Cost of damage exceeds desposit

BlueBlond

Hi, I'd like to hear from any landlords who took their tenants to court for damage of the property.

The dispute resolution service can only adjudicate on the amount of the deposit but our tenants have caused significantly more damage than that.

What kind of court did you go to? How much does an intial 'letter before action' from a solicitor cost, what were your total costs? Are landlord's costs ever covered by the tenant?

Do you need a lawyer to do it all for you, or is it possible to fight the case yourself with some legal advice (our insurance does give us access to a legal helpline)?

We have attempted to reasonably negotiate with one of the two tenants and offered lots of concessions but it got us nowhere. The other tenant is missing but we are confident we'll locate him soon. Both are in full-time employment.

Thank you.

HappyMJ

It'll be a civil claim. Moneyclaim online or county court. Costs can be high if you aren't successful. You need to weigh up the risk. You do it yourself you don't need a lawyer.

Benji

I disargee with MJ about the costs - they start at £50 all in, and you would normally have that added to the amount the tenant owes you if you win.

Of course, if the tenant has no money/assets, you'll not get anything no matter what the judge orders.

This may be useful...
http://tenancyanswers.ucoz.com/index/court_information/0-53

SouthCoast

Information on The Small Claims Court:

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/your_rights/legal_system/small_claims.htm

But you may be throwing good money after bad.

tbs624

BlueBlond wrote: »

Hi, I'd like to hear from any landlords who took their tenants to court for damage of the property.

The dispute resolution service can only adjudicate on the amount of the deposit but our tenants have caused significantly more damage than that.

Are you able to give a figure?

Did you have a good inventory drawn up at the start of the tenancy, signed by both you and your Ts?

BlueBlond wrote: »

What kind of court did you go to?

If your claim is for less than 5K, you would use the County Court's small claims track.

BlueBlond wrote: »

How much does an intial 'letter before action' from a solicitor cost,

You need to be able to show that you have attempted resolve before heading to court and this is the purpose of that LBA - it does not however *have* to be drawn up by a solicitor. You need to clearly set out the basis of your request for recompense and state that if you do not hear from them/receive payment within say 10 working days you intend to proceed to court. If you wish to use a solicitor check with the local Law Soc that they are an experienced LL&T lawyer, and ask for a Fixed Fee

BlueBlond wrote: »

what were your total costs? Are landlord's costs ever covered by the tenant?

If you won your case you can apply to have your small claims court fee paid by the T.
Note that, as benji says, even if you get a judgement you still have to get that judgement enforced. Check out the court services webpages See here for County Courts Forms

BlueBlond wrote: »

Do you need a lawyer to do it all for you, or is it possible to fight the case yourself with some legal advice (our insurance does give us access to a legal helpline)?

You can do it yourself and it is straightforward enough if you are methodical with your preparation paperwork. Are you a member of a LL association - they too have a legal helpline and can effectively "hold your hand" through the process.

BlueBlond wrote: »

We have attempted to reasonably negotiate with one of the two tenants and offered lots of concessions but it got us nowhere. The other tenant is missing but we are confident we'll locate him soon. Both are in full-time employment.

Have you kept copies of all correspondence, dates of phone calls etc? There are tracing services which offer a "no find, no fee" service. As the former Ts are in employment, see "attachment of earnings" in court guidance if you get a CCJ and they fail to pay.

If you are reletting the property you may want to beef up your tenant vetting process.

BlueBlond

Thank you for all the help. The damage is approaching £3k, haven't completely costed it all yet, the deposit was nearly two thirds of that. Following Benji's link it looks as though it will be a fast track case rather than small claims?

We certainly won't be using the same letting agent again. They lost us £300 just by not putting what we asked to be put into the claim before the 10 day negotiation prior to it being referred to the Dispute Resolution Service. They also failed to tell us that one tenant had moved out and been replaced by someone we'd never heard of!

We'll look into joining the LL association, thanks for that. We've kept correspondance, including a without prejudice offer we made for just over half the cost of damages (it was rejected). We had an independant inventory with photos but there was things they missed.

If we go through the dispute resolution process and aren't happy with the outcome can we go to court after that and claim for the full amount (not just the deposit amount)?

Thanks all.

tbs624

BlueBlond wrote: »

If we go through the dispute resolution process and aren't happy with the outcome can we go to court after that and claim for the full amount (not just the deposit amount)?

Thanks all.

You have to choose to use *either* the scheme's arbitration services *or* the courts. Note that your inventory is what will be used to ascertain the starting condition of the property: if your IC was inaccurate it will weaken your case.

Get the property re-let asap ( via a new LA or self managing the let) , then sort the deposit issue and then tackle the LA: if they are signed up to ARLA, NALS,NAEA etc they are obliged to comply with a code of conduct. You can also post a review at https://www.allagents.co.uk

You may it useful to look at LandlordLaw, run by specialist LL& T solicitor Tessa Shepperson.

Benji

BlueBlond wrote: »

Thank you for all the help. The damage is approaching £3k, haven't completely costed it all yet, the deposit was less than a third of that. Following Benji's link it looks as though it will be a fast track case rather than small claims?

Okay, I am confused. That is a page I have just written and so it hasn't stood the test of time - what bit of it suggests you will be on fast track? From the info you have provided so far, I agree with the other posters that is would almost certainly be 'small claims'.

Please let me know - as I would be anxious to change the page if it is even slightly unclear.

G_M

Benji wrote: »

Okay, I am confused. That is a page I have just written and so it hasn't stood the test of time - what bit of it suggests you will be on fast track? From the info you have provided so far, I agree with the other posters that is would almost certainly be 'small claims'.

Please let me know - as I would be anxious to change the page if it is even slightly unclear.

I supect the following, since the OP wishes to claim more than £1000:

"
Tenants should note that the following would NOT be allocated to the small claims track:

• Claims for deposit repayment which include a claim under section 214 of the 2004 Housing Act
• Monetary claims which include a claim for disrepair of over £1000

BlueBlond

Yes, it's that it's over £1000.

I think the initial inventory was good, it's the check-out that wasn't (different person). We have moved back in ourselves and will focus on the desposit first. The Association of Professional Inventory Providers have offered to investigate but we need to attempt to resolve the issues of the missed damaged with the inventory people themselves first.

What a mess! We could end up with three different cases, it's really put me off renting it out again though I suppose we'll be more clued up next time.

may_fair

BlueBlond wrote: »

Yes, it's that it's over £1000.

The 'disrepair' limit is when a T claims against a LL for disrepair, e.g. compensation for the boiler not working for six months.

It does not apply to a LL claiming against a T for losses caused by T damaging the property.