My friend paid his ex landlords home repair costs but the LL now isnt paying him back

dekaspace

To get a clear picture my friend was a lodger and lived with LL for 6 years and is still good friends with him with the ex ll travelling about 500 miles to visit him a few times a year, but found out my friend has been paying for replacement doors in the property, garage door etc without me knowing and he only has a problem now because he is in financial problems due to ill health(he had a stroke and spent time in hospital and can no longer drive) so my friend is getting into debt.

Not sure how long the ex ll hasnt been paying but from what my friend tells me it has been a long time and now my friend is on the verge of being taken to court as 7 grand in debt due to his ex ll(I assume from late payment charges)

Not sure if I should put this on debt board too.

Just wondering where he stands legally as he paid for home improvements for a house that isnt his.

DevCoder

If he can prove that the ex LL had an agreement to pay the monies back then he has a case.

otherwise the ex LL could just claim it was a friend helping out by gifting the monies.

What does your friend have in writing?

dekaspace

Not sure offhand, but it would be mad of a friend who works minimum wage agreeing to a debt of many thousands though my friend is autistic(hes 30 never had a girlfriend and doesnt leave the house apart from to work) and gets confused easily.

He can be talked into anything easily and is very vulnerable.

The LL works in a reasonable paid job, and rents out 4 bedrooms in his house but is very eccentric, he drove a car without brakes for 6 months and often drove after a nightshift at work after being awake over 24 hours! I dont think hes a bad person just eccentric so doesnt look at the small things.

Guest101

dekaspace wrote: »

To get a clear picture my friend was a lodger and lived with LL for 6 years and is still good friends with him with the ex ll travelling about 500 miles to visit him a few times a year, but found out my friend has been paying for replacement doors in the property, garage door etc without me knowing and he only has a problem now because he is in financial problems due to ill health(he had a stroke and spent time in hospital and can no longer drive) so my friend is getting into debt.

Not sure how long the ex ll hasnt been paying but from what my friend tells me it has been a long time and now my friend is on the verge of being taken to court as 7 grand in debt due to his ex ll(I assume from late payment charges)

Not sure if I should put this on debt board too.

Just wondering where he stands legally as he paid for home improvements for a house that isnt his.

Im so confused, who owes who money

and who paid for what

dekaspace

Guest101 wrote: »

Im so confused, who owes who money

and who paid for what

The ex LL owes my friend money because my friend got a debt in his name as a favour for the LL who has now not paid so my friend cannot afford to pay himself so my friend is getting threats from his bank about non payment.

Guest101

dekaspace wrote: »

The ex LL owes my friend money because my friend got a debt in his name as a favour for the LL who has now not paid so my friend cannot afford to pay himself so my friend is getting threats from his bank about non payment.

Ok the doors etc had nothing to do with this then

did the LL make any repayments?

dekaspace

No idea as my friend wasnt clear, and the home improvements were new front and back doors and garage doors etc.

Ronaldo_Mconaldo

So it's one of those poss then, is it? I'll check back in a few pages time once everyone's figured out what's going on.

Guest101

Ronaldo_Mconaldo wrote: »

So it's one of those poss then, is it? I'll check back in a few pages time once everyone's figured out what's going on.

:beer: ditto.

There's clearly not enough information, and it has nothing to do with housing.

OP - at a guess the ex LL owes him money, he needs to go to court to get it back. He needs some proof of the loan. and that it was a loan and not a gift.

Without more and clearer info there's not a lot else to say.

eddddy

1) If the ex-LL has broken an agreement (e.g. an agreement to pay your friend back) then your friend can claim against the ex-LL.

If it gets to court, your friend will need to prove 'on the balance of probabilities' that an agreement existed. (This doesn't necessarily mean that the agreement had to be in writing, but it would help if it was.)


2) If no agreement existed, but you think the ex-LL has a moral duty to pay money to your friend, then all you can do is try to persuade the ex-LL. The courts etc will not help you with this.

Pixie5740

Whilst it is odd that a lodger would pay for home improvements unless your friend is prepared to follow through then the chances of getting the money from the landlord are slim.

In the meantime, if your friend is struggling to meet the repayments then it would be good idea for him to contact National Debtline for some free advice.