Am I liable for court costs if I left before possession order

diego_94

Answer the questions about when the original 1 year contract was for. A landlord can’t boot you out during an AST. If you left before your 12 months were up what Hellenes to the rest of the rent you paid up front?

squizz11

I signed a year 29th dec 2022 with a 6 month break clause,   I asked several times if he wanted a longterm Tenant and was told yes.
the agent lied about that to get me in.   I had just lost my husband and was under an s21 as that landlord was selling.   I've had to move 15 miles away with a son in GCSE year and one in final uni year both autistic.   my petrol costs have doubled.
 
peed off doesn't even cut it right now
 Just to add I did get the 2 months rent back 

tripled

squizz11 said:

wasn't given the chance to enter a defence,  how can I when I'm not notified of a date

I was given the s21 and all was in order.    nothing else after

You should have received correspondence from the court advising you of the landlord's claim and giving you a timeframe to respond with a defence. There was no hearing from the sounds of it, so no court date to be notified of that you could turn up to.

If you genuinely heard nothing between the S21 and the court order, then you might have the opportunity to appeal or get the judgement set aside on the grounds you were unable to enter a defence as you weren't notified of the claim. You might also have grounds to appeal if the landlord's paperwork was not in order, for example if the S21 was not served correctly. However, you may only have a limited time to appeal.

Grizebeck

Dont give the landlord your new address for starters.
Forget any issue with the court case. They would have sent an order out

deannagone

It did happen to me.  The LL sent me a copy of his paperwork for the S21 court hearing, I had received nothing.  So I phoned the court, explained, and they delayed the court date until I received the paperwork to give me chance to reply. 

It sounds to me you have two important points as already explained.  You (similarly to me) were not allowed a chance to reply, and from the sounds of it, the S21 wasn't valid anyway if it was issued while you were only part way through the fixed period of the AST.  

Its a shame you didn't ask on here.  I don't believe you had to move out when you did. But obviously that is done now.

Is it the courts chasing the payment of the court fees or a debt collection company employed by your LL?  Check with Shelter but I believe you can tell a debt collection company that you are disputing the court hearing results and they should cease to chase you for the money until a decision is made by the court, if you appeal.

You are going directly to the deposit protection scheme to ask for your depost back rather than endless emails between you and the LL? Present your evidence of the condition you left the property in to the Deposit Protection Scheme and let them decide what should be returned.  

squizz11

the break  clause was issued for me to leave at 7 months into the AST.   I did check and he issued it 5 months in,  the break clause could be issued anytime after 4months.
landlords screws up but tenant gets punished as usual

saajan_12

squizz11 said:

the break  clause was issued for me to leave at 7 months into the AST.   I did check and he issued it 5 months in,  the break clause could be issued anytime after 4months.
landlords screws up but tenant gets punished as usual

How do you figure that? You signed a contract with a break clause, you signed a contract with 2 months notice, you didn't serve notice within the S21 notice period to put off their application to court. 

Those are all fine but then the natural concequence is what you're seeing. 

squizz11

saajan_12 said:

squizz11 said:

the break  clause was issued for me to leave at 7 months into the AST.   I did check and he issued it 5 months in,  the break clause could be issued anytime after 4months.
landlords screws up but tenant gets punished as usual

How do you figure that? You signed a contract with a break clause, you signed a contract with 2 months notice, you didn't serve notice within the S21 notice period to put off their application to court. 

Those are all fine but then the natural concequence is what you're seeing. 

the landlord and estate agent told me they were fine with a longer term tenant,   I had only just lost my husband very suddenly.   interest rate rises were being talked about last summer 2021,  my landlord apparently didn't see that coming.    as a landlord I find that a bit naive at the least if not stupid.    he should never have let the house if he was that far stretched financially.   I call that incompetent

Jumblebumble

squizz11 said:

the break  clause was issued for me to leave at 7 months into the AST.   I did check and he issued it 5 months in,  the break clause could be issued anytime after 4months.
landlords screws up but tenant gets punished as usual

I don't want to sound uncharitable and I cannot imagine the pain of losing my partner  but unfortunately you have signed a tenancy agreement agreeing to  a 6 month break clause and that is exactly what you got
The landlord was competent as he took sensible precautions against being stretched financially (which was the break clause)
I hope no one else falls victim to believing the many posters on here who pontificate about how a tenant can stay after a section 21 expires with no risk of any consequence.

steampowered

This sounds like a situation where you would want to see a solicitor, or go to a different forum where people are more specialist and better able to help you with court issues. You could try the Consumer Action Group forum which has some really knowledgeable people on this sort of stuff. You could try going to a Citizens Advice Bureau.

There are lots of people who have given well meaning but incorrect advice in this thread. If you have actually received a court order granting possession (that's a big IF !!!), then it is frankly irrelevant what your contract says or what the underlying circumstances where as this has already been through the court process and the court has made its decision.

Have you actually received a court order though, or is it just the landlord serving notice that they are seeking a court order. Important to get to the bottom of that.