Want to Sue Landlord but would it cost lots upfront?

G_M

If your landlord leaves you in an uninhabitable property, there is acion you can take against him at the time.

Yes - the council;s Environment Health dept would help, and could serve an enforcement notice on the landlord. There are also procedures to enforce repairs.

Suing afterwards is not appropriate. To sue, you need to specify financial loss. What is your financial loss? How much would you sue for?

(if you respond: 'my rent for 2 years'' the reposte is

a) you had use of the property in return- albeit a property in a poor state,a and
b) you chose to remain, and take no action against him at the time, thus implicitly accepting the situation.)


But assuming you wish to proceed, and can come up with a figure for the amount you wish to claim, the upfront cost will be small. Start a moneyclaimonline action against him. No solicitor needed.

The court fee is based on the amount you’re claiming, plus interest.


Claim amount Paper form fee Online claim fee

Up to £300 £35 £25

£300.01 to £500 £50 £35

£500.01 to £1,000 £70 £60

£1,000.01 to £1,500 £80 £70

£1,500.01 to £3,000 £115 £105

£3,000.01 to £5,000 £205 £185

£5,000.01 to £10,000 £455 £410

£10,000.01 to £100,000 5% of the claim 4.5% of the claim

https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/court-fees

AdrianC

lifeofbrian2015 wrote: »

No heating for 2 years, removed the entire roof and flooring above me mid winter(without telling me, 14 degrees in the day with three heaters on), noise all day every day for over a year, I basically lived on a building site for 2 years when he said only 3 months of work and no noise and no disruption to me.

Terrible. But...


What are you suing him for?

lifeofbrian2015

I had been there for 10 years and suffer from mental health problems so moving would be very stressful. The stress of all the events mentioned plus many more destroyed my health and all I could do was desperately try and manage that. I was getting so many chest pains (I have a heart condition) that I was terrified of making myself more stressed, I had to call an ambulance a few times, this included a three day hospital stay because of my heart.

Stupid that I stayed, yes, but I couldn't deal with the crap my landlord would have given me, plus the stress of moving. Also it was always, "nearly finished", "won't be much longer". Plus he was always adding things not discussed before.

Blackpool_Saver wrote: »

And you stayed there?:eek:

AdrianC

I think you misunderstand the question...

If you sue him, and win, what do you want a court to award you?

G_M

AdrianC wrote: »

Terrible. But...
What are you suing him for?

Adrian does not mean "what has he done to you that makes you want to sue him?"
He means: "How much, in money, are you (going to) sue him for.
As per my own post above:

To sue, you need to specify financial loss. What is your financial loss? How much would you sue for?

davidmcn

Or to put it another way, what exactly is the "very good case" which the solicitor you've consulted thinks you have?

But in answer to the question of how you fund it, unless you qualify for Legal Aid (not sure exactly of current criteria but I suspect you won't) or some charitable source of legal advice/representation, yes you'd almost certainly need to fund it upfront.

babyblade41

If you were vulnerable either mentally or physically presumably you would have attended your GP, they in turn would go through what it is that is compounding your situation .

GP's are very aware of these types of situations and would have pointed you in the right direction... firstly an environmental health officer who would have done an inspection on the property.

Landlords have specific responsibilities toward their tenants and if they found the conditions you have described they would immediately contacted the landlord.

I think your case would be laughed out of court as A, you have no proof unless my comment above was carried out and dates, times and state of the premises were recorded
and B , you made no financial loss as you inhabited the property without complaint .

There are no grounds to sue and quite honestly I'd be surprised that visiting a GP numerous times in 2 years for your condition and hospital you never once told anyone

I think as replies above you have no grounds . My advice is to learn by your mistake and complain to the relevant people if it happens again.

Sorry but you did ask and money saved in trying to pursue

theartfullodger

What actual financial loss have you.suffered please?

csgohan4

how much is your stress worth?

Blackpool_Saver

GP's are gatekeepers in these situations, they refer you to MH services and they do nothing either, you have to see it to believe it