Landlord has changed the lock

Zorz_2

MoonDragon wrote: »

I have found this link, http://www.communitylegalaid.org/library/housing/131-How-to-File-an-Answer-and-Counterclaim , but the process seems a bit complex (but obviously I do not have any choice).

Warning!

The address at the footer of the page says Akron, Ohio. That's in the USA, so the contents of the page are completely irrelevant to your case.

GDB2222

Moondragon, do you fully understand the difference between a defence and a counter-claim?

MoonDragon

GDB2222 wrote: »

Moondragon, do you fully understand the difference between a defence and a counter-claim?

Please give me the difference....http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_6534791_file-counter_claim-eviction.html

MoonDragon

Zorz wrote: »

Warning!

The address at the footer of the page says Akron, Ohio. That's in the USA, so the contents of the page are completely irrelevant to your case.

Thanks.

I have found uk page related to counterclaim equally : http://www.landlordsolicitor.com/blog/counterclaim-to-a-possession-claim/

What Should a Landlord do on Receipt of a Counter-Claim from a Tenant?
Mr Lau prepared his own section 8 notice as his tenant had been made unemployed and was no longer able to pay rent. However, upon expiry of his notice Mr Lau’s tenant had not made payment for any rent arrears, nor had she vacated the property. Therefore, Mr Lau filed his own court proceedings, submitting a possession claim.
Next his tenant then sought Legal Aid and upon Mr Lau received a Defence and Counterclaim prepared by his tenant’s lawyers. This Defence and Counterclaim raised many issues; mainly that the property contained disrepair and therefore the tenant looked to claim compensation from the Landlord of £4,000.

In my case, the main issue is not the property disrepair but the breach of the covenant for quiet enjoyment. I remember there were numerous cockroachs in the property for months due to one tenant (who is his business partner) since this last was making the property inhabitable in goal to make me move.

MoonDragon

Hello, I really need help for the questions below:

1.- Should I make an application for disclosure of the date of rent arrears?
2.- Do I have to make my counterclaim in my defense form? There is a small field in the defense form for this puropse : since it will not be enough can I add some sheet paper for further information?
3.- Or should I make a separate application for my counterclaim and the copy of this last to my defense claim?
4.- Am I under obligation to send a draft of my counterclaim to the other side?
5.- Should I fill from now a n244 form against possession?

G_M

Please note I am not a solicitor, nor an expert. It is a long time since I've been to court, and then it was on the other side (as a landlord).

1) You have not yet stated finally whether the landlord gave you a S8 Notice. Please confirm (as you have a good defence against a S21).(Edit: just seen - yes, S8)

2) what exactly is the landlord claiming? Possession? Rent? Both? Other costs?

3) You have 14 days to respond from the date the claim is served. This is assumed to be 2 days after the court posted it. 1st Feb + 2 days = 3rd Feb + 14 days = 17th Feb. You MUST respond by this date, but see 4 below.

4) You can file an 'Acknowledgement of Service' form (to say "yes, I received it") and request 28 days to respond. This gives you more time.

5) You can choose to admit the claim, pay the money/leave the property, and end the case.

6) you can choose to make an offer - eg offer part of the money - the LL can accept or reject this

7) you can enter a defence. You should submit copies of any evidence. This should include:
* the tenancy agreement showing the rent you agreed to pay (£260)
* A list (spreadsheet?) of all payments you have made month by month (including any over payments eg the £40 extra), with a total amount for what you owed on the date the LL made the claim, AND a total for today
* bank statements/receipts/etc showing the payments above

8) you can make a counter-claim, as well as a defence. (Form N9D ?) You need to decide what you are claiming for, how much, and what evidence you have. You will need to pay a fee to make a counter claim. You can use the space on the form plus a seperate sheet of paper if you need more space.

Your counterclaim could be either:
* a fixed amount the LL owes you
* the fixed penalty for not registering the deposit (3 x £deposit)
* property disrepair, with an estimate of the cost of repairs
* breach of quiet enjoyment, with an amount claimed as compensation

You do NOT send the counter-claim to the other side - the court will do this. (but you could choose to discuss your counter-claim with them if you want to reach a compromise outside court)

9) the court officials can advise you which form to use, how to fill it in, but can NOT give legal advice or tell you what words to write. The can also tell you what fees you have to pay eg to enter a counter-claim.


* This may help you understand the process
* or this may help understand the process.
* or this

Off to bed now......

MoonDragon

2) The landlord is claiming both rent arrears (without stating the dates or period) + £100 for the court fee.
4) I have sent an email to the county to acknowledge reception their letter dated 1st february 2013 on 06 february 2013 (1st february 2013 was a friday). However, since in the 'notes to defendant' they said 'You should : fill in the attached defence form and return it to the court within 14 days of receiving the claim form', I have stated in the mail that I will my defense form by 20 february 2013. I think there is a fee for any delay. More time will really help since my bank request 10 days for reception of confirmation of payment I have done to my landlord through my bank account. Is it too late to request the 28 days to respond (a new email to the county court for this purpose)?
7) Due to my present situation (health, finance and safety) I do not have other choice than to make a defense.
In addition to the documents listed and my bank statements or confirmation by my bank of list of payments I have made to my landlord, I will add copies of email where he was theating me to remove my belongings. The last non-standard email I received was a month ago while he was telling the solicitor i found by legal aid (was not very helpful) that his property 'is not an hospital', etc...
8) My counterclaim is for breach of quiet enjoyment, but I don't know how much I should reasonably claim as compensation in this particular case [while I am sick and remain in my room the landlord (without a 24 hours notification) had changed the lock (and refused to give me a copy of the new key) in a way that i can only come out but not come back in : as a result, i was 'lock' inside for 6 days]. Do you have an idea of the amount I should claim?

G_M

MoonDragon wrote: »

2) The landlord is claiming both rent arrears (without stating the dates or period) + £100 for the court fee.
not possession?

4) I have sent an email to the county to acknowledge reception their letter dated 1st february 2013 on 06 february 2013 (1st february 2013 was a friday). However, since in the 'notes to defendant' they said 'You should : fill in the attached defence form and return it to the court within 14 days of receiving the claim form', I have stated in the mail that I will my defense form by 20 february 2013. I think there is a fee for any delay. More time will really help since my bank request 10 days for reception of confirmation of payment I have done to my landlord through my bank account. Is it too late to request the 28 days to respond (a new email to the county court for this purpose)?
I do not know if an email is acceptable - do the notes from the court say anything?
1st Feb + 2 days = 3rd Feb + 14 days = 17th Feb. You have till 17th Feb to return 'Acknowledgement of Service'.

?

..............................

GDB2222

The crucial difference between a defence and counterclaim is that you can continue with the counterclaim even if the landlord withdraws his original claim against you.

In practice, you would need to pay a court free to register the counterclaim, and it is much more complicated. I do not think this is worth your while. Simplify file the defence, including the counterclaim as part of that.

MoonDragon

G_M wrote: »

..............................

Please read:

2) The landlord is claiming both rent arrears (without stating the dates or period) and possession + £100 for the court fee.

4) I do not know if an email is acceptable - do the notes from the court say anything?
1st Feb + 2 days = 3rd Feb + 14 days = 17th Feb. You have till 17th Feb to return 'Acknowledgement of Service'.
There are three email address that I had sent my acknowledgement to :
- e-filling@mylocalcountycourt.gov.uk
- hearing@mylocalcountycourt.gov.uk
- enquiries@mylocalcountycourt.gov.uk

And I have received an automatic response from this three email address:
The content of this notifications is :

Thank you for your email, which has been received by the court. We will reply as soon as possible.

You may receive a direct reply via email or in writing depending on the nature of the query.

The rest of this automated message provides information that customers often find useful.

To be safe, I will try to send back the form by 17th February 2013.