UK Landlord Forum / Life

I did not complete a reference check on my tenants which was my first mistake. They are now in over £8000 rental arrears. New information has recently come to light: they were previously renting a council property, not a private one as they claimed.

My question is, am I able to contact the council to ask them for a reference/witness statement of the tenants that I can use as evidence against them? Or would the council not provide this information due to GDPR regulations? The tenants are making false allegations about disrepair to the property and trying to take me to a tribunal to claim 12 month's rent!!!

You can ask the council, but they'll (almost certainly) say no. Forget GDPR, Why on earth should they do what you ask?

With that level of arrears, you should be well on track with a possession claim, not worrying about a possible tribunal. Unless there's a load more to this.