Going to small claims hearing: so many questions

Smallclaimsquery

Predictably given my landlord’s stubborn nature my claim against her has gone all the way to court with the court hearing date next week.

Naturally, I am feeling a bit anxious about court and I’ve been trying to research as much as I can about the actual hearing and how good my chances are but there is a very surprising lack of information out there.

So what is it like actually going to a small court hearing? How formal is it? How long does it usually last? Do I need to prepare for more than a brief statement and perhaps some documents about taking apart her defence?

And then what do you make of my case?
Will the judge actually award me what am asking which is my six weeks rent back whilst the property didn’t have hot water and heating?

Very briefly the flat didn’t have heating and hot water from late January until early March because for the first three weeks she refused to believe me that there was a heating problem and then after that, she had to send round three tradespeople until they’d finally replaced the part that was faulty.

Her defence is that I only contacted her three weeks into the tenancy that there were problems with the heating and hot water, and that she is not responsible for the issues with the tradespeople and even blaming me for being difficult to get hold off.

The evidence I have submitted is as follows:

1. My call logs and text messages to prove when I called her and that I’d texted the tradespeople to say I could always be in the flat or find someone who would pop round to let them in and the texts also show that they’d be back and then started ignoring my texts and calls.

2. Emails between the agency in the first week (the property was owner managed but I wasn’t given the landlady’s number until the agency gave it to me) in which the agency said they’d contact the landlady to ask her to resolve the issues.

So, I feel I’ve a strong chance of winnings and have asked my landlady for a return of the rent while I was there; however, I have some concerns:

1. As I understand it the court is more about recompense for loss and not compensation and my losses were somewhat mitigated by staying with my boyfriend ( which did add to my commute; although I am unable to prove that, and that despite not being there during the night I did sometimes go there during the day between work shifts.

2.The landlady is 84 (I know that because she wrote it in her defence!) I have a strong suspicion she has some difficulty as she was rude and angry every time we talked. She also mistakenly accused me of not paying my rent at one point and didn’t apologise when I’d convinced the agency who then started badgering me that I had. I don’t want to cause her unnecessary stress and am unsure how best to be sensitive to her age whilst picking apart her defence. I also worry that the judge might be more lenient with her.

3. What little information I can find suggests that in similar situations judges are pretty sympathetic to landlords as long as the landlords can show they at least tried to fix the problem and in the landlady’s defence she was somewhat trying to fix the problem for the last three weeks. I would argue here however that she probably caused the delays by not keeping on top of the tradespeople.

Thanks for reading!

TLDR: No hot water and heating for six weeks so asking for rent back but have concerns about the hearing itself.

Arleen

Well, it's a bit late to ask about your chances, isn't it?

Small claims are very informal, and the judge has a lot of choice in how to run the case. But generally speaking you will be given time to present your case, and then the defence will be given the same amount of time. It will be followed by questions from the judge on whatever is not clear. And then the judge will give a judgment; you will have to wait for some paperwork and can go on with your day.

I wouldn't pay much attention to talk about judges being biased; you will find complaints of that for both sides depending on which side of the internet you will visit.

[Deleted User]

I think this case is less certain than you seem to think. You had no heating and hot water, but that does not immediately make the palce uninhabitable. The LL should have provided you with alternative heating.., you should have asked for this if she didn't (small portable convector heaters cost less than £20). We have all had to use a stove to warm water when something goes wrong.., I was stuck in a council place with no heating and a two year old for weeks while parts were being made for an ancient boiler. This is how I bathed my son.

Six weeks is, I am afraid, not unknown to get a boiler repaired depending on the fault. There is a procedure you could have followed of writing (a letter) telling the LL that they have until x date to make a repair or you will get the repair done yourself and deduct the cost from the rent. But you would probably have to wait longer than six weeks in total (from first time of asking LL to make repairs). https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/what_to_do_if_your_landlord_wont_do_repairs. this is a very easy link to find (sorry, but it is).

So a judge may well decide the place was still habitable even with no heating and hot water. I suspect they will.

Did you get your deposit back? Was it protected? Were there any other problems.

If there were you may have concentrated on the wrong things in your case. Sorry I can't be of more help but maybe some more research would have helped before lodging the case.

neas

I think there is a good chance you will lose.

6 weeks isn't. Crazy amount of time to wait, yes a bit longer than normal but not months. I guess the message and balancd is, if you owned the place and how longwpuld be reasonable to fix a boiler? The 3 weeks is withing the normal time frame.


So at worst you are arguing she wasn't responsive enough. You aren't living there at the moment?

anselld

Call me stubborn, but I don't think you have a case.
It was a bit slow and temporary alternatives should have been made available but demanding six weeks rent is taking the P.

tacpot12

You should refute, before she can, that she isn't responsible for the issues with the tradespeople or the letting agent. They are all working for her.

I think you will struggle to justify being refunded your rent for the whole period of the fault as it will often take a week (but in my experience, not longer) to diagnose and source a replacement part for an old boiler.

You should be prepared to loose the proportion of the claim that is your extra travel costs for staying elsewhere, but you should try to claim them - they are valid even if you cannot provide receipts; you can prove where your boyfriend lives and can prove the exact cost of the extra travel. Remember to remove days that you were not at work due to sickness or absence.

I would also refute, before the landlord can suggest it, that she should be granted some additional forebearancr due to her age. You just need to point out that while you are sympathetic about her age and the difficulties of engaging tradespeople, this is a fundamental part of the service you are buying from the landlord, so the judge should disregard this.

tacpot12

The judge will thank you for being brief, so try to distill your claim down as few words as possible. You will need to explain:

- What you are claiming for (and what losses you have been able to mitigate)
- Why the landlord is liable for these costs and why her defences may be invalid or limited. (e.g. You have evidence that you responded promptly and did not limit access to the property)
- Why you have not been able to come to agreement outside of the court.

AdrianC

Smallclaimsquery wrote: »

1. As I understand it the court is more about recompense for loss and not compensation

Absolutely 100% about loss. What losses can you prove that you've incurred?

2.The landlady is 84 (I know that because she wrote it in her defence!) I have a strong suspicion she has some difficulty as she was rude and angry every time we talked. She also mistakenly accused me of not paying my rent at one point and didn’t apologise when I’d convinced the agency who then started badgering me that I had. I don’t want to cause her unnecessary stress and am unsure how best to be sensitive to her age whilst picking apart her defence. I also worry that the judge might be more lenient with her.

If her age means she is having difficulty with her business affairs, then perhaps she could consider retiring from them. I wouldn't worry about this.

3. What little information I can find suggests that in similar situations judges are pretty sympathetic to landlords as long as the landlords can show they at least tried to fix the problem

Yup.
As a basic rule of thumb, what would be reasonable for an owner-occupier?

Tradespeople are notorious for failing to turn up when agreed, and work can and does often escalate. Plumbers and heating engineers are busy in the winter.

Smallclaimsquery

The flat was economy seven and I found, from the invoice, she enclosed in her defense, that the only issue was that a thermostat needed replacing. A problem that would take most electricians an hour of their time and the part can be bought for £10.

We weren't able to come to an agreement because she is probably the angriest person I have ever came across.

Smallclaimsquery

AdrianC wrote: »

Absolutely 100% about loss. What losses can you prove that you've incurred?



If her age means she is having difficulty with her business affairs, then perhaps she could consider retiring from them. I wouldn't worry about this.



Yup.
As a basic rule of thumb, what would be reasonable for an owner-occupier?

Tradespeople are notorious for failing to turn up when agreed, and work can and does often escalate. Plumbers and heating engineers are busy in the winter.

My actual loss was an extra one hour commute both ways which at five times a week meant ten extra hours commuting which worked out at roughly £60 pounds on the train a week.
So I am a bit worried that's all I'll get. Also because I know someone will inevitably ask why I feel entitled to more.

How would they like to be paying for a flat with no heat and hot water for six weeks whilst their landlady shouts at them that they don't believe there's a problem and then you find that the problem could have been fixed in a day?

I called a few numbers and I can get an electrician out within three days, or one if I pay extra and so in fairness I can say that an owner-occupier would have this fixed within a week.

pinkshoes

Smallclaimsquery wrote: »

The flat was economy seven and I found, from the invoice, she enclosed in her defense, that the only issue was that a thermostat needed replacing. A problem that would take most electricians an hour of their time and the part can be bought for £10.

We weren't able to come to an agreement because she is probably the angriest person I have ever came across.

If the trades people she hired were shoddy in diagnosing the problem, then that isn't really her fault...

The fact she contacted several different trades people shows she was actively trying to resolve the problem.

Claiming 6 weeks rent is ridiculous.

The property was not uninhabitable. By all means you could have claimed for the cost of a fan heater or two to heat rooms, and maybe even a month membership at a local gym to take showers, but you do need to prove your actual LOSSES.

Let us know how you get on, but I would be surprised if the judge awards you 6 weeks rent!