taking a landlord through small claims court

RAS

Rob

Might be wise to take the address out of the earlier post?

RobMolyneux

RAS wrote: »

Rob

Might be wise to take the address out of the earlier post?

oops!

thanks, done.

RobMolyneux

the claim form guidance notes say:

You must file any written evidence to support your claim either in or with the claim form. Your written evidence must
be verified by a statement of truth.

can anyone who has experience of this give me any guidance? He is almost certainly going to claim that I'm a lodger rather than a tenant, so I'll include a copy of a utility bill of his proving his residence elsehwere, and a copy of the advert for the room which states him being a 'live out' landlord.

is there anything else I ought to provide?

Guest101

RobMolyneux wrote: »

the claim form guidance notes say:

You must file any written evidence to support your claim either in or with the claim form. Your written evidence must
be verified by a statement of truth.

can anyone who has experience of this give me any guidance? He is almost certainly going to claim that I'm a lodger rather than a tenant, so I'll include a copy of a utility bill of his proving his residence elsehwere, and a copy of the advert for the room which states him being a 'live out' landlord.

is there anything else I ought to provide?

You need to provide all the evidence.


It should be set out in a legal statement, with clear paragraphs.


A solicitor will need to stamp the document (or a magistrates court) but you need to pay for this. Bring i.d. with you.


Mine cost me £5.



You need to write paragraphs and then attach supporting documents.


So for example:


I rented the room from Mr x on the xx.xx.xx, I was a tenant with sole and exclusive use of the a room at XX A Street. I attached a copy of the advert as evidence (marked paragraph number and letter A. - for first bit of evidence, B for second )


I attached copy of bank statement showing rent payment (Paragraph and letter A)


It's not going to be what a judge would expect from a solicitor, but you aren't a solicitor, you need to make it as easy as possible

RobMolyneux

Guest101 wrote: »

You need to provide all the evidence.


It should be set out in a legal statement, with clear paragraphs.


A solicitor will need to stamp the document (or a magistrates court) but you need to pay for this. Bring i.d. with you.


Mine cost me £5.



You need to write paragraphs and then attach supporting documents.


So for example:


I rented the room from Mr x on the xx.xx.xx, I was a tenant with sole and exclusive use of the a room at XX A Street. I attached a copy of the advert as evidence (marked paragraph number and letter A. - for first bit of evidence, B for second )


I attached copy of bank statement showing rent payment (Paragraph and letter A)


It's not going to be what a judge would expect from a solicitor, but you aren't a solicitor, you need to make it as easy as possible

cheers, so far i can think of:

copy of the spareroom web advert (i dont have a copy from when i moved in, but saved on as soon as this came to light, and its effectively the same)

copy of his utility statement proving he resided elsewhere

printed copy of bank statement proving payment

written summary of text exchanges relating to deposit (as it was paid into someone elses account, not his)

screenshots of searches on protection scheme websites showing no results

Guest101

RobMolyneux wrote: »

cheers, so far i can think of:

copy of the spareroom web advert (i dont have a copy from when i moved in, but saved on as soon as this came to light, and its effectively the same)

copy of his utility statement proving he resided elsewhere

printed copy of bank statement proving payment

written summary of text exchanges relating to deposit (as it was paid into someone elses account, not his)

screenshots of searches on protection scheme websites showing no results

Witness statements would be good too. Friends who visited, others who lived there.

RobMolyneux

Guest101 wrote: »

Witness statements would be good too. Friends who visited, others who lived there.

thanks...

for anyone interested, format can be found here

RobMolyneux

Good afternoon all.

I imagine my bumping of this post may get lost today with peoples eyes elsewhere, however my claim against my landlord has now moved on and I'd be grateful if anyone could offer advice.

As a summary to avoid re-reading the thread:

* my landlord withheld part of my deposit when i moved out (£200 out of £475)

* I realised that he had not protected my deposit in a scheme as required

* I issued a Letter Before Action requesting return of my outstanding deposit and a settlement of up to 3x my deposit value (separate issues)

* he returned the outstanding deposit but never addressed the other issue

* there was no formal contract or tenancy agreement, but I was a tenant within a house of multiple occupation as per all definitions i can find


So since my last posting in here, I submitted all the required documents to the courts at the end of last month, which included:

* My claim form setting out the one remaining issue relating to the failure to secure my deposit

* witness statements from 2 former housemates confirming that i lived there, that we were not provided any services which could make me a lodger, and a few other things

* proof that my landlord lived elsewhere - so not a live in landlord (i.e. i am not a lodger, etc.)

* transcript of key text messages relevant to the claim (not sure if it will be accepted or not, but thought i might as well issue)

* proof that my deposit wasnt held in any schemes

* the advert for the property which states live out landlord, etc.


Today, I received a response from him (via the courts) saying that he's contesting it. I've not read all of the supporting docs yet, but have read a his response and a couple of witness statements he's included.

Essentially, he's claiming that I was a lodger - which by legal definition i wasn't.

He claims that he clearly explained my status as a lodger to me when i took on the room. Now its my word against his, but he didnt, but i dont believe it matters as his definition is irrelevant. Is that right? If he said he was I was a martian, i wouldnt be.

Beyond that, he's provided a lot of responses (in some cases true, some not, but all mud slinging) relating to reasons he may have withheld my deposit.

I have text messages and emails from him giving me a wholly different reason for why he withheld the deposit, but ultimately I dont think any of it is relevant as that is not part of my claim. He settled the deposit issue by paying me the money back, and there is absolutely no reference to his withholding of my deposit within my claim or any of the supporting docs.

Ultimately, the advice i could do with relates to the following:

What happens now? What do i do next?

Should i counter (where i have evidence) the false claims he's made about me, or do i ignore it as it has nothing to do with my claim?

Is mud that he's flung (and supported by witness statements that are wholly untrue, but that i can only counter by my word) going to go against me, or do i rise above it and will a judge ignore it if it's not relevant?

thanks in advance for your help.

RobMolyneux

is bumping considered poor forum etiquette?

I'll find out soon, I guess.

Pixie5740

Your thread just got lost in the million and one pointless new threads about Brexit which really all belong on the Debate House Prices board.

I wouldn't bother getting into the mud slinging. You weren't a lodger, he didn't live there so calling you a lodger doesn't make you any more a lodger than it does a Martian so that's where to focus your energy.