small claims advice please

[deltech]

I got my house back last week, courtesy of a court order, after a 3-year battle with my ex, and the place is in a terrible mess, contrary to the terms of the court order.

For example:~

every wall in the house has "stripey finger marks" made with car oil/grease (criminal damage, NOT fair wear & tear),

every carpet in the house has oily/greasy stains from work boots, and are beyond cleaning (same as above),

the central heating wasn't working, so I had an engineer out yesterday and he has issued me a prohibition notice for the boiler due it's unsafe condition,

a skip-load of car parts has been left in the shed, rear garden, front garden, and garage,

a non-working fridge freezer was left behind, full of rancid food, which even a week later, still has the kitchen smelling so bad it makes ye want to vomit,

all 32 light bulbs have been removed from the house,

the list goes on.

I have taken over a hundred photos of the damage.

I cannot afford a Solicitor to act on my behalf, so my only option is a small claims action.

The painting & decorating has been quoted at £3,200, and the carpets at £1,800 = £5,000 alone, and I don't have an official quote yet for a new boiler, but he said £1,500-£2,000 off the top of his head.

I have already paid my ex over £100,000, YES £100,000, to get out, so I am apalled at the condition the house has been left in, and in particular that it is DELIBERATE.

I would be happy to raise a small claims action myself, but simply require some guidance as to what the process woud be, AND ALSO, if my ex contests it AND WINS, will I have to pay their legal fees?

Thanks in advance.

[Cinderella66]

More details are needed as to how the property was recovered and under what order and grounds plus the wording of the order.

[deltech]

More details are needed as to how the property was recovered and under what order and grounds plus the wording of the order.

The property was "recovered" by means of a divorce settlement payment in excess of £100,000, agreed by me and my ex, and approved by a Judge.

I will have to dig out the Court Order if ye really need the exact wording, as it is on my computer, which is boxed (I am typing this from a borrowed laptop), but, it was along the lines of:~

"X will pay Y the sum of £1xx,xxx, by <date>, and Y will vacate the property on <date>.

"the property will be left in a good condition (or it might have been good state of repair) save for fair wear & tear."

So, smearing oily handprints on all the walls, and oily boot stains on the carpets, and removing 32 light bulbs (yes trivial but relevant) does not (in my opinion) constitue "fair wear & tear", and (in my opinion) is criminal damage.

The upshot is, I am not going to see myself out of pocket over the deliberate actions of others, and want to make a small claim, so any advice on how do to that would be most gratefully received, and also, an answer as to whether I would have to pay my ex's legal fees should my claim fail?

[Cinderella66]

You cannot be guilty of criminal damage if the property belongs to that person so that is not going anywhere. He appears in breach of the consent order so the best remedy is an action in that court. A first step would be to have a chat with the solicitor who acted for you in that matter and ask their advice. In answer to your question referencing court fees. CPR 45.2 restricts these on the small claims track.