Tenant is leaving before bailiff arrival date

propertyrental

What action have you taken as advised to enforce the existing judgement?

As previously advised you need to enforce that asap - ignore the negotiations/requests to settle for a lesser amount ad enforce what you have judgement for.

Assessing ad claiming for the damage is a separate, new issue.

Mr_GoldMine

i havent taken any action yet, the plan is to consolidate it all in one case via MCOL.... dread paying all the fees and legal costs for two claims...

still think i should enforce the arrears and damages seperately?

doodling

Hi,

Mr_GoldMine said:

i havent taken any action yet, the plan is to consolidate it all in one case via MCOL.... dread paying all the fees and legal costs for two claims...

still think i should enforce the arrears and damages seperately?

Yes.  The case that you already had is done.  The judge has ruled.  Unless you think the judge got it wrong or want to give your tenant the opportunity to put in a new defence then trying to reopen it is a bad idea.

Your only option is to open a new case for your losses that are not covered by the previous case.

Assuming it is less than (I think) £10k then the expectation is that you will not have any legal costs (they are not claimable) and you will get the court fees awarded to you if you win (which only helps if you are able to enforce the judgement, i.e. that the defendant has money you can get at).

Mr_GoldMine

having just spoken to our legal rep. his recommendation is

size up the following :
- cleaning bill (including bulk rubbish removal),
- repair estimation (of non wear and tear aspects) of house

- total amount outstanding / awarded by judge on 6th June 2023

then apply to relevant court.

he is confident in getting the judgement but says it depends on how much the ex tenant can afford.

the tenant has been trying to liaise with our estate agent trying to settle a lower figure... apparently this guy wants to buy a house and understands there may be implications for him regarding any mortgage applications if we the landlord see this through...

ciderboy2009

As others keep telling you - you cannot start a second claim which includes the sum that you already have a judgment for.  If your "legal rep" is telling you that you can then I would suggest you get a new legal rep.

You should Google "Res judicata" (this is similar to Double Jeopardy but applying to Civil courts).

Grizebeck

Who exactly is this legal rep?? I assume he isn't a solicitor 

Mr_GoldMine

Grizebeck said:

Who exactly is this legal rep?? I assume he isn't a solicitor 

eviction company that dealt with the eviction, they have a panel of para legals and have preferred advocates for representation etc

Mr_GoldMine

gawd i am getting confused now.

so for damages, cleaning etc we need a judgement on that first..  via MCOL (or somewhere else)?

for the enforcement of the judgement (already given th June 23) regarding arrears, we need to go MCOL ... right?

we are trying to combine in one application... this is what our eviction guy has said that we can do...? is he wrong?

Wonka_2

the tenant has been trying to liaise with our estate agent trying to settle a lower figure... apparently this guy wants to buy a house and understands there may be implications for him regarding any mortgage applications if we the landlord see this through...

So here is your power - why not play on this and maybe get a %age of what you're looking for with no risk by using the agent ?? Potentially simpler with a higher rate of success than the alternatives (but obviously doesn't tick the retribution box)

Herzlos

Mr_GoldMine said:

gawd i am getting confused now.

so for damages, cleaning etc we need a judgement on that first..  via MCOL (or somewhere else)?

for the enforcement of the judgement (already given th June 23) regarding arrears, we need to go MCOL ... right?

we are trying to combine in one application... this is what our eviction guy has said that we can do...? is he wrong?

You don't need MCOL to enforce the first judgement, you need to contact the court.
You can't combine them both into 1 application; 1 has been supported by the judge and one hasn't been applied for yet.

If he's trying to settle, then assuming you're not still bent on revenge, then I'd be considering his settlement offer. Something like the owed rent (at the old rate) + the cleanup bill, will leave you where you started, without all  of the hassle.