Guarantor problems

Lillyme

I signed as guarantor for a relative who took on a 12month tenancy. They lost their job after 14 months,had rent arrears. They paid £1200 off after getting a S21 letter, then handed in 4 weeks notice and moved to a cheaper flat.

A solicitor advised relative that the S21 was invalid as the dates on it were wrong,however I thought that was it.

I have split from my wife in Feb,moved out into shared accommodation,see the kids at weekends. My ex gave me my mail 2 wks ago, one was a letter from a moneyclaim court saying the landlord of the place I Guaranteed for wants over a grand arrears and court costs.

I have no other mail from him, no account of the rents owed. He has finally emailed a copy of the guarantor agreement after 4 requests from me as I never got one.

I cannot afford to pay over £1000 as I have living expense plus child maintenance and maintenance etc to pay out now. I don't know where he pulled the sum from.

What can I do, I have asked for 28 days to give me time to get help but cannot afford a solicitor They sent a 2nd identical request to my former address even though I have provided a new address and asked for 28 days in response to the first letter

19lottie82

How much are the rent arrears?

You are entitled to a break down of monies owed but I'm afraid, if it is owed then you have to pay it as you signed a legal document agreeing to guarantee the rent, your "living expenses" don't come into it I'm afraid! (UNLESS the agreement stated you would only be a guarantor for the original 12 month lease, check this asap)

Have you requested a breakdown of costs, in writing?

Who are "they"?

What's a letter from a "Moneyclaim Court"? If it's for the small claims court, DO NOT ignore it.

It's important you deal with this NOW, to avoid a CCJ.

We need more info here I'm afraid.....

zzzLazyDaisy

As advised above - do not ignore the court papers. You must put in a defence as otherwise the LL will be able to get judgement in default.

Your personal problems, while sad, are of no relevance to the court proceedings, so you need to stick to the facts.

Depending on when the court papers were received you may not have enough time to seek advice before the time for defending expires. If so, you need to file a 'holding defence' in which you say something like

'the claim by the claimant in the sum of '£x' is denied. In particularly I deny that I have entered into a legally binding guarantor agreement as claimed by the Claimant. Even if the court find that there is a valid Guarantor Agreement in existence (which is not accepted), despite requests, the Claimant has failed to provide any evidence of the default or any details of how the sum claimed has been calculated. Further, the Claimant failed to serve a letter before action, or to enter into any discussions with a view to resolving this matter prior to issuing proceedings. '

Then take the G'tor agreement to CAB/Legal Advice Centre/solicitor as soon as possible. To be legally binding a G'tor Agreement must be drafted and signed in a particular way, and landlords often get this wrong.

Lillyme

The owed is apparently £1200 plus £70 costs, the claim is a scheme run by .gov to get back money owed. Its not a local court.

No I haven't requested a breakdown yet, only what had been paid in rent after s21 issued, which was £1240 of 1400, then relative gave 4 weeks notice left end of Feb. rent was £455 pcm

I could only pay in instalments any money owed..There is an income/outgoings form attached. I have left the marital home but pay the mortgage as ex does not work and I have kids.I cannot risk losing their home

The landlord has done structural repairs on the flat that were outstanding before tenant moved in and once complete went to court it seems.The place had major damp problems with rotting joists but he never did any requested repairs for any tenants.

I have responded already asking for 28 days as I had no copy of Guarantor form and no letter or warning prior to Court letter. I also told them new address.

Guest101

For a guarantor agreement to be legitimate, you should be given a copy of the tenancy agreement, at the very least you must have been shown the copy and allowed to read it?

Did this happen? If not, the guarantorship can be called into question.

Guarantorships are notoriously hard to get right, you should seek immediate advice, as there is a good chance they did not do this correctly

19lottie82

Lillyme wrote: »

The landlord has done structural repairs on the flat that were outstanding before tenant moved in and once complete went to court it seems.The place had major damp problems with rotting joists but he never did any requested repairs for any tenants.

Forget this, it has nothing to do with the situation in hand.

zzzLazyDaisy

Lillyme wrote: »

The owed is apparently £1200 plus £70 costs, the claim is a scheme run by .gov to get back money owed. Its not a local court..

It is Moneyclaim online. This is the way all small claims court cases are started where they are lodged online. Once the time for filing the defence has passed, the case will be forwarded to the landlords local court. If that is different from your own local court, you should ask for case to be transferred to your local court when you file the defence.

Lillyme

Thank you for advice so far, will check Guarantor document. Landlord said he gave me a copy but he never did nor did I get copy of tenancy agreement. The witness for it was another relative.

I will request breakdown of amount also.

Lillyme

theartfullodger wrote: »

Did you have a chance to read the tenancy agreement before you signed the guarantee??

Was the Guarantee "Executed as a deed" & witnesses??

If no to either question a good lawyer should be able to show the guarantee is unenforceable & you owe nothing.

The tenant would still owe....

c

He says on court papers he could not find tenant after she left

He has her phone number and email address but made no contact what so ever after she handed in notice except to request place was clean and keys returned.

pmlindyloo

As well as the excellent advice given above you must also find out about your relative's tenancy agreement and ensure that they gave the correct notice.

If your relative did not renew the tenancy agreement after the 12 months fixed term then they would have been on a periodic tenancy and.....QUOTE

If the tenancy has gone beyond the fixed term and become periodic (SPA), the T must give the LL one "clear" months notice - which must line up with the end of the rent period/payment date. For example: If the original fixed term ends on 19th of the month, subsequent periods run on monthly (where rent due monthly in original fixed term agreement) from the 20th to the 19th of future months and the T would need to give notice by the 19th. Giving notice on, say, 28th of March, would mean that T would be bound to pay rent etc until 19th May unless the LL agreed to a pro rata rent payment.

if you know this information then you will be able to work out if the payments asked for are correct (in the event that you have to pay them)

Lillyme

No she did not renew tenancy after 12 months, she stayed a total of 20 months without signing anything else and gave the 4 weeks notice as advised by a solicitor.

The solicitor told her the s21 was invalid because of dates the LL had used however she then put her in touch with her new landlady and advised on when to give notice. This was to avoid rent arrears building after she had already cleared £1240 of them.

I have now asked LL for a detailed explanation of amount claimed