MCOL against non tenant

jbkmum

If the tenant went away for a month and let a friend stay who then caused £8000 of damage. Could the landlord "sue" the guest? Or would it be the tenant due to liability. 

For example, the guest blocked their dog in the dining room and it tore apart skirting boards, floor and furniture. That's just one small example of damage.
I think you can't sue the guest, you can only sue the tenant?

AdrianC

The landlord has a contractual relationship with the tenant, so the tenant is on the hook.

It's up to the tenant whether they wish to pursue their "friend".

jbkmum

Thought as much,  it’s due to the contractual relationship etc 

tom9980

You can sue anyone you like. I would suggest naming both on the claim, but certainly I would expect both to have some liability. You would have two people to chase for payment as well.

jbkmum

I thought you could only use MCOL where there was a contractual relationship? So she stayed in the house whilst he was away, trashed it and caused a huge amount of damage. I know the obvious thing is to pursue him for the money, but I wondered if she would be liable too. At least from a civil claim pov

AdrianC

You can use MCOL for anything you can knock into a claim...

Whether you'll win is another question entirely.

In the situation the OP describes, there is no debt from tenant to landlord until the tenancy ends and the tenant moves out. Then the landlord simply does the check-out and deposit deduction as per normal, and can launch a claim for any damages on top of the deposit as per normal. The debt is contractual through the damage above wear and tear during the tenancy.

For the landlord to have any claim against the "guest", first they'd have to prove the damage was caused by that guest. And since they have no way of even knowing that guest was staying there...

greatcrested

Adrian is right that the contractual relationship is between tenant and landlord. But where structural damage is caused, it is for the landlord to fix, not the tenant. The LL can then seek reimbursement from the tenant. There is therefore no need to wait till the tenancy ends (indeed it would be foolhardy to do so given that the deposit is unlikely to cover the cost in this case).

So

1) get contractors round and get written quotes

2) write to tenant claiming the cost and advising the contractors will require access for the repairs

3) if tenant agrees, great.

4) if tenant disputes liabiliy then Letter Before Action

5) assuming there is evidence that the 'friend' caused the damage (well, OK, friend's dog!), then LBA to friend as well. Tenant may have stated, for example, "I'm not liable because my friend Joe Bloggs's dog did it".

6) if still no acceptance of liability, moneyclaim on line naming both as co-defendants. Judge can sort out liability.