Small Claims Court - Charging for my time

Harry844

I'm looking into taking a former tenant to court to recover costs for rent, repairs to the property and garden works. I've already got the deposit but this won't cover the full costs.   I wanted to know if I undertake some of the repairs and garden work myself, can I still claim my costs for doing it or can I only claim if I pay someone to do it and can prove what I've spent. If I can claim for it myself how much should I charge for my time? I can prove any material costs for what I've bought but don't know how to deal with costs for my time doing it.

Thanks 

born_again

Do you think there is any chance that should you win they have the funds to pay you back?

DullGreyGuy

Harry844 said:

I'm looking into taking a former tenant to court to recover costs for rent, repairs to the property and garden works. I've already got the deposit but this won't cover the full costs.   I wanted to know if I undertake some of the repairs and garden work myself, can I still claim my costs for doing it or can I only claim if I pay someone to do it and can prove what I've spent. If I can claim for it myself how much should I charge for my time? I can prove any material costs for what I've bought but don't know how to deal with costs for my time doing it.

Ultimately it's the decision of the judge and if the former tenant disputes it. What evidence will you have of how long it took? Dont think you will get anything close to what a professional would charge as their rates cover all their operational expenses which you have none of and are irrelevant for you repairing your own property. 

Outside of court I have settled some claimants claim for their time but only where the amount of time was fairly modest and at a rate thats probably below minimum wage and that was as much because disputing £20 is barely worth my time/effort to do. 

Harry844

born_again said:

Do you think there is any chance that should you win they have the funds to pay you back?

They have a full time job, I'm hoping to get an attachment of earnings order. 

Harry844

DullGreyGuy said:

Harry844 said:

I'm looking into taking a former tenant to court to recover costs for rent, repairs to the property and garden works. I've already got the deposit but this won't cover the full costs.   I wanted to know if I undertake some of the repairs and garden work myself, can I still claim my costs for doing it or can I only claim if I pay someone to do it and can prove what I've spent. If I can claim for it myself how much should I charge for my time? I can prove any material costs for what I've bought but don't know how to deal with costs for my time doing it.

Ultimately it's the decision of the judge and if the former tenant disputes it. What evidence will you have of how long it took? Dont think you will get anything close to what a professional would charge as their rates cover all their operational expenses which you have none of and are irrelevant for you repairing your own property. 

Outside of court I have settled some claimants claim for their time but only where the amount of time was fairly modest and at a rate thats probably below minimum wage and that was as much because disputing £20 is barely worth my time/effort to do. 

It seems strange there's no guidance on this (or at least none I can find). It's better for them if I do this work as it'll be cheaper than paying a tradesman. Also from my point of view there's no guarantee I can recover all the money so don't want to be paying more than I have to. I think I'll just use minimum wage rates against the time taken and see how that goes.
 

DullGreyGuy

Harry844 said:

DullGreyGuy said:

Harry844 said:

I'm looking into taking a former tenant to court to recover costs for rent, repairs to the property and garden works. I've already got the deposit but this won't cover the full costs.   I wanted to know if I undertake some of the repairs and garden work myself, can I still claim my costs for doing it or can I only claim if I pay someone to do it and can prove what I've spent. If I can claim for it myself how much should I charge for my time? I can prove any material costs for what I've bought but don't know how to deal with costs for my time doing it.

Ultimately it's the decision of the judge and if the former tenant disputes it. What evidence will you have of how long it took? Dont think you will get anything close to what a professional would charge as their rates cover all their operational expenses which you have none of and are irrelevant for you repairing your own property. 

Outside of court I have settled some claimants claim for their time but only where the amount of time was fairly modest and at a rate thats probably below minimum wage and that was as much because disputing £20 is barely worth my time/effort to do. 

It seems strange there's no guidance on this (or at least none I can find). It's better for them if I do this work as it'll be cheaper than paying a tradesman. Also from my point of view there's no guarantee I can recover all the money so don't want to be paying more than I have to. I think I'll just use minimum wage rates against the time taken and see how that goes.
 

It could be a sensible step to get a quote from someone, ideally quoting the number of man hours, which will help show that the time billed is reasonable and you've tried to mitigate your losses by not employing trade.