Landlord stole from us then just dissolved company he used to rent to us...

gaz457

Hi everyone,

We rented a house for a few months in Scotland and then moved out when our landlord started demanding payment for wear and tear in the roof. Anyway, after a long tribunal (1,5 years), it was decided that he should pay us quite a large sum of money as our deposit wasn't stored in a deposit scheme and I also had no right to charge us for the things he did. We have contacted the local sheriff's office who can enforce the debt but they say that Companies House is showing that there is an active proposal to strike off the company, which means there is very little chance of recovering our money.

My question is, has anyone had experience with this, do we have any options? Is it really that simple in UK/Scottish law to scam people? I also have property in Scotland so can I just use a limited company to take a deposit from someone, not give it back and then close the company and repeat. Obviously I don't want to do that but I'm struggling to believe that the possibility is there.

Thanks for any help!

saajan_12

Well that's the risk of dealing with limited companies, not just relating to property. The company can be folded and if there's no assets, there's little you can practically do. 

However if they were letting a property, is the property not owned by the company? I suppose its possible the company were "renting" the property from someone else and then subletting to you. However if it is owned, then the company does have assets and you should be able to get something. 

FlorayG

I had similar once. I went to tribunal for constructive dismissal, won, was awarded several thousand pounds in lost income, director dissolved the company I had been working for and I got nothing. She then started another company doing the same thing.

DullGreyGuy

In principle there are things you can do however they all cost money and the prospects of recovery arent great and therefore unless you are owed a lot its rarely economical to risk spending more money and still get nothing back. 

tacpot12

You can try to stop the company being struck off. 

user1977

Who actually owns the property? The same company who owes you money or somebody else?

pinkshoes

gaz457 said:

Hi everyone,

We rented a house for a few months in Scotland and then moved out when our landlord started demanding payment for wear and tear in the roof. Anyway, after a long tribunal (1,5 years), it was decided that he should pay us quite a large sum of money as our deposit wasn't stored in a deposit scheme and I also had no right to charge us for the things he did. We have contacted the local sheriff's office who can enforce the debt but they say that Companies House is showing that there is an active proposal to strike off the company, which means there is very little chance of recovering our money.

My question is, has anyone had experience with this, do we have any options? Is it really that simple in UK/Scottish law to scam people? I also have property in Scotland so can I just use a limited company to take a deposit from someone, not give it back and then close the company and repeat. Obviously I don't want to do that but I'm struggling to believe that the possibility is there.

Thanks for any help!

So this sounds like the LL set up a COMPANY to rent out houses, rather than just himself renting out a property?

Surely the property belongs to the LL? Or is he trying to state that you rented from the company, but the company doesn't own the house - he does, so therefore no assets to chase as they are separate entities??

What does your original paperwork say about who you are renting from? 

I *think* that if the landlord sets themselves up as a limited company, then the property they're renting also needs to belong to the limited company too, so I can't see why you shouldn't be able to put a charge on the property. 

Or perhaps the property has no mortgage??

Bookworm225

gaz457 said:

 Is it really that simple in UK/Scottish law to scam people? I also have property in Scotland so can I just use a limited company to take a deposit from someone, not give it back and then close the company and repeat. 

in principle yes, that could be done

but the bottom line is what assets does the company own, including (potentially) any personal guarantees given to the company by its director/owner.

however, as you have already found out from those whose business it is to collect debts, in your case it may be good money after bad to seek to claim from a liquidating company as being an outstanding creditor objecting to strike off still does not ensure the company has money to pay you with. You may get some money, but just because you won in court does not make you a preferential creditor when it comes to liquidating whatever assets the company has,

is it a Scottish or English company?
Object to a limited company being struck off: Make an objection - GOV.UK

brianposter

Assuming that it costs nothing to make an objection the obvious action is to object.

DullGreyGuy

brianposter said:

Assuming that it costs nothing to make an objection the obvious action is to object.

It costs nothing to object but it also achieves little in itself. 

gaz457

saajan_12 said:

Well that's the risk of dealing with limited companies, not just relating to property. The company can be folded and if there's no assets, there's little you can practically do. 

However if they were letting a property, is the property not owned by the company? I suppose its possible the company were "renting" the property from someone else and then subletting to you. However if it is owned, then the company does have assets and you should be able to get something. 

The house is owned by the company director's wife (they are separated)