Court battle on my hands?

Craig_Donny

***UPDATE*** I would like some help with the paper work for the courts. As i am unaware what to do next, it says to fill in a form attached (N180) however this needs to be send in by this coming Monday. Is there any way i can do this on the online moneyclaim website? The only buttons i can see are to "archive" it but not sure what they would do. Sorry for being daft. Worried we have left it to late now. ***UPDATE***

Ok say i used the online website to start a claim against my old lanlord who hasent payed my deposit back. (https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk)

Saying we left the house in a "disgusting state", which is such a kick in teeth. We cleaned it really well before we left, paid every month on time. He left leaks for a week when told, left us without a cooker over christmas, loads of things. In our eyes we have been excellent tenants and left the house in an acceptable state (fair wear and tear) after 4 years renting.

We were charged £60 to start the claim for £550. Now he has counter clamined, we are unsure of the next steps to take, also if this is going to end up costing us a lot more money.

We also know he hasn't put the deposit in a "tenancy deposit fund", and in reply to this on the court documents he has replied "he wasen't aware he needed to do this" Though when we asked for the details of the fund over text a while ago he replied "sorry i have thrown all the documents away" suggesting he did know.

So if anyone could let us know what happens now and the costs that would be great

Craig

zarf2007

Craig_Donny wrote: »

Ok say i used the online website to start a claim against my old lanlord who hasent payed my deposit back. (https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk)

Saying we left the house in a "disgusting state", which is such a kick in teeth. We cleaned it really well before we left, paid every month on time. He left leaks for a week when told, left us without a cooker over christmas, loads of things. In our eyes we have been excellent tenants and left the house in an acceptable state (fair wear and tear) after 4 years renting.

We were charged £60 to start the claim for £550. Now he has counter clamined, we are unsure of the next steps to take, also if this is going to end up costing us a lot more money.

We also know he hasn't put the deposit in a "tenancy deposit fund", and in reply to this on the court documents he has replied "he wasen't aware he needed to do this" Though when we asked for the details of the fund over text a while ago he replied "sorry i have thrown all the documents away" suggesting he did know.

So if anyone could let us know what happens now and the costs that would be great

Craig

Game over for him....if deposit is not protected you can automatically claim 3 x deposit amount. Did he do an inventory signed by both you and him at beginning and end of tenancy? If not you can just claim wear and tear and he has no comeback. Far as I'm aware, your only costs would be if he won which I doubt he has a chance in hell off doing...

HappyMJ

You continue to take the matter to court. Yes it costs you more but you get all that back when you win. As the deposit was not lodged with the TDS you can sue for 3 times the value of the deposit so the landlord is on shaky ground already. Then any costs of cleaning if justified come out that much larger amount. I'm assuming you've just asked for the value of your deposit back...so even if you lose the costs for cleaning you still win anyway. Good luck...

Craig_Donny

But when i put in the claim it was only for £550, should i have claimed 1650? also do you have any idea of the costs i now face to proceed?
Thanks

Thrugelmir

Craig_Donny wrote: »

in reply to this on the court documents he has replied "he wasen't aware he needed to do this"

Digging a hole for oneself springs to mind.

More than likely the Judge will question the credibility of the LL. Regarding the counter claim.

HappyMJ

Craig_Donny wrote: »

But when i put in the claim it was only for £550, should i have claimed 1650? also do you have any idea of the costs i now face to proceed?
Thanks

Yes but don't worry about that. If the judge sees fit they can change the amount...you just want your money back plus costs. A court claim of £550 through moneyclaim will cost another £80 Hearing fee....there is no fee on claims under £1,500 to allocate to a track.

So £60 to start the claim (which you have paid)
No fee to allocate to a track. It'll be allocated to the small claims track. You need to respond to the court documents.
£80 for a hearing fee.
Further fees are payable if you need to enforce the judgement.

Mr_Pitiful

Craig_Donny wrote: »

But when i put in the claim it was only for £550, should i have claimed 1650? also do you have any idea of the costs i now face to proceed?
Thanks

You can't make a claim for non-protection using MCOL. It also wouldn't automatically be a small claim, as it has to go through the multi-track, though the court does have the discretion to allow it to be allocated through small claims.

In regards to costs you need to make sure you've followed the pre-action conduct carefully. If you haven't the court may make you pay the costs even if you win. Have a read here if you haven't already:

http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/pd_pre-action_conduct

Guest101

I thought deposit disputes like this followed a different court track? Someone will know more, but i'm pretty sure you cant use moneyclaim for it.

Kynthia

Guest101 wrote: »

I thought deposit disputes like this followed a different court track? Someone will know more, but i'm pretty sure you cant use moneyclaim for it.

I'm not sure but I think that's if you're claiming more than your losses, ie the 1-3 times the deposit amount for non protection. If you're claiming return of your own money or out of pocket losses then small claims is fine.