Rent arrears on a property you have moved out off.

Hiddenidenity

Long story short I moved out of a private let property a few months ago into council. When I moved there was some arrears. We came to an agreement I ended the tenancy after several problems and nothing being sorted. I think she was glad to see the back of me and me her even though we always got along.

I lived for 2 years with no cooker, hot water, problems with very bad damp, rats etc. When I very first moved in it was a vary bad state of used needles, dog mess, human mess you can imagine the rest Im sure.

I was desperate and she offered no deposit and no first months rent upfront if I undertook cleaning which I did. There was no inventory and I left the place immaculate when I moved out both the agent and landlord commented on how lovely it was.

Now back to the point rent arrears. I have offered to pay her X amount weekly until its straight with a point of if I have enough spare I will pay more she agreed NOTHING IN WRITING! Now shes threating me with court.

Does anyone have an idea of what will happen? Sorry its long thank you x

tbs624

How much did you owe and how much have you managed to clear to date?

In your situation I would *write* to the LL now. Specifically refer to the agreement that you came to and enclose a statement of how you have [edit: reduced] the debt by your weekly payments to date. Reiterate that you will continue to make the agreed regular payments, with extra payments when you can make them. Do you have receipts for payments made to date or can you show that you paid by cheque/bank transfer?

Keep a copy of your letter. Even if she does try to pursue the matter to court, it will show you in a good light if there is clear evidence that you have already been trying to clear the arrears and have been sticking to the previous verbal agreement ( you have, haven't you?)

If she won a court order for payment against you the court would give you a set period of time in which to make payment. Provided that you do clear the debt within that time no CCJ would be listed against you.

If you are struggling with debt then see a free debt counsellor so that you can get on top of things.

BitterAndTwisted

Unfortunately rent-due is rent-due, so you can't wriggle out of paying what you owe her just because the place was a filthy mess when you moved in and you cleaned it up. Unless there was a written agreement that the rent would be disregarded when you vacated in recognition of the huge amount of unpaid work you put into the property.

Bear in mind that taking someone to court is not a cheap process, so your ex-landlady could be just trying to intimidate you. If you've given a written undertaking to reduce the arrears in staged-payments, a court would most likely order you to do the same thing, depending on what your income is and how much you could afford on a weekly or monthly basis.

rentergirl

Make an offer to pay, a realistic one, and stick to it. You could politely point out eh cost of taking you to court, and all she get is what you agree together anyway. I would mention the cleaning: you should have got some rent 'holidays' for that, so raise that, but it might be too late. Do you have any pictures of the mess?

tbs624

rentergirl wrote: »

...You could politely point out eh cost of taking you to court, and all she get is what you agree together anyway.

Unnecessarily antagonistic and not likely to get the T where she needs to be.

rentergirl wrote: »

. I would mention the cleaning: you should have got some rent 'holidays' for that, so raise that, but it might be too late. Do you have any pictures of the mess?

There is no automatic right to a rent "holiday" if as a T you have agreed to take on a kacky property. However, look back at what the OP actually says

Hiddenidenity wrote: »

I was desperate and she offered no deposit and no first months rent upfront if I undertook cleaning which I did.

Seems there was a quid pro quo there, and the subsequent arrears issues are separate.

BitterAndTwisted

rentergirl wrote: »

Make an offer to pay, a realistic one, and stick to it.

We have no reason to believe that the OP has not already done that if you read their post. Like this bit: "I have offered to pay her X amount weekly until it's straight with a point of if I have enough spare I will pay more" Sounds pretty reasonable to me. If the OP hasn't put this in writing to their ex-landlord yet I would suggest that they do this now in case they do actually make good their threat about court.

susanmarie

Put your payment plan offer in writing - send it recorded, and stick to it in an easy to prove way - bank transfer would be perfect. If it is a realistic amount, and only you will know (baring in mind if you claim financial hardship if ithe landlord took you to court for eviction you would need to prove this with your income & expenses).

Hiddenidenity

I have all payments sent to her becuase I paid through my bank.

I paid her £500 on moving out and owe her £175 which I have letters stating was wrote off as "goodwill" but now Ive moved she wants it. I "could" borrow the £175 and pay her but obviously Id rather pay her £25 a week until its clear/I can afford more.

Im only asking advice as I obviously dont want it going to court and me ending up with court fees too

BitterAndTwisted

I doubt very much that she will take you to court for a mere £175. If you have a letter stating categorically that she was writing it off as a "goodwill" gesture just write back enclosing a copy of her letter to you, accept her kind offer and thank her for it. Then wait. If she then decides to persist with her claim reduce that £25 a week to a fiver. You can't afford any more than that.

Even if she does decide to take you to court it would probably cost her more than that to start proceedings. Dishonest people who go back on their word need a slap.