Court Action - How Do I know If I live Abroad

[missmooch]

Hi Guys

hoping someone might be able to shed some light on this.

basically tenant left my property after my getting a possession order in January, with arrears of £550. Her deposit of £600 is held with the DPS. Anyhow with many months of her trying to request the deposit go back to her and me obviously refusing, she sent a stat dec to the DPS, which I replied to saying I did not agree to her getting £600 back and did not want to use their Dispute resolution service.

in order to release the monies to either of us the DPS requires a court order.

i have since moved to the Middle East, and worried if the tenant starts the ball rolling getting a court order I am powerless to do anything, as I believe she is allowed to send any correspondence to my last known address, and if I do not attend court, (because I am unaware of any such request to )then she automatically gets granted the court order.

can anyone advise?

many thanks

[wales01man]

Re: Court Action - How Do I know If I live Abroad

Give the tenant your new address

[PlanB]

Re: Court Action - How Do I know If I live Abroad

basically tenant left my property after my getting a possession order in January, with arrears of £550. Her deposit of £600 is held with the DPS. Anyhow with many months of her trying to request the deposit go back to her and me obviously refusing, she sent a stat dec to the DPS, which I replied to saying I did not agree to her getting £600 back and did not want to use their Dispute resolution service.

in order to release the monies to either of us the DPS requires a court order.

Why don't you want to use the Dispute Resolution Service? It's free to use. If you're genuinely owed the money for rent arrears then you'll get it back that way.

Unless your tenancy agreement specifically stated that the deposit can only being used against dilapidations (some do) you'll win. Ditto if this went to court. There's nothing to stop you issuing a county court summons online against your ex-tenant using MCOL either.

[missmooch]

Re: Court Action - How Do I know If I live Abroad

Thanks for your kind replies guys!

no post here, so giving my new address would make no difference, however could give my parents address. However couldn't she still take me to court, using my old address and I Would still be none the wiser?

Why don't you want to use the Dispute Resolution Service? It's free to use. If you're genuinely owed the money for rent arrears then you'll get it back that way.

Unless your tenancy agreement specifically stated that the deposit can only being used against dilapidations (some do) you'll win. Ditto if this went to court. There's nothing to stop you issuing a county court summons online against your ex-tenant using MCOL either.

Can I use mcol from abroad?

would I need a solicitor to represent me in the uk?

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Court Action - How Do I know If I live Abroad

Can I use mcol from abroad?

You can but you'll need a service address in the UK: http://www.netlawman.co.uk/ia/money-claim-online

You can sue for any amount below £100,000. You must have an address in England or Wales (or a service address here if you live abroad) and be online with an e-mail address. Likewise, the people you are suing must also live in England or Wales.

would I need a solicitor to represent me in the uk?

No, you don't need a solicitor to issue a claim. See here for info: https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/overview

[PlanB]

Re: Court Action - How Do I know If I live Abroad

no post here, so giving my new address would make no difference, however could give my parents address. However couldn't she still take me to court, using my old address and I Would still be none the wiser?

Can I use mcol from abroad?

would I need a solicitor to represent me in the uk?

Yes you can use MCOL from abroad but you have to provide a "service address" in the UK which could be your parents. You also need to provide an email address.

http://www.moneyclaimsuk.co.uk/mcol.aspx

You don't need to use a solicitor to represent you. In fact since this alleged debt is only £550 the claim would be allocated to the Small Claims Court which means that even if you won your claim you wouldn't get an order for costs. You would have to pay your own solicitor's fees which could easily exceed your claim.

You must send a Letter Before Action before you issue a claim. You need to tell your tenant why you believe they owe you this money, tell them what you want them to do about it with a deadline for payment, and tell them what will happen if they don't pay (you will issue a court summons).

Yes your ex-tenant can take you to court using your last known address which is why you must give them an update.

If you issue a court summons consider the possibility that your tenant also has the right to respond with a counter-claim against you as well as their defence. The counter-claim may exceed your claim (it may not).

Once your tenant has filed a defence and/or counter-claim the court will suggest mediation before proceeding to trial.

I am a Landlord and I would seriously recommend that you reconsider your refusal to resolve this deposit issue through the TDS arbitration service. You will look bad in court if you are seen to be unreasonable especially if your ex-tenant was willing to use the free service. In some cases judge's can award the other sides costs against the party which has been unreasonable even in the Small Claims Court.

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Court Action - How Do I know If I live Abroad

no post here, so giving my new address would make no difference, however could give my parents address. However couldn't she still take me to court, using my old address and I Would still be none the wiser?

They *could* but if that was the case, you could have the judgment set aside, on the basis that you didn't receive the court papers. To be able to do that you'd need to show you provided the claimant with a more up-to-date address to contact you (such as by sending them a letter, preferably recorded delivery, and keeping a copy of it).

[missmooch]

Re: Court Action - How Do I know If I live Abroad

Thanks everyone for your kind replies.

Surely I would need a solicitor if this goes to court as I cannot be their in person to represent myself?

Plan B - Was told by letting agent and several legal people not to use in DPS resolution service for arrears.

[PlanB]

Re: Court Action - How Do I know If I live Abroad

Plan B - Was told by letting agent and several legal people not to use in DPS resolution service for arrears.

Why ever not :confused2:

Don't listen to letting agents, and precisely who are these legal people *advising* you to ignore your statutory obligations?