Defending myself against my ex landlord in small claims court

Thrugelmir

To avoid going to court. Offer to pay the rent owed. But accept no liability for the damage claim. 

greatcrested

Kyleayres said:

Oh and by summarily I mean it was a year on year thing but he ended it early. It just said the landlord requires possession and gave a date. It wasn't a court eviction or anything like that. 

It sounds like a S21 Notice (but may not have been) and the S21 may or may not have been valid. Either way, a S21 does not end the tenancy. Only a court, or the tenant, can do that. Since the matter did not go to court, only you could end the tenancy. However you did not serve notice, so the tenancy was not ended, so you owe the rent. Whether the landlord/agent did or did not demand the rent at the time is irrelevant - you owed it, and the LL has 6 years to claim it. I strongly suspect you will lose in court.

My advice therefore would be to pay the amount owed before it goes to court, to minimise your court costs.

However, so far as your question is concerned:

The biggest question I have is the ccj thing. If I went to court and the judge said OK you owe the rent but not for the extra damages or worse said I owe it all id say fair cop and pay up. So you guys are saying in that instance I'd have 30 days to settle up without anything going on my public credit file? 

Correct.

AdrianC

Kyleayres said:

I don't really have a problem with the way the landlord ended the tenancy. Reeds rains sent through the documents giving notice so I'm sure whatever section they used it was above board.

Academic - you came to a mutual agreement with the landlord to terminate the tenancy, so the validity of the formal notice is irrelevant.

The condition of the property is somewhat more complicated in that I was there over 5 years

Was the place freshly decorated when you moved in? Was there a photographic check-in and -out done?

the landlord agreed I could redecorate the living room at my own expense and listed among the damages were carpet cleaning which I paid to put in and some damaged furniture which wasn't his in the first place.

Redecoration would have been about due after five years anyway - so the only thing claimable would have been any extra costs to remove/cover unusually strong colours or patterns you'd used.

If we say carpet life is ~10yrs, then the maximum claimable would be 50% of the value, and that only assuming that both the old carpet was new at move-in, and the carpet you installed was demonstrably unsuitable for future letting. Again, strong colour or pattern.

The cost of disposing of your damaged furniture is definitely due from you.

In any event they sent me a list of the damages when they asked for the full deposit and I said fine expecting that to be an end to the matter.

So you voluntarily accepted forfeit of your full deposit.

If there were other outstanding arrears I would have expected those in the list of outstanding costs.
I also think there has to be a point at which communication ceases and you move on.

There is a point. Six years is the legal maximum for claiming any outstanding debt.

Surely me presenting the email exchange and saying this is how it was left would show I agreed to what they wanted and expected that to be an end to it.

That's part of your defence if they take you to court for the amount. How much weight it carries will depend on the exact communications around it. If they replied and said nothing, that could be viewed as tacit acceptance. But from what you've said about the condition, I can't see they're going to get anywhere.

I'm more annoyed they are now asking for monies which I was never told I owe.

They have every right to ask. Whether it's actually an enforceable debt is another question, which only a court can ultimately determine.

With regards moving out I didn't give notice that I wouldn't be staying the final month but to be honest once I found a new place I had to take it. I couldn't ask them to hold it for a month while my lease ran out so I could accept that I owe the final month.

And that pretty much balances with your deposit, right?

The biggest question I have is the ccj thing. If I went to court and the judge said OK you owe the rent but not for the extra damages or worse said I owe it all id say fair cop and pay up. So you guys are saying in that instance I'd have 30 days to settle up without anything going on my public credit file?

Not "pretty much" saying it. Saying it explicitly and absolutely.

If you don't believe us, then read the Money Advice Service link I posted up there.
https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/dealing-with-county-court-judgements-ccjs#how-a-ccj-affects-your-credit-record

How a CCJ affects your credit record

Unless you pay off a CCJ in full within 30 days of receiving the judgment, it will be entered on your credit record at the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines. It’ll remain there for six years.

greatcrested

AdrianC said:

Kyleayres said:

I don't really have a problem with the way the landlord ended the tenancy. Reeds rains sent through the documents giving notice so I'm sure whatever section they used it was above board.

Academic - you came to a mutual agreement with the landlord to terminate the tenancy, so the validity of the formal notice is irrelevant.

It's really not that clear. The LL served what appears to have been a S21 (but may not have been), which simply warns the tenant that an application may be made to a court to end the tenancy. The tenant appears to have then simply moved out. No reference has been made by the OP of any 'mutual agreement to terminate'. Arguably the subsequent dscussion over the deposit and damage implies acceptance of the tenant's surrender, but there was no agreement (apparantly) regarding the lack of notice, rent in lieu, or whether the date of surrender was the date the tenant vacated, date of discussion over deposit, or some other date.