loss.

The Act is intended to prevent people from profiting from such contracts. Only where the claimant has made a genuine effort to estimate their loss will such a clause be allowed.

In respect of an automatic charge of £55 for being late with the rent, I can't see how this can be seen as anything other than a penalty charge. Its just a figure someone has pulled out of their bottom to try and teach the late payer a lesson and make a bit of profit.

Rabiddog_2

But, on reading this, LL could pursue you for one months unpaid rent plus costs and also keep the deposit, as you obviously left without the normal formality's. Doing a runner puts you in the wrong, legally. And of course, no previous LL refs for next rental.

The worst that could happen now, is that he is a secret believer in BaAL, and will call in a horde of deadly flying monkeys to pull the very flesh and marrow from your feebly twitching body

clutton_2

guppy says ""£55 for being late with the rent, I can't see how this can be seen as anything other than a penalty charge. Its just a figure someone has pulled out of their bottom to try and teach the late payer a lesson and make a bit of profit"

as a LL i have to check my bank accounts regularly to see that my rents are received.

if they are not - i need to write to the tenant to send a statement of arrears and to ask when the funds will be forthcoming.

those letters never get answered. i then have to phone up - i may or may not get ot talk to them.

i then have to write again.

Letters HAVE to be written to prove to a court that i had attempted to collect the rent (especially if i am applying for a Section 8 eviction)

i dont think £55 is that bad ........

After all - the tenant is not complying with their agreement and i have suffered a loss of both funds (rent) and my time.

The courts allow interest to be added onto late payments in any case.

guppy

I don't doubt you Clutton and if it goes that far you can reclaim your reasonable costs. I realise you must have to deal with a lot of timewasters.

Personally, I think £55 is too high, especially if the rent is forthcoming within a few days. To me that amount is profit making, especially where there are the economies of scale that a letting agent enjoys.

I may be wrong though, and so long as the person imposing the charge has made a genuine effort to assess their costs, it might stand up in court.

IMO the best thing to do is simply charge interest by the day (and ensure this is specified in the lease).

clutton_2

if you take someone to court for debt - the courts allow 4% above Bank Base Rate interest to be claimed on top of the actual debt. i think this is meant to cover loss of interest on the outstanding money. This interest amounts to a trifling amount at the end of the day if you claim it on a couple of months rent.

How much per hour would you value your time at when writing letters and phone calls etc

i am running a business when all said and done - and it is the tenant who has reneged on their agreement - not me.


" Personally, I think £55 is too high, especially if the rent is forthcoming within a few days""

i agree - if it is only for a few days

but - sadly - once a tenant realises that you "dont make a fuss" - a " few days" is often the beginning of the long tricky road to the small claims court.

top_drawer_2

Rabiddog wrote: »

But, on reading this, LL could pursue you for one months unpaid rent plus costs and also keep the deposit, as you obviously left without the normal formality's. Doing a runner puts you in the wrong, legally. And of course, no previous LL refs for next rental.

The worst that could happen now, is that he is a secret believer in BaAL, and will call in a horde of deadly flying monkeys to pull the very flesh and marrow from your feebly twitching body

No, he knew I was leaving ... but later in the month... when it started to dawn that he was a lippy character (due to another incident with him) then I decided to move sooner and cut my losses. Its a difference of days between the date I was supposed to move and the date I did.

I would NEVER in a million years ask for a reference from soneone who is the sole reason for me havingto move (leaves his paying tenants living with a dodgy boiler and electricity while he lives in luxury).

Jen

top_drawer_2

hi,

This afternoon my ex-landlord rang and left a message on my voice mail saying that ALL my rent payments had been late while I had been living at the house. This is complete rubbish as I always spoke to him regarding rent payments as I had loads of problems with getting my wages from an ex-employer and variety of other hassles and he always said it was fine (I always gave a timescale usually a few days til I could use my OD again.

However, on the contract it says the rent is due on the date you move in ... and ive no "proof" that we had verbal aggreements or else there's a £25 charge. Now up until I gave notice there was no problem ....

He claimed it adds up to £250 (not sure how he's calculated that as I only lived there 5 month, but his maths was always rubbish) and he is taking me to court!! As far as I know he doesnt know my address and ive not seen him (we live in the same area).Can he do this and is it likely to be successful, what can I do?

Please dont be too harsh, its not a situation I enjoy being in and I am working on getting out of these sort of things but old stuff just keeps coming back.

Jen

Imp

Time to send the forms off to the court about the tds. Go to landlordzone and search the forum there for advice on the correct form to use and wording.

top_drawer_2

I wrote to each of the tenency schemes and only got a letter back from one saying they had no record of anything with them.... I guess I will have to write to the others again. On the phone he said See ya in court next week... can he really arrange it all that soon?!?!