Legal advice to take landlord to small claims

pechnatunk

Hi,
Can someone please point me in the direction of any free/no-win-no-pay/cheap legal services that specialise in housing matters?

From my research it seems I need to go to small claims court, though I am hoping it will not get to that point and will get resolved out of court.
The issue relates to our household of 3 people, I personally earn over the Legal Aid income threshold, however my housemates earn less.

Thank you,
Victor.

Pixie5740

pechnatunk wrote: »

Hi,
Can someone please point me in the direction of any free/no-win-no-pay/cheap legal services that specialise in housing matters?

From my research it seems I need to go to small claims court, though I am hoping it will not get to that point and will get resolved out of court.
The issue relates to our household of 3 people, I personally earn over the Legal Aid income threshold, however my housemates earn less.

Thank you,
Victor.

Do you really need a solicitor? Filing a money claim online is pretty straight forward but if you need advice try CAB or Shelter.

eddddy

Legal aid isn't normally available for small claims court, and a solicitor isn't normally encouraged.

The system is meant to be accessible to people without any legal training etc.

If you pay out legal fees, you may not get them back, even if you win.

pechnatunk

Hi,
I haven't heard about filing a money claim online.
Do you have any more info for me so I can have a look?

Thanks,
Vic.

NeilCr

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-courts/legal-system/taking-legal-action/small-claims/small-claims/

saajan_12

You don't need a solicitor for small claims court, its designed to make a decision based on the two parties' statements of the facts, without needing fancy legal advice.

Legal fees wouldn't be reimbursed from the losing party. So even with a no-win-no-fee, if you win you'd cover your own legal costs, which may drastically reduce your award.

Just file a money claim online, state what you think happen and it'll guide you through the rest.

pechnatunk

Hi,
I had brief look at the money Claim website.
I'm unsure I am eligible, as it says it is for no more than one claimant, and this is an issue that involves 3 housemates. Also, since a claim is for a specified amount, I think I will need advise on what that should be.
I didn't want to describe it here - because I've seen other threads turn into arguments about this issue.

Basically, over a period of 64 days in winter, we went 36 days without heating, 22 of those days were also without hot water.
This was cause by a burst water pipe in the building that flooded our flat.
The boiler is now replaced and is working.
The issue is further complicated by these days not being consecutive as there were multiple issues.
The landlord's contractors DID respond in reasonable time, however the resolution of the problem was not reasonable, especially considering that they pride themselves on being the largest landlord company in the UK.
After months of dismissing our requests for compensation by saying they needed an end date to the problem to calculate the compensation, they have now responded offering "£50 as a gesture of goodwill, in full and final settlement of any and all claims."
I find this insulting, after being careful not to withhold rent and not to breach our contract.

This is not even including other issues that may be considered subjective such as - water damages to (thankfully only) rugs, mattresses and towels, our doubled electricity bill, lost wages on the day of the flood, the distress on that day and the hassle of having to find alternative means to shower.

Is there an info anywhere on roughly what percentage of rent, central heating and hot water constitutes?

Thanks.
Victor.

pinkshoes

You will be expected to quantify your losses e.g. Nights stayed in hotel, meals etc... due to home not being inhabitable.

You could show you energy bills showing any extra you have paid during this time period. Did you have to purchase any electric heaters?

DCFC79

Why don't you and your housemates all file a complaint.

pechnatunk

We didn't go to a hotel because we can't afford it.
The landlord's contractor delivered one small electric heater, the first time it broke, then another the second time it broke and one house mate bought a heater.
We can show the increase in electricity bill.

But how do we quantify our distress and discomfort?
The whole point is that we continued to live in a property that was unliveable while paying the full price. Therefore there has been a service undelivered.

Pixie5740

Do check this with Shelter but I honestly don't think you are (legally) entitled to any compensation from your landlord and will be throwing good money after bad trying to take your landlord to court.

Your landlord was legally obligated to fix the heating within a reasonable time frame and it sounds as if he did. If you were an owner-occupier you probably wouldn't have had it fixed any quicker. Your landlord didn't have to supply an electric heater but he did. You could have heated water using a kettle or a saucepan on the stove. Presumably whilst the boiler wasn't working you weren't paying for gas usage so that should offset some of your electricity costs.

Your landlord isn't responsible for a burst pipe in a different part of the building unless the person named on your tenancy agreement as the landlord also owns that part of the building. Water damage to your belongings should be covered by your own contents insurance policy.

As for distress you will get diddly squat for the "dsitress" caused by a leaking pipe and a lack of heating.

Take the £50 on offer and move on.