need some advice in relation to an old landlord

real1314

DVardysShadow wrote: »

I am writing in the context of the debt being Statute Barred. If you are not thinking of some of this debt being Statute Barred or approaching being Statute Barred, then you won't follow the logic.


If LL goes to court and OP gives the statute barred defence, OP will only be ordered to pay any part of the rent relating to occupation as tenant up to 6 years old. It seems that we have rent uncollected for a period of at least 3 years and the most recent was 2 years ago. Some of this is becoming Statute barred - and given the state of affairs over the whole tenancy, I imagine that there is some statute barred debt there already.

Ok, first off, if the arrears go back 5 years then none of it is currently statute barred.

Secondly (and this is without checking but...) my understanding is that statue barring applies if there has been no attempt to enforce the debt.
The LL has now made an attempt and has demanded payment.

I think that drops the statute barring. :cool:

jjlandlord

DVardysShadow wrote: »

I am writing in the context of the debt being Statute Barred. If you are not thinking of some of this debt being Statute Barred or approaching being Statute Barred, then you won't follow the logic.

I did understand where you were getting out.
But I'm surprised that you advise OP on how to potentially getting away with not paying a debt.
LL has been inept but rent is still due, and OP seems to have been keen on avoiding paying...

If LL comes to his sense he will sue right away.

DVardysShadow wrote: »

I think it would be grossly disproportionate for the OP to be landed with a CCJ for any of this

I disagree as per above: OP seems to have delayed paying for as long as possible even when he had ample opportunity to settle the debt.

DVardysShadow

jjlandlord wrote: »

I did understand where you were getting out.
But I'm surprised that you advise OP on how to potentially getting away with not paying a debt.
LL has been inept but rent is still due, and OP seems to have been keen on avoiding paying...

If LL comes to his sense he will sue right away.



I disagree as per above: OP seems to have delayed paying for as long as possible even when he had ample opportunity to settle the debt.

I am advising OP how to do this to minimize the amount that may be taken to court. And therefore the amount which he will need to find within a month of any CCJ to avoid having that CCJ affect his credit.

Landlord has no basis to sue straight away, for one thing, it is against Civil Procedure Rules. landlord has to state a claim and go through a protocol of correspondence to make his claim with the OP before bothering a court with it.

Of course if OP is so minded he can continue to pay LL for any debt which turns out to be Statute Barred - at a pace he chooses and without the threat of a CCJ hanging over him.

Although you find the OP to be at fault - and I would not disagree, I think that the LL is also substantially at fault. If you ask yourself why there is a Statute of Limitations on debt, it is for situations such as this. The power of the Landlord to collect this debt has to be curtailed, otherwise he has undue power over the OP, essentially being able to threaten OP with CCJ's for ever, while never actually stating a claim which the OP might pay to close the matter.

jjlandlord

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Landlord has no basis to sue straight away, for one thing, it is against Civil Procedure Rules. landlord has to state a claim and go through a protocol of correspondence to make his claim with the OP before bothering a court with it.

I see that I'm not the only pedantic around.
A letter before action demanding payment within 7/14 days won't change things much.

DVardysShadow wrote: »

essentially being able to threaten OP with CCJ's for ever, while never actually stating a claim which the OP might pay to close the matter.

OP can pay all the outstanding rent, or pay upon receiving a letter before action demanding payment, or pay promptly after loosing in court. All of which will not result in a CCJ.

nick_

surely it's best for all concerned if things are settled amicably? I don't see any subsequent comments by the OP stating that he wants to get away with not paying - granted there is an obscure yes/no poll but lets ignore that for now. The LL sounds like a reasonable chap - yes he's managed things badly however surely he has a right (if not legally, then morally) to be consulted so that he can come to some sort of arrangement with the T? Just because others have reneged on the debt doesn't mean the OP should too.

The debt is there - pay it off.

leeds_damien

sandsni wrote: »

I'm just wondering, once you got his bank details, why didn't you just pay the rent into that account every month instead of letting it build up for another 3 years?

As mentioned above i was living in a house that was is disrepair, the landlord knew i was going to settle but i wanted work on the house doing 1st. I also stated it was me who did all the chasing in regards to settling the payment once i had handed in my notice on the property. the reason an invoice was requested was because it had been that long i wanted an exact settlement figure. we agreed when we met the full amount should not be paid as the house needed work doing and he was going to take that into account when coming up with the letter he should have sent to me.

leeds_damien

sandsni wrote: »

I'm just wondering, once you got his bank details, why didn't you just pay the rent into that account every month instead of letting it build up for another 3 years?

nick_ wrote: »

surely it's best for all concerned if things are settled amicably? I don't see any subsequent comments by the OP stating that he wants to get away with not paying - granted there is an obscure yes/no poll but lets ignore that for now. The LL sounds like a reasonable chap - yes he's managed things badly however surely he has a right (if not legally, then morally) to be consulted so that he can come to some sort of arrangement with the T? Just because others have reneged on the debt doesn't mean the OP should too.

The debt is there - pay it off.

I couldn't agree more.

the reason for the poll is its the 1st time i have ever used this forum and i did not know how things worked and once i put the poll on a agree it was not appropriate but could not see how to remove it.

i am not trying to shy away from the debt i just wanted to know where i stand legally. as mentioned above i never wanted to eat into his funds, i and my partner had been made redudndant and it was our only means of paying the mortgage.

I want to settle things in the best possible manor but i just wanted to know what would happen if he insisted i pay him now. the only reason he is now chasing is he now owes the tax man (he told me this on the phone) so obviously a payment plan is not going to help him in the short term.

The landlord was slack and so where we as tenants so there is equal blame to be proportioned here. i just want to know how best to approach things. Its got me worried sick. i am not sleeping as i can not be sure where it will all lead.

nrsql

If he is in trouble with the tax man it's probably pretty immediate. Also could be that your debt isn't decisive for him.

Talk to him. Explain your situation and seems like he will tell you his. If you don't have the money then you can't pay it. I suspect that any court proceedings would take too long for him - and I suspect his lack of interest would be taken into account even if he did get round to it.
You were wrong to spend the money owing but equally he was wrong to let it run.
Don't worry about it until you've had a chat and found out what the situation is. Could well be that he will settle for a reduced amount which you could lay your hands on or would be happy with whatever he can get plus installments.

Imho you were right not to pay without a statement (but should have followed it up).

jjlandlord

@leeds damien:
It's nice to read that you do not intend to shy away from the debt. However your past actions suggest that this what you in effect did as you had ample opportunity to pay it off.
Acts speak louder than words.

Sambucus_Nigra

So why didn't you just pay it into his account?