Help needed with Accelerated Possession Claim

[Malibu1]

efpom Thank you for the information. I am not sure why my posts are appearing as blocks of text and not paragraphs. If you can understand any of my other previous questions, I would really appreciate if you could answer any of them, as it may help me formulate my defence. In the event of the judge allowing 42 days, from what date would that start from? Would it be 42 days from the date I received court papers, or 42 days from when I send my defence? Many Thanks

[islandgirl]

Did you check if the S21 is valid. If it is not, the LL will have to begin the process again. As for proof of harm, it would be very hard to prove that spraying caused health issues etc. I do not belive you can issue a counterclaim for compensation as part of a S21 hearing but others may know better. Your best bet if you wish to remain longer is that the S21 is invalid. Go through the checklist provided and let us know

[Malibu1]

Thank you for the reply and link - I am struggling to understand the flowchart at the moment and sometimes have difficulty following lenghly documents but will have another look at it over the weekend. I am sure a legal professional might be able to find something wrong with the S21 notice or other documents, but don't think I would have time to find and instruct any solicitor in time and send them all of the paperwork to check. I found this online, which from what I can understand the possession was cancelled and counterclaim awarded? http://www.communitylawpartnership.c...20judgment.pdf I have the spraying recorded on CCTV showing dates & times and also photographs of chemical burns to my pets eyes, which would be time & date stamped from my phone. I could also possibly get a professional vet letter to confirm that the injuries are consistent with chemical / pesticide exposure. Would that be acceptable evidence? Can I claim that the S21 was invalid and should be struck out, due to the fact it was solely served in retaliation and unlawful discrimination? I have emails to prove that and also recorded telephone conversations.

[efpom]

There are a number of technical defences to a s.21 procedure - the defence form(s) cover those defences e.g. if the "How to Rent" booklet was not served by the landlord on the tenant, a S.21 notice is defective. That is one reason why I urged the OP to fill in a draft of the defence form and post it on here.

However, the OP seems to be focused on bringing a counter claim. There is simply no method of making a counter claim with a S.21 procedure.

[Malibu1]

efpom - Thank you for the reply. I will upload a draft of the defence forms as soon as possible - It would be extremely helpful if you could answer my previous questions, so that I have a clearer understanding and to help me write my defence. I am confused as you say a counterclaim cannot be made, but I have read that it can. "Section II of CPR 55 does not include any provision preventing a tenant from bringing a counterclaim. Therefore, a defendant to an accelerated possession claim is entitled to bring a counterclaim just like a defendant to any other litigation." Could anyone confirm if this is correct? I may have more time than I thought to send the defence back - Although the papers are dated 1 week ago, it states the forms must be sent back by 28 September. Apologies for all of the questions - One of the questions previously asked was, in the event of the judge allowing 42 days, when would the 42 days be counted from? Many Thanks

[islandgirl]

Efpom - you are right and that was the purpose of the flowchart - if mistakes can be identified teh S21 will be invalid. I also think that the standard of proof re the harm to the poor animals will not be reached though I hope I am wrong.
Just another thought - revenge evictions (S21s given after a request to repair) are also banned

"Where a tenant makes a genuine complaint about the condition of their property that has not been addressed by their landlord, their complaint has been verified by a local authority inspection, and the local authority has served either an improvement notice or a notice of emergency remedial action, a landlord cannot evict that tenant for 6 months using the “no-fault” eviction procedure (a section 21 eviction)."

Another thought (amazing how returning from a parkrun makes you think better!): was the prescribed information given and the deposit protected within 30 days?

More info here: https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/infor...enge-eviction/

You may also wish to post your issue on Landlordzone (specialist forum for tenants and Landlords)

[efpom]

Answers:
42 days from the date of the Order of Possession.

A defence allegation that the landlord has breached the terms of the tenancy agreement may be made. But, your writing seems to me to be, at bottom, allegations of harassment.

The only way that those allegations can be brought within the ambit of the current proceedings is if the conduct of the landlord or his agent amounted to interference of your "quiet enjoyment" of the rented property.
However, that will not result in the S.21 application being dismissed - Your allegations, if held by the court. on the papers, to be arguable, will result in a hearing being set down. That may buy you some time to find new accommodation, given that the courts are back logged by about 3 months.

Do bear in mind that your landlord is a limited company.

The fact that people who may be connected with that company may have harassed you, is not, in my view, evidence that the company, your landlord, has harassed you. As for the landlord's letting agency, it does seems to me that your conduct regarding entry for statutory and landlord's inspections might well be viewed as obstructive conduct.

I really have nothing further to add - when you have posted up your draft defence, I may find time to look at that.

[Malibu1]

I disagree that the standard of proof regarding the spraying would not be adequate for the court. I also believe the spraying was done with deliberate negligence, with intent to cause harm, due to previous behaviour of the landlords and the timings of the spraying in relation to eviction notice being served. Also, the videos and photos I have clearly show that the spraying was not carried out as closely to the other neighbouring properties – It was only this property that they sprayed so extremely closely to. I personally am aware of exactly how dangerous and toxic commercial pesticides are. They may be considered safe to spray on crops, which most people wash before consuming, but to have these poisons sprayed in a manner to come into direct contact with people, or animals, and to also be inhaled is extremely dangerous and negligent. I believe some of the chemicals used are derived from nerve poisons that were once used in biological & chemical warfare. I personally know somebody who several years ago worked on a farm picking apples, along with a group of other ladies and whilst they were working, the farmer was spraying pesticides around them extremely closely. Within 1 year, all of those ladies developed aggressive forms of cancer, including breast cancer, and had to have their breasts removed. I have lived in the countryside my entire life and of course would expect certain farming noises or activities, living in a rural or semi-rural area, but I have never in my life experienced bird-scaring guns being fired so extremely closely to residential properties, or crop spraying so dangerously close. I was not advised or informed by the letting agents that any crop spraying would be carried out so extremely closely to my home. When I contacted the letting agent regarding this, which happened shortly after I had been served eviction notice, they treated me with derision and did not care about the injuries caused. The injuries caused were not just to my pets, but also myself. I have owned pets all my life and have never seen eye injuries like that before, which were very clearly chemical burns, and definitely not any other kind of eye infection – Photos of which are time & date stamped. My pets were also gasping for breath, coughing and wheezing, as was I, and this incident exacerbated my asthma and lung conditions. My biggest concern of this is the longer-term injuries that may have been caused to myself and my pets, from these cancer-causing chemicals. I did report this, along with the other harassment, to the Police. I also reported it to the council environmental health, who directed me to report to the HSE. The landlords have hundreds of acres of land and there is no reason they should need to spray so closely to myself and my pets. My understanding is that they are required by law to ensure a buffer-zone area is used, to prevent exposing people or animals from direct exposure, from direct spraying, or possible spray drift from the wind. No buffer zone at all was used and there was no distance whatsoever from the property and the spraying, which directly hit myself and my pets. I think my evidence very clearly shows that they misused toxic poisons and carried out the spraying with extreme negligence.

[Malibu1]

Sorry again about the block of text - I even typed that in word set out in paragraphs, and copied & pasted, but it still shows as a block of text. There must be a problem with my laptop

[islandgirl]

No problem with the block of text. I hope you are right that your evidence would be enough but I am unconvinced. Have the HSE investigated -their report may be exactly what you need? To delay the S21 your best bet is to discover that it is defective for the reasons I have outlined.

[Malibu1]

One of my pets was also pregnant at the time. She was in top health before the spraying incident and her babies were alive & kicking. She sadly miscarried shortly after the pesticide spraying. This is another known side-effect of pesticide exposure. When all of these incidences were reported to the Police, unfortunately the exact words of the officer this was allocated to were "That is the landlords home, not yours, and they have every right to do whatever they want." The council environmental health department stated that they are not able to deal with farmers and directed me to the HSE. The HSE seemed very concerned and told me that this would be allocated to an officer who would contact me for copies of the CCTV and other evidence. I was however then contacted by an officer stating they were not going to investigate and did not even ask for my evidence. They just sent me a link detailing pesticide procedures - Which although have been breached, they are not planning to investigate. I cannot force these people to take any action, or investigate, and have done the best I can in reporting to relevant authorities. This has taken considerable time and effort to do and the best I can do is to provide evidence that I did at the very least report these matters. I will seek to obtain copies of my reports, as additional evidence for the courts, but this might take some time to receive the paperwork.

[islandgirl]

I understand but if HSE chose not to act I doubt the court will award compensation but I sincerely hope I am wrong and I am very sorry for your pets and their ill health caused by this. Unfortunately knowing that this was the case and proving it in court may be two different things. I would concentrate on whether the S21 is valid at this moment in time.

[Malibu1]

Incompetent, lazy and ignorant police officers, or HSE officers are not my fault - The landlords have very clearly broken several laws and I stand fully by the facts, the law, and my allegations. I am doing my best to deal with defending this claim and currently extremely unwell and exhausted.... Could anybody confirm that I am entitled to pursue a counterclaim? I appreciate all of your replies and understand you are trying to help, but struggling to think straight and to write any defence at the moment. I am still confused regarding adding any counterclaim, as I feel that would be in my interests to do so?

[Malibu1]

islandgirl - I am interested to know what kind of evidence you think would be acceptable regarding the spraying, if you think my evidence is not good enough?

[islandgirl]

I have no idea of the standard of proof needed - I assume it will be balance of probabilities. Perhaps an HSE report directly linking a chemical known to have been sprayed in the vacinity (to which the Farmer has admitted) to the exact illnesses suffered by your pets alongside a vet report detailing their injuries and treatment. Or an independent witness explaining the same (which will cost a fortune). It will not be enough to say that you know the LL was responsible. These things are extremely hard to prove. None of us doubt you are correct, it is just that in court that will not be enough. The farmer will say he sprayed a chemical safe for animals. He will say that you are making this up because you do not wish to be evicted. He will not admit his guilt. Having said all this if you can counterclaim then by all means do so. The worst that can happen is that the judge will throw it out. As I keep saying concentrate on whether or not the S21 is valid - that is what will buy you time in your home.Efpom has offered to look at your draft defence if they have time - that is a good offer so perhaps write it and post.