music studio question

[gmacf79]

hi all, I run a small business renting out music studios to producers. Some time ago one of our tenants ran up a rent arrears of 15k plus and, after chasing him for some time and him making excuses, we changed the locks on his studio and seized his equipment (value around 50k ish). We did this after consulting a lawyer and putting a legal notice and forfeiture on the door. After years of him making threats we have heard nothing for a whil. This year, however, the statute of limitations means we are in danger of the debt being written off. We feel we should take him to the small claims court to try and get the debt paid off. We are sure he will counter claim for loss of earnings due to our seizing of his equipment. Chat GPT advised we offer for him to come and collect his impounded equipment (an Equipment Collection Notice) before we issue our Letter Before Action. Is this good advice? we are worried that his equipment is our only leverage over him at the current time.
He last made a partial payment in June 2019 - are we right in thinking this is the date applicable to the statute of limitations? a lot of the debt was accrued before this time.
Finally, would you advise we can add interest and costs (storage, legal fees, house spent) to this claim?
I would be very grateful for any advice, we currently can't afford lawyers fees, hence small claims direction.
Many thanks

[atticus]

Is this in England?

What did you do with the seized equipment?

[gmacf79]

atticus thanks for responding! yes England. We stored the seized equipment carefully, still have it, still hope to exchange it for the owed rent

[atticus]

After 6 years?

Serve notices under the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977, following which you can sell the stuff against the outstanding debt.

[gmacf79]

atticus that's good news. We served a torts notice along with the original forfeiture notice when we changed the locks. We were advised by our lawyer that selling the equipment was a bit of a grey area which is why we haven't done it yet. Do you think it necessary for us to do this before the statute of limitations in June of this year? (by our calculation - the last partial payment we had from him). Would you advise we sell goods to the value of the original debt and send him an email instructing him to collect the rest before June? or just leave it and wait for him to get in touch?
many thanks

[atticus]

1. Get on with it now. There is nothing "grey" about selling goods if you have followed the procedure in the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act.

2. If you do sell, you must obtain the best price reasonably obtainable. If there is a surplus after payment of outstanding debt, interest and costs of sale, this should be paid to your debtor.

[gmacf79]

atticus and what if we just kept items to the value of the debt (it's equipment we're happy to keep ourselves as musicians) and returned the rest? is it better to sell it for the sake of transparency?
thanks again for your invaluable advice

[atticus]

In that case, why not have a conversation with your debtor. I bet they gave up on this kit years ago.

One thing is clear: you cannot keep hold of the kit and expect to sue for the full amount owing. That is cakeist.

[james18]

This is a good-answered and pertinent question. You've obviously made cautious steps and it's a good idea to clarify before taking further action. Bringing up the statute of limitations and leverage issues demonstrates good consideration. I agree providing equipment return could demonstrate good faith prior to court. I hope others who have had similar experiences can comment as well.

[james18]

atticus and what if we just kept items to the value of the debt (it's equipment we're happy to keep ourselves as musicians) and returned the rest? is it better to sell it for the sake of transparency? speaker cleaner
thanks again for your invaluable advice

If the cost of the equipment is almost equal to the debt, and we can use it, then it's okay to keep it. But for the sake of transparency—if we can sell it to pay off the debt, that might be a good option too. The main thing is that everyone can move forward from a place of openness and trust.

[atticus]

james18 are you gmacf79 ?