Anybody else been taken to court by ex landlord?

Byrdsian

Apparently my £600 bond wasn’t enough to cover repairs when I moved out, which i totally reject. Landlord wanted another £380 on top . Eventually issued a Country court claim.

AdrianC

Right, and?

I presume you've claimed the deposit back through the deposit protection arbitration...?

Ms_Chocaholic

When did you move out?
Was your deposit protected?
Did you claim the deposit back?
What is your ex-landlord claiming for?

G_M

Byrdsian wrote: »

Apparently my £600 bond wasn’t enough to cover repairs when I moved out, which i totally reject.
How can we comment if you don't tell us
* what he is claiming for
* how he has evaluated the amounts
* what the background is and
* on what grounds you disagree

Landlord wanted another £380 on top and used his law qualification and legal knowledge to threaten me.
His qualifications are irrelevant - anyone can use the courts to make a claim. Do you mean 'threaten'legal action? Perfectly acceptable, and the 1st step to take if he intends this. Or 'threaten' violence? Report tothepolice.

Used very personal attacks in his emails
More info needed.

and said he would track me down.
Well naturally - if he wants to take you to court he will need to 'track you down'. What do you expect? He'll put an ad in the local paper telling you he's suing ou......?

Eventually issued a Country court claim to my place of work last week.
Yes- that is legally acceptable if he is unable o find your place of residence.

I rented the house for four years paying my rent on time every month.

The length of time, and rent payment history, are irrelevant.

All that matters are the details of his claim and the defense, if any, you wish to present.

we cannot comment/advise on these as you have provided no relevant information.

steampowered

The most important thing is to file an acknowledgement of service and a defence within the necessary period, this should be explained on the court documents.

If you do not file those documents in time, the landlord will win by default.

BrownTrout

Post up the claim details please

BrownTrout

You need to spend time working on your defence. Dont just hash something together

Byrdsian

His home was left in a disgusting state apparently and he’s never known such a dirty person...
The main carpet downstairs was ‘too far gone’ and had to be replaced
- I did hire carpet cleaner but couldn’t get it to work.
Lino in kitchen was ripped
- I admit accidentally done when removing washing machine.
Everything else is wear and tear cleaned the whole house and have photos to show more than acceptable condition.
‘Scratch’ on bottom of oven so he ‘had to buy whole new unit’ £100 +
‘Scratches’ on work tops so all had to be replaced.
- don’t recall any of these but used kitchen hundreds of times so possible.
Upstairs of house dirty - wasn’t as I can prove.
Blu tak on wall of one bedroom so had to redecorate- unfortunately couldn’t get it off, my daughters’ room.
£200 to clean carpets apparently.

pinkshoes

Byrdsian wrote: »

His home was left in a disgusting state apparently and he’s never known such a dirty person...
The main carpet downstairs was ‘too far gone’ and had to be replaced
- I did hire carpet cleaner but couldn’t get it to work.
Lino in kitchen was ripped
- I admit accidentally done when removing washing machine.
Everything else is wear and tear cleaned the whole house and have photos to show more than acceptable condition.
‘Scratch’ on bottom of oven so he ‘had to buy whole new unit’ £100 +
‘Scratches’ on work tops so all had to be replaced.
- don’t recall any of these but used kitchen hundreds of times so possible.
Upstairs of house dirty - wasn’t as I can prove.
Blu tak on wall of one bedroom so had to redecorate- unfortunately couldn’t get it off, my daughters’ room.
£200 to clean carpets apparently.

As above, was your deposit protected?

What did the check in inventory say about the state of the worktops etc...?

If you didn't clean the carpets, they need cleaning.

If you ripped the lino, it needs replacing.

blutac leaves greasy marks so yes, it is highly likely the walls all need redecorating. Why didn't you take this off yourself?

Byrdsian

Yes deposit was protected properly but don’t see relevance..
I didn’t receive an inventory, he just claims property was in ‘an immaculate condition ‘ when I moved in. This is only partly true.

anselld

Byrdsian wrote: »

His home was left in a disgusting state apparently and he’s never known such a dirty person...
The main carpet downstairs was ‘too far gone’ and had to be replaced
- I did hire carpet cleaner but couldn’t get it to work.
Lino in kitchen was ripped
- I admit accidentally done when removing washing machine.
Everything else is wear and tear cleaned the whole house and have photos to show more than acceptable condition.
‘Scratch’ on bottom of oven so he ‘had to buy whole new unit’ £100 +
‘Scratches’ on work tops so all had to be replaced.
- don’t recall any of these but used kitchen hundreds of times so possible.
Upstairs of house dirty - wasn’t as I can prove.
Blu tak on wall of one bedroom so had to redecorate- unfortunately couldn’t get it off, my daughters’ room.
£200 to clean carpets apparently.

"Accidental" damage is not an excuse, it is still your fault. So it sounds like most of the damage you will be liable for. The cleaning may be debated depending what the pictures show.

However, the main thing the L cannot claim is "new for old". So for example you may be liable for carpet and lino replacement but he cannot charge the full price; he must only charge a proportion based on the age and expected life of the item and the condition at checkin.

You lived there four years so the items are at least four years old, even being generous with a ten year life the max he could claim is 60% of the cost. Try to argue 5 year life in your defence (20% max claim). See here...
https://www.tenancydepositscheme.com/resources/files/Product%20Lifespans%20Guide_DIGITAL.PDF

The L is not obliged to use the deposit arbitration process but it may not look good in Court if he has refused. Did you request this?