UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi, has anyone encountered a couple in the late 20s hell bent on fleecing their Landlord by taking him/her to Court post- eviction with trumped up charges, but still meeting with success? My problem now, but the guy says " I know the drill, done it before and I always win".Are you that Landlord?

They operate in Lancashire: he is slim, blonde, shortish and heavily tattooed. She was probably pregnant at the time. They now have a 16 month old son. Present as vulnerable, low-income victims.

I am keen to contact any previous landlords in preparation for the court case. Many thanks.
 

Its a very slim chance of someone on here having the same tenants.

What are the trumped up charges though, we might be able to help in that respect.

Without ever informing me of any repairs needed, he went to the Housing Standards Office who appeased him by contacting me with an informal notice. Tenant unhappy at result, threatened me and extorted money, agreeing to leave, then reneged. Served with an eviction notice, has become increasingly abusive to me and my solicitors. His clear intent is to sue all and sundry: me, my solicitors, even the Council for " compensation". I would just like to found out where he already did this previously. Thank you.

The tenant's previous claims should have no effect on their current claim, nor will their existence offer any defence. It might influence the judge in some way, but that's not going to be measurable. And your bringing it up is a risky tactic, because "they've done it before" might be interpreted as simply someone being aware of their rights.

If the tenant wants to sue you for compensation, it's impossible to stop them, but any claim has to be against a "loss", which they have to get a court to accept and it has to be mitigated (ie kept to a minimum). Threatening to sue someone is remarkably simple and some people do it a lot.

And, as an aside, there's not really such a thing as an "informal notice" from a council. Something is either a notice (and is formal) or it's a note (or an advisory or a warning). It has no effect other than advising you of something that probably needs attention (in this case that if you don't do something a more formal notice might be forthcoming - which is quite a decent thing for someone in the council to do).

Many thanks for the info and advice.
I have narrowed it down to Blackburn.
I would still like to speak to the
previous Landlord if I ever manage to find him though!