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Evening all,
I am the tenant in this situation and I'll try to keep this short and simple. Facts of the case:
- tenancy started in 2019, went periodic in 2021, new tenancy started in 2022, went periodic in 2023. heating and plumbing were problematic in the house since the start of the tenancy, however the landlord has been repairing things up to 2022 and then stopped
- S21 proceedings failed in October, 2023 as my deposit wasn't protected and no gas safety checks have been done since 2019
- deposit is still not protected
- rent increased by £300 (700 -> 1000) via S13 in Nov, 2023, I refused to pay the increase due to ongoing disrepair: gas heating not working properly (or just plain not working at all) since 2022 and I had to buy electric heaters and pay more costly electric heating to heat the house
- landlord stopped all repairs in 2022 and never made efforts to repair the gas heating after that and claimed in court (as part of the S21 process) that there is in fact no gas in the house at all (no idea why he did that)
- I do not dispute that the rent was lawfully raised and due, I do not dispute that I owe this amount and I accept that I refused to pay it due to the disrepair
- S8 possession claim started due to rent arrears as I now owe £3600
- I counterclaimed for the unprotected deposit and disrepair to the value of £10000 (4x tenancies with £2100 compensation each + £1600 for the cost of 3x electric heaters, inconvenience due to disrepair and having to pay a lot more for electric heating as I am unable to use gas for heating)
- I am aware I am not going to get £10000, but I feel confident my claim is worth around £5000 and certainly more than my arrears
- landlord is using an eviction specialist and on the first hearing they have requested it adjourned in order to reply to my defense and counterclaim. this was granted and the hearing was adjourned for next month. the next hearing is likely going to be a directions hearing only anyway
- landlord has since replied to my defense and counterclaim, but the reply wasn't of any substance, aside from claiming that the landlord did not know about the disrepair. However, I have copies of emails where I raised these issues, not to mention that the disrepair was also mentioned in court for the S21 proceedings as the court has sent the landlord a letter stating that the tenants are reporting a faulty gas boiler in the property
- I do not qualify for legal aid, and although I have had help from a solicitor to write my defense and counterclaim, I was not impressed with how unprofessional they were, and I did not really get a better feel of any other company, so I am just representing myself in this
- I do not actually want to stay in this house and I will be moving abroad as soon as this is done, so I am not interested in keeping possession and would gladly give it back, but I am not doing it before this court case is resolved. I might be coming back to UK in 5-10 years time, so I would like to have this case settled either by a trial or out of court, but I am not giving the property back so that the landlord can then make repairs and say there was never any disrepair!
- all my contact to the landlord is via the eviction specialist as they have stated I am not to contact the landlord directly
So my questions now are:
1.) do I need to provide a reply to the landlord's reply and provide evidence etc, or do I just wait with that until the trial actually starts? I don't want to engage in "ping pong" with replies, statements, evidence if this is not necessary, but I also don't want to go the next hearing and get asked why I have not replied?
2.) can I make a settlement offer? I know Part 36 rules do not apply for housing possession matters, but can this still be settled out of court? I want my deposit back and probably £1000 in compensation. In return I would drop my deposit and disrepair claims and surrender my tenancy at short notice (I am only limited by availability of flights and can leave whenever). Of course, I expect the possession claim to be ended and rent arrears written off.
3.) do I let the landlord / eviction specialist know that I am willing to surrender the tenancy as soon as this matter is resolved and / or otherwise settled, and wait to see if they instead approach me with an offer to settle?
4.) if I do make an offer to settle, do I do so "Without prejudice" or "Without prejudice save as to costs"? Or does it not really matter in my case?
5.) how long does a trial like this normally take? even though I would like this sorted as soon as possible so that I can finally move, I don't mind waiting a few more months if needs be, but I wouldn't want this lasting another year...
Thank you all for reading, I appreciate it. Any advice / suggestion is welcome.
I am the tenant in this situation and I'll try to keep this short and simple. Facts of the case:
- tenancy started in 2019, went periodic in 2021, new tenancy started in 2022, went periodic in 2023. heating and plumbing were problematic in the house since the start of the tenancy, however the landlord has been repairing things up to 2022 and then stopped
- S21 proceedings failed in October, 2023 as my deposit wasn't protected and no gas safety checks have been done since 2019
- deposit is still not protected
- rent increased by £300 (700 -> 1000) via S13 in Nov, 2023, I refused to pay the increase due to ongoing disrepair: gas heating not working properly (or just plain not working at all) since 2022 and I had to buy electric heaters and pay more costly electric heating to heat the house
- landlord stopped all repairs in 2022 and never made efforts to repair the gas heating after that and claimed in court (as part of the S21 process) that there is in fact no gas in the house at all (no idea why he did that)
- I do not dispute that the rent was lawfully raised and due, I do not dispute that I owe this amount and I accept that I refused to pay it due to the disrepair
- S8 possession claim started due to rent arrears as I now owe £3600
- I counterclaimed for the unprotected deposit and disrepair to the value of £10000 (4x tenancies with £2100 compensation each + £1600 for the cost of 3x electric heaters, inconvenience due to disrepair and having to pay a lot more for electric heating as I am unable to use gas for heating)
- I am aware I am not going to get £10000, but I feel confident my claim is worth around £5000 and certainly more than my arrears
- landlord is using an eviction specialist and on the first hearing they have requested it adjourned in order to reply to my defense and counterclaim. this was granted and the hearing was adjourned for next month. the next hearing is likely going to be a directions hearing only anyway
- landlord has since replied to my defense and counterclaim, but the reply wasn't of any substance, aside from claiming that the landlord did not know about the disrepair. However, I have copies of emails where I raised these issues, not to mention that the disrepair was also mentioned in court for the S21 proceedings as the court has sent the landlord a letter stating that the tenants are reporting a faulty gas boiler in the property
- I do not qualify for legal aid, and although I have had help from a solicitor to write my defense and counterclaim, I was not impressed with how unprofessional they were, and I did not really get a better feel of any other company, so I am just representing myself in this
- I do not actually want to stay in this house and I will be moving abroad as soon as this is done, so I am not interested in keeping possession and would gladly give it back, but I am not doing it before this court case is resolved. I might be coming back to UK in 5-10 years time, so I would like to have this case settled either by a trial or out of court, but I am not giving the property back so that the landlord can then make repairs and say there was never any disrepair!
- all my contact to the landlord is via the eviction specialist as they have stated I am not to contact the landlord directly
So my questions now are:
1.) do I need to provide a reply to the landlord's reply and provide evidence etc, or do I just wait with that until the trial actually starts? I don't want to engage in "ping pong" with replies, statements, evidence if this is not necessary, but I also don't want to go the next hearing and get asked why I have not replied?
2.) can I make a settlement offer? I know Part 36 rules do not apply for housing possession matters, but can this still be settled out of court? I want my deposit back and probably £1000 in compensation. In return I would drop my deposit and disrepair claims and surrender my tenancy at short notice (I am only limited by availability of flights and can leave whenever). Of course, I expect the possession claim to be ended and rent arrears written off.
3.) do I let the landlord / eviction specialist know that I am willing to surrender the tenancy as soon as this matter is resolved and / or otherwise settled, and wait to see if they instead approach me with an offer to settle?
4.) if I do make an offer to settle, do I do so "Without prejudice" or "Without prejudice save as to costs"? Or does it not really matter in my case?
5.) how long does a trial like this normally take? even though I would like this sorted as soon as possible so that I can finally move, I don't mind waiting a few more months if needs be, but I wouldn't want this lasting another year...
Thank you all for reading, I appreciate it. Any advice / suggestion is welcome.
