Being taken to court for unpaid rent for 3 months we were not there. HELP!

kunekune

"Also, as money is so tight i was thinking of visiting Luton uni tomorrow to see if anyone in their final year of law could further help me or would be willing to defend me for a small fee. I then have some kind of representation that know more than i do, and they get some experience i guess!"

Sorry, but this is unlikely to be very helpful, in a number of ways. My VI: I am a law lecturer.

First, university law schools get a lot of requests, and you are likely to get the runaround. Most people who ask for help are completely mad, tbh, and so you may well be tarred with that brush. If you do get through to someone human, then they aren't likely to have any process for putting you in touch with students. The only way to make contact is through notices on notice boards, there's no 'official' route.

Secondly (and forgive me non-existent lord, for I am about to be very rude about my own students), most third-year law students are more of a liability than an asset. At this stage in their education, they might have the ability to argue a simple case. But few of them can think outside the box. If your story doesn't fit into an obvious category that they know already, they will have trouble with it. There is a good reason why we don't let lawyers loose on the community straight out of law school. They need a LOT more experience. You could almost certainly do a better job yourself. And, as someone said, it could even backfire; what you are trying to do is sneak a legal (or rather, an equity) argument past them (based on mistake, misrepresentation and all sorts of stuff) without bringing a lawyer in.

BobProperty

doodledoodle24 wrote: »

....That's why I made it clear to the EA that I wanted to come to an agreement to end early as I didn't want the LL to have an unlet property on their hands.....

Which fits in with you thinking that you had an agreement to leave early (30th Jume / 11th July time), which is what you will be saying in court if it comes to it.
The bit I've not done is try to get money out of a group of people who were "jointly and severally" liable. If this was my case I'd be looking at whichever one of the defendants looks most likely to be able to pay up and I'd be chasing him. Keeps my costs down and gives him the problem of sorting it out amongst his co-defendants, so puts pressure on him. Who's got the good job, money in the bank, assets, etc. because that person is one who is likely to be targeted.
It really is so much better to agree a deal now, both with the landlord and amongst the tenants.

kunekune wrote: »

....I am a law lecturer.....

Strewth Bruce! Thought you were all sheep farmers or sports coaches.
Actually, I think if you ask nicely, you can go and observe in a County Court.

RabbitMad

If you are looking at damage limitation, did the LL follow the proper procedures ie. 2 letters warning you that you owed them money prior to starting court proceddings. If not you could you ask for the case to be dismissed as they haven't followed procedure?

kunekune

Ta, Bob ... I might pass on the county court for now. I can never remember whether I need to bow when I go in (if you've ever been admitted, in NZ, you are supposed to). Also, I was at our local one for a prizegiving the other day and they had the most vicious lift in the world. The bruise where it closed on my arm is quite pretty.

PS. Thanks for not mentioning the r*gby.

clutton_2

Coal - I am so glad to hear that am not always considered to be a "dickensian" landlord !!! However, i am, last time i looked, a very female woman tho!!

OP - you can take anyone you want into a court in the UK and ask the court to accept that person as your "Mackenzies friend" - that person will be your freind, supporter and adviser and is generally not assumed to be a legally qualified person - just someone to help you stay calm and present your case in a professional manner.

good luck

coal9011

clutton wrote: »

Coal - I am so glad to hear that am not always considered to be a "dickensian" landlord !!! However, i am, last time i looked, a very female woman tho!!

OP - you can take anyone you want into a court in the UK and ask the court to accept that person as your "Mackenzies friend" - that person will be your freind, supporter and adviser and is generally not assumed to be a legally qualified person - just someone to help you stay calm and present your case in a professional manner.

good luck

Sorry clutton.

I can be a right "plonker" as sometimes I can find it quite difficult to establish the sex of people on this forum just by their handle and the written words (will have to read the posts more carefully and between-the-lines in future!)

Now that I know that your are a "lady" I'm even more impressed with your posts on this forum. Intelligent, opinionated, worldly, compassionate and minted - what a combo!

OP - There is absolutely no need to be intimidated by a small claims hearing in your local County Court. As said by others it's quite informal usually held in a small office type room. You can take anyone with you for support or be legally represented. The only thing I would add is that if you attend un-represented the District Judge will usually give you more "latitude" where as the other side will be expected to know their business.

doodledoodle24

I put the following letter through the LL's door on Monday and haven't heard from her yet.


'I am one of the tenants that signed an agreement to rent out your property XXXX, from 2nd March this year. You are currently taking me, the other tenant and my guarantor to court on the 15th of this month for not paying rent and to gain back possession.

I am writing to ask if there is anyway that we can come to an arrangement without taking this matter to the court. The letting agent made it clear that you wanted everyone out of the property and we agreed with them that we would be out at the end of June. The keys were given back on Monday 14th July.

I have a letter dated 3rd July from the letting agent asking about the keys as they hadn’t been returned yet. As the keys were not given back a full 11 days later, I feel that we owe you the rent up until 14th July.

If you could please get in contact with me before the court hearing to come to an arrangement to pay this, you can contact me on.'

If you we're the LL would this have got your back up?

Gorgeous_George

It wouldn't get my back up. It wouldn't change the price of fish (what does that mean?).

If you signed a 12 months contract and asked to leave early I would do my utmost to re-let the property as soon as possible. I would do this to minimise your losses. You would be responsible for the rent until the house was re-let or the 12 months completed, whichever is earlier. You would be responsible for (a proportion of) the costs associated with re-letting such as LA fees and advertising costs.

Returning the keys is a red herring I'm afraid. I would want the keys back if the property was vacated. Primarily for insurance purposes.

I wish you luck. However, your fate rather depends on how soft your LL is and whether he has the option of letting you renege on your contract.

GG

Melissa177

coal9011 wrote: »

Now that I know that your are a "lady" I'm even more impressed with your posts on this forum. Intelligent, opinionated, worldly, compassionate and minted - what a combo!

That's a bit cheeky - the implication being that women aren't usually "intelligent, opinionated, worldly, compassionate and minted"!

clutton_2

oops - i didn't take it as a slur at all - i took it as a compliment but i only wish that i knew what "minted" meant !!