Action against foreign LL for failure re: DPS. Is it worth it? Will it be hard to enforce judgement?

danieljm

Hi all.

I recently purchased a house and got away from renting. Still waiting for deposit which they put in DPS 7 mo late into third (final) tenancy, we should have had it weeks ago and think the LA/EA has gone rogue. This got me thinking - my first two tenancies the deposit remained totally unprotected and it was only done 8 months into the third. I was going to let all of this slide until they started ignoring my contact about getting the deposit back including the DPS dispute. I am not happy and it is time lessons were learned.

Some important points:

• Three separate tenancies therefore three separate transgressions. 
• The LL is a Hong Konger and not based in the UK.
• The LL has a UK based shell company through 'GetGround Secretary' at 1 Lyric House, London. They have one sizeable asset - the house.
• The LA office has been given as a contact for the LL. I suspect the LA has gone rogue though as other LL's are complaining they haven't received rent - it is believed the LA (or an employee) has gone rogue.
• Obviously if the previously mentioned point is the case as evidence would suggest, it is reasonable to expect my ex LL has jibbed them

Complaints, calls and emails have been ignored, therefore my letter before action went out today. I will be filing with the clerk at the county court on 25 May.

Now I am concerned as to where I should serve the LL as it seems likely the LA may no longer be an effective contact for them with the aforementioned.

• Should I serve the documents to the LL's shell company address, or shall I keep it to the LA's office for now?
• If the LA office proves fruitless, is this likely to see my case thrown out?
• Am I likely to see problems enforcing judgement against somebody who isn't even in the UK?
• In respect to the previous point, is it possible to take lien on a property or attachment to earning on rental income?

I hope somebody here might be able to clear a little up for me.

RHemmings

Your rental agreement should have an address in the UK to which you can serve notices etc. This may be the address of an Estate Agent or other company. But, it should be there. If your rental agreement gives an address for serving notices and you use a different one (or sue a different party), then I could foresee this making things difficult. 

If you have a judgement but can't collect, then you may be able to put a charge on the property. If you were thinking of doing this I would get the title register of the house and check who is listed as the owners. I believe that if the registered owner is not the same single person as the person you are suing, then things get more complicated. 

If you get a charge put on the property, then if it's a simple case they may just ignore it. But, if they need to remortgage (the title register will help you know if there is a mortgage), or sell the property, then suddenly there is a charge that needs to be cleared. 

Note that I am just a random person on the internet, not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice.  

newsgroupmonkey_

Have you paid the £3 to get the title for the property?
Is that a different address?
https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry

Bookworm105

who was the LL? The company or the Hong Konger?

Does the company have any assets other than the property? How much are you willing to spend in legal action chasing those assets?

danieljm

Bookworm105 said:

who was the LL? The company or the Hong Konger?

Does the company have any assets other than the property? How much are you willing to spend in legal action chasing those assets?

Somewhat of an oversight on OP.

On the first tenancy the LL was named the Hong Konger I refer to - I have their name. They are now listed as director of the shell company along with their spouse.

I believe these are the people who own the property but I will look to order the title from the land registry.

It seems the company was set up in the period between my first tenancy commencing and the second commencing, as on the second (and third) tenancy the LL was listed as the company.

Presumably this could raise some issues re: pursuing the first tenancy, as I have served the shell and not the individual.

_Penny_Dreadful

RHemmings said:

Your rental agreement should have an address in the UK to which you can serve notices etc.

For an AST the address for the serving of notice must be in England or Wales.

_Penny_Dreadful

danieljm said:

Hi all.

I recently purchased a house and got away from renting. Still waiting for deposit which they put in DPS 7 mo late into third (final) tenancy, we should have had it weeks ago and think the LA/EA has gone rogue. This got me thinking - my first two tenancies the deposit remained totally unprotected and it was only done 8 months into the third. I was going to let all of this slide until they started ignoring my contact about getting the deposit back including the DPS dispute. I am not happy and it is time lessons were learned.

Some important points:

• Three separate tenancies therefore three separate transgressions. 
• The LL is a Hong Konger and not based in the UK.
• The LL has a UK based shell company through 'GetGround Secretary' at 1 Lyric House, London. They have one sizeable asset - the house.
• The LA office has been given as a contact for the LL. I suspect the LA has gone rogue though as other LL's are complaining they haven't received rent - it is believed the LA (or an employee) has gone rogue.
• Obviously if the previously mentioned point is the case as evidence would suggest, it is reasonable to expect my ex LL has jibbed them

Complaints, calls and emails have been ignored, therefore my letter before action went out today. I will be filing with the clerk at the county court on 25 May.

Now I am concerned as to where I should serve the LL as it seems likely the LA may no longer be an effective contact for them with the aforementioned.

• Should I serve the documents to the LL's shell company address, or shall I keep it to the LA's office for now?
• If the LA office proves fruitless, is this likely to see my case thrown out?
• Am I likely to see problems enforcing judgement against somebody who isn't even in the UK?
• In respect to the previous point, is it possible to take lien on a property or attachment to earning on rental income?

I hope somebody here might be able to clear a little up for me.

Serve all documents to the address for the serving of notices given in your tenancy agreement.  You can also name the letting agent as well as the person or entity named as your landlord on your tenancy agreement.

Shelter has a good guide about what to do if your landlord has failed to protect your deposit including a link to Ex321.

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/tenancy_deposits/how_to_make_a_tenancy_deposit_compensation_claim

propertyrental

You need to serve at the address you were given (a legal requirement!) 'for the serving of notices'.

Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 S48

It's likely to be the letting agent's address, but if they have gone out of business or are no longer acting for the LL, that is the LL's problem, not yours. It is assumed the LL receives post at the address he gives you and it's up to him to update that address if he needs to.

RHemmings

_Penny_Dreadful said:

RHemmings said:

Your rental agreement should have an address in the UK to which you can serve notices etc.

For an AST the address for the serving of notice must be in England or Wales.

Good point. My using 'UK' was sloppy.