Deposit Unprotected - Claim in Court

wesleyad

SuperSaver123 wrote: »

The offer was not in writing and it was for them moving. 5 times the value of the deposit. Rent arrears forgiven. They were not interested.

Given you are happy to pay and just want them out, I would put in writing to them the above (keep a copy). I would add that the alternative to this is going to court for only 3 times (maximum and unlikely) the deposit, at which point you will counter sue for rent, possibly not only leaving them with no money, but no house and a CCJ (if rent owed is higher than deposit).

Your actions in trying to remedy the situation are taken into account and the above letter would be massively in your favour, leaving it highly likely the amount awarded would be to the lower end of the 1-3 scale.

AdrianC

theartfullodger wrote: »

? Eh? What do you mean regarding s21 & s8 discretionary grounds, please?

https://www.legalforlandlords.co.uk/section-8-grounds-for-eviction/
This is AIUI... Are you saying this is wrong?

SuperSaver123

AdrianC wrote: »

If you feel so confident, then apply to the court for possession.


If you have one of the mandatory grounds on your side, then... well, there's a clue in "mandatory". One of the discretionary grounds is not much different to s21.

I am not confident at all. That is why I am asking. I thought Notice 21 is easier and with the accelerated procedure it may work out more or less around the same time as waiting for the hearing for Section 8 - am I delusional?

SuperSaver123

Comms69 wrote: »

Bizarre. Sorry I cant really comment further; but who turns down what I expect is 5 months rent + however many months in forgiven debt

This is why I am saying my ex pays them to stay but to clarify it was 5 times their deposit. Their deposit was of 2 weeks rent so it is 10 weeks value of their rent plus 5.5 weeks of overdue rent.

This may be why my post that I just want to pay and part ways may make more sense to some of you. Not very money saving approach but it is one of the situations where it is less relevant. It was a painful and long divorce and this property is the last bit that holds our names jointly. The moment the tenants move out, I can remortgage and we can finalise the divorce. I just did not expect to have issues with the tenants.

G_M

So you have 3 tenants in an HMO. Hope you've checked the council's HMO rules.........

S21 requires a 2month notice period before court. There are multiple reasons why it can be invalid - see
S21 checklist (Is a S21 valid?) I already linked this - have you checked?
If thrown out by judge, you have o start again (another 2 months +)...


One is the failure to protect the deposit. Returning the deposit via a cheque which is not cashed may or may not be accepted by the judge.


S8 is faster provided you have one of 16 grounds. read them all! Some are mandatory some are discretionary(up to judge).

Schedule 2 (17 S8 Grounds a LL can use)

SuperSaver123

Thank you so much for the link G_M!

I thought ground 1 would only be applicable if I lived in the place before but it seems that as long as I have not 'derived title under the landlord who gave the notice mentioned above acquired the reversion on the tenancy for money or money’s worth.' it is a valid ground!

What does that mean??

Has anyone here tried Section 8 on ground 1?

G_M

SuperSaver123 wrote: »

Thank you so much for the link G_M!

I thought ground 1 would only be applicable if I lived in the place before but it seems that as long as I have not 'derived title under the landlord who gave the notice mentioned above acquired the reversion on the tenancy for money or money’s worth.' it is a valid ground!

What does that mean??

Has anyone here tried Section 8 on ground 1?

1) was the tenant served notice before the tenancy started?
" Not later than the beginning of the tenancy the landlord gave notice in writing to the tenant that possession might be recovered on this ground"

2) Do you " requires the dwelling-house as (your) only or principal home"?

3) Did money change hands when you took ownership? Was any non-monetary contribution made?

if yes, yes, and no, then go for ground 1. I've no experience of doing so myself and in 10 years and 46,000 posts have never heard of ground 1 being used.........so let us know if you succeed (or not)!

SuperSaver123

yes yes but not sure about 3.

Is this what the quoted bit means??

Are you saying that this could only be used when property was inherited? Otherwise the acquisition of the property would always be in exchange for monetary (or non-monetary) reward/compensation.

I thought it means that I acquired the tenancy by earlier payment?

Comms69

SuperSaver123 wrote: »

yes yes but not sure about 3.

Is this what the quoted bit means??

Are you saying that this could only be used when property was inherited? Otherwise the acquisition of the property would always be in exchange for monetary (or non-monetary) reward/compensation.

I thought it means that I acquired the tenancy by earlier payment?

But you're only evicting one of three tenants? So I'm not sure ground 1 would even apply. Happy to be corrected though

SuperSaver123

No, I am trying to evict them all. They are a couple and the other tenant has already got her notice and hearing next month. Her notice was Section 21 but I did not have a copy of her tenancy agreement so it had to go to hearing.

I still do not understand this monetary and non-monetary acquisition of tenancy - is this acquisition of the house or of the tenancy?