Take a Landlord through small claims? Advice please?

Thunderballs_2

G_M wrote: »

* If the LL & tenant agreed a date to end the tenancy, and the LL agreed to charge rent pro rata till that date (and refund any overpaid rent), then the tenant only has to pay till that date.

* if the agreement above was verbal, and one side or the other disputes what was said/agreed, then it would be for a court to decide who they believe..... (hence the wisdom of getting agreements in writing)

* if the deposit was registered but the PI was not given to the tenant, the tenant can claim the penalty of up to 3 times the deposit

* if there was no inventory, and no other evidence as to the condition of the property/possessions at the start of the tenancy, then it would be for a court to decide who they believed (ie if tenant said "that stain was there at the start" & LL said "tenant caused that stain".). But the onus would be on the LL to prove the tenant caused the damage, not on the tenant to prove he did not (which is why sensible LLs always do detailed inventories)

See also

* Deposits: payment, protection and return

* Ending/renewing an AST: what happens when a fixed term ends? How can a LL or tenant end a tenancy? What is a periodic tenancy?

Indeed.

I just got 3 times my deposit from my ex landlord and he didn't do an inventory. Via small claims.

Judges are usually fair and have wide ranging powers.

martindow

deannatrois wrote: »

Its not that expensive to take a LL to court.., but as you have said, make sure you have hard (written) evidence to back your partners claims up. Because if the judgement goes against your partner, he could end up paying the LL's legal costs and court costs.

Costs are not a real issue as they are very limited and not automatically awarded if one side loses in a small claim. They tend to be awarded by a judge if they feel that a claim is vexatious or the claimant is found to have lied extensively.