Can I take my flatmate to court over not paying bills?

bearfats

I currently live with my boyfriend and a flatmate in a shared accomodation.

The tenancy agreement states that we have to split the bills and that payments have to be made.

He currently owes us over £800 for bills and has just recently handed in his months notice to our landlord.

I am doubtful he will give us the money before he moves out, would it be wrong and incorrect to say to him that we can and will take him to court over the bill money?
So can I take him to court, and would we be correct in telling him we would be able to take him to court if we weren't to receive the bill money?

macman

What bills are you referring to and whose name or names are on the accounts?
Other than rent, how you divide the bills is no concern of your landlord, so if you pay the utility bills (gas, electricity, water, CT, phone etc) directly to the suppliers then your LL cannot enforce their division through the tenancy agreement.
You can however take your flatmate to court yourself via the small claims process if you wish.
But of course if he has no assets then you would be wasting your time.

Cardew

Yes you can take him to the small claims court.


You appear before a judge in a very informal setting. Even so not many people will tell lies in front of a judge and when served papers will cave in.


When you say 'split the bills' does that mean he pays 50% of the bills or 33.3%?

pendragon_arther

Also an amassed £800 debt for utilities must have occurred over some period of time. Did not alarm bells not start ringing earlier?

macman

It's still not clear if 'bills' include rent due? All the persons named on the tenancy agreement will be jointly and severally liable for that.

footyguy

bearfats wrote: »

I currently live with my boyfriend and a flatmate in a shared accomodation.

The tenancy agreement states that we have to split the bills and that payments have to be made.

He currently owes us over £800 for bills and has just recently handed in his months notice to our landlord.

I am doubtful he will give us the money before he moves out, would it be wrong and incorrect to say to him that we can and will take him to court over the bill money?
So can I take him to court, and would we be correct in telling him we would be able to take him to court if we weren't to receive the bill money?

You can issue a county court summons against anyone you want. There will usually be a court hearing (which you will have to pay extra for) if the defendant offers a defence.

What do you claim your flatmate owes you £800 for, exactly?
It would appear to me that as the flatmate alone has "handed in his months notice to [y]our landlord" then you are in an HMO with separate tenancy agreements.

What does the flatmate say when you ask them for the £800 you claim they owe you?
How, do you think, will paying more of your hard earned cash to bring a court case will change things for you?