need some legal advice on verbal contracts

crispess

Don't know if anyone out there can help. I rent a garage in a block, I have no contract I was just handed a key to it. Unfortunately I fell behind with the rent. The landlord sent a letter to me saying he was going to empty it and I was to return the key. Prior to this he came around and my 15 year old daughter answered the door and he put his face very close to hers whilst he asked her to tell me to ring him regarding the outstanding rent. I have emptied the garage but I cannot afford to send the outstanding rent to him as yet. I have today received a letter from a debt collecting company threatening a ccj if the money is not with him in 7 days. Also threatening to take goods from my home, is he able to do this lawfully. please help

Andy_L

Verbal contracts are as legally binding as written ones.
If he takes you to court he would have to prove the existence of the rental contract eg you paying him by cheque/bank transfer rather than cash or witnesses to the verbal agreement, photos/witnesses of you using the garage etc. If the Court rules in his favour then he can, ultimately, send the bailiffs in to take posession of your goods.

sarahg1969

But the debt collectors are probably trying to scare you by threatening to take your goods now. They cannot do this.

Bailiffs can only enter your home if the other person obtains a judgment against you, and if you then fail to pay that judgment debt.

cabbage

In order to take you to court he has to show he has tried to get his money back/negotiated. There are things called pre action protocols. He must give you a reasonable amount of time to pay or tried to negotiate. From what you say he might not have done this.

Many people threaten court action but never go through with it.

IF he is successful in court, he will need to submit an application to enforce it which is an additional cost. At this point he could instruct bailiffs or apply for an attachment to earnings.

As you don't dispute you owe him the rent, why not write to him offering payment by instalment either direct debit or standing order. Keep a copy of the letter and hand deliver or send via recorded delivery.

Threatening your daughter is not on at all.

I would read the info on hmcourtservice. gov http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/infoabout/claims/index.htm on their small claims procedure. Read the leaflet about what you should do before taking court action aimed at people who are owed money which shows what the landlord should have done before resorting to court action. There are loads of info on there for people in your situation (ie you owe the money) too.

The OP is correct, a contract does not have to be written to be valid. He provided something and you paid for it, therefore a contract exists just as much as you signing something.

Hailz86

can he prove that you were using this garage? That may buy you more time to pay xx

Crazy_Jamie

cabbage wrote: »

In order to take you to court he has to show he has tried to get his money back/negotiated. There are things called pre action protocols. He must give you a reasonable amount of time to pay or tried to negotiate. From what you say he might not have done this.

There is no pre action protocol for this scenario. The protocol for possession based on rent arrears only applies to residential properties. This garage, from what the OP has said, is not a residential property. What is expected in these scenarios is just broad compliance with the Overriding Objective, which in any event makes litigation a last resort. Click here for what the court expects as broad pre action behaviour from the parties (starts at paragraph 4.1).

I don't mean to be picky about this. Of course you general point about pre action protocols is correct. I just don't want the OP to go gung ho with the landlord and point out that he hasn't complied with the relevant pre action protocol, when technically none exists here. There is pre action conduct expected from the parties outlined in the above link though, and steps should be taken to try to negotiate with the landlord at this point. If he refuses it won't necessarily result in him losing a court case, but it will work against him.

Many people threaten court action but never go through with it.

This is a good point. But even if he intends to go through with it, it won't happen in anywhere close to seven days like the letter demands. That is just a bluff.

As you don't dispute you owe him the rent, why not write to him offering payment by instalment either direct debit or standing order. Keep a copy of the letter and hand deliver or send via recorded delivery.

Good advice. Litigation is always seen as a last resort, even by the courts. If there are avenues to sort this out without going to court, use them. You are only likely to become liable for extra costs if this goes to court anyway.

can he prove that you were using this garage? That may buy you more time to pay xx

Realistically it won't give him more time for anything, because unless he is prepared to stand up in court and lie (not advisable) then it will come out very quickly and easily that he used the garage. In any event if a contract exists (verbal or not) the OP doesn't actually have to use the garage to be liable for the rent. The burden of proof is on the landlord, but in this instance the OP freely admits that an agreement existed, so I don't see that burden being difficult to discharge.

One further piece of advice that I would give is to make it clear to the landlord that you want to now end the agreement to rent out the garage. You don't want to incur further charges whilst it's empty.

crispess

Thanks for everyone that took the time to answer my problem. Would any of you know offhand whether or not if you have a verbal contract with someone if it is legal to involve a debt recovery agency to retrieve monies owed. I have heard it is not legal to do this.

Crazy_Jamie

I don't have any direct knowledge on it, so I may be wrong, but I can't see how or why it would be illegal to instruct a debt recovery agency in recovering monies owed through a verbal contract.