Neighbour owes me money! Help

jen272

Apologies if not the right thread but need some advice. Got the shared fence replaced in April. Was agreed via email that home owner of the rented property next door would contribute to costs-provided breakdown of price. Work has been done. No money received. Reminder sent via letting agency but still no payment. I’ve chased more than once! Do I have a leg to stand on claiming the money they agreed to pay? Help

Bushey

proof of email from actual owner next door, would likely be sufficient to prove in small claims court he/she were liable for Half of cost.but i would speak to citizens advice asap.

Keep_pedalling

You could send them a letter before action, then make a money claim against them.

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

You have the evidence that they agree to pay so you should win, and I doubt they want a CCJ against them.

eddddy

jen272 said:

Do I have a leg to stand on claiming the money they agreed to pay?

You can certainly make a claim through the small claims court.

There's a process to follow, but essentially the court will look at your evidence, and look at your neighbours evidence - and decide if the money is owed.

I'd guess your evidence that the money is owed would include as statement from you; the email from the neighbour agreeing to pay; an invoice / receipt from the fencer to show that the work was done and how much it cost; and maybe a photo to show that the fence really is there.

I guess your neighbour will produce their evidence that the money isn't owed. (Maybe they'd say that they never agreed to pay; that the email is fake; or that the fence isn't the type they agreed to, etc.)

And the court will make a decision based on the "balance of probabilities".

steampowered

Who agreed to this. Was it the landlord, the letting agent, someone else?

If the email was clear enough and was given by a person able to commit the landlord to payment - you could absolutely bring a small claim against the landlord.

That's a big "IF"! it would be helpful to see what the email says.

jen272

steampowered said:

Who agreed to this. Was it the landlord, the letting agent, someone else?

If the email was clear enough and was given by a person able to commit the landlord to payment - you could absolutely bring a small claim against the landlord.

That's a big "IF"! it would be helpful to see what the email says.

I have several emails from the letting agent. One stating they’ve spoken to the landlady and she’s happy for them to deal with me/the fence replacement. The other saying “ the landlord will pay their share, so could you send the invoice” and another stating “Can you send me over your bank details and the landlord will pay you direct?” 
I’ve sent one more email to the letting agent today asking for the matter to be resolved and how I will look at other means to recover the money if necessary. I will just have to wait and see

SiliconChip

Although you've probably given them enough chances to pay anyway I would suggest that you send a letter headed Letter Before Action advising that if payment is not received in 7 days you will commence court proceedings. You should really send it to the owner of the property as that's who you will need to name in the court claim (you'll also need an address for them, I'm not sure if the Letting Agency address will be sufficient).

canaldumidi

jen272 said:

steampowered said:

Who agreed to this. Was it the landlord, the letting agent, someone else?

If the email was clear enough and was given by a person able to commit the landlord to payment - you could absolutely bring a small claim against the landlord.

That's a big "IF"! it would be helpful to see what the email says.

I have several emails from the letting agent. One stating they’ve spoken to the landlady and she’s happy for them to deal with me/the fence replacement. The other saying “ the landlord will pay their share, so could you send the invoice” and another stating “Can you send me over your bank details and the landlord will pay you direct?” 
I’ve sent one more email to the letting agent today asking for the matter to be resolved and how I will look at other means to recover the money if necessary. I will just have to wait and see

So you have no evidence whatsoever that the owner agreed. You only have the word of a letting agent with whom you have no relationship.

A letting agent acts on behalf of their (landlord) client in relation to a letting (hence the name). You are not the tenant.

jen272 said:

....Was agreed via email that home owner of the rented property next door would contribute to costs-provided breakdown of price. Work has been done. ...

Did you send this before work started and get it agreed? Better still, did you send 3 competitive quotes to show a breakdown and explanation of why you are using the contrator you used?

user1977

canaldumidi said:

jen272 said:

steampowered said:

Who agreed to this. Was it the landlord, the letting agent, someone else?

If the email was clear enough and was given by a person able to commit the landlord to payment - you could absolutely bring a small claim against the landlord.

That's a big "IF"! it would be helpful to see what the email says.

I have several emails from the letting agent. One stating they’ve spoken to the landlady and she’s happy for them to deal with me/the fence replacement. The other saying “ the landlord will pay their share, so could you send the invoice” and another stating “Can you send me over your bank details and the landlord will pay you direct?” 
I’ve sent one more email to the letting agent today asking for the matter to be resolved and how I will look at other means to recover the money if necessary. I will just have to wait and see

So you have no evidence whatsoever that the owner agreed. You only have the word of a letting agent with whom you have no relationship.

A letting agent acts on behalf of their (landlord) client in relation to a letting (hence the name).

Not so sure about that - if it was outside their remit as agent, why are they engaging in correspondence about it? Letting agents do deal with more general management of properties, not just the tenant (e.g. engaging tradespeople to carry out maintenance).

I think the OP is entitled to rely on the confirmation from the agent as being the instructions from their principal.

Tiglet2

Landlords can authorise their letting agent to go ahead with maintenance works up to a certain amount of £ - it saves the agent from having to get in touch, and get permission to go ahead, with the landlord every time there is a small issue.  However, fencing may well be above that limit.

eddddy

Tiglet2 said:

Landlords can authorise their letting agent to go ahead with maintenance works up to a certain amount of £ - it saves the agent from having to get in touch, and get permission to go ahead, with the landlord every time there is a small issue.  However, fencing may well be above that limit.

Yep - but presumably, if the fence was above the limit, the agent should have contacted the landlord to get authorisation, before confirming to the OP.

If the agent "forgot" to get authorisation from the Landlord before telling the OP to go ahead, that shouldn't be the OP's issue.

That's an issue between the Landlord and their agent, which they need to resolve between themselves.




However, the process often works like this...

• The tenant pays rent to the agent. The agent makes deductions and passes the remainder to the landlord.

• The agent arranges any maintenance work (e.g. the fence)

• So the agent then deducts the cost of the work from the rent, and pays for the work. (A big job like a fence, might completely wipe-out one or two months rent payments.)

But problems arise for the agent, if, for example...

• The tenant stops paying rent

• The tenant happens to give notice and move out before the full cost of the work can be deducted from the rent

In that case, the agent has to try to get the money from the landlord to pay. (And the landlord is already angry and/or short of money because they're not getting any rent.)


But again, it shouldn't be the OP's problem - the money is still owed to them, and the OP can still make a court claim.