CAN ANYONE WHO READS THIS PLEASE GIVE ME SOME THAT IS CORRECT AND FACTUAL BECAUSE I HAVE TO HAND IN MY DEFENCE FORM AND EVIDENCE TO THE COUNTY COURT TOMORROW.

This is something I think everyone should read as it may help you defend a sec 21 and eviction.

I will give as much information a possible without it becoming to long to read or confusing. I will refer to the Landlady as She or Her.

In August 2017 I moved into a self contained unit in a house that had been converted to 6 flats each with electric meter, bathroom, simple kitchen unit but still classed as a self contained studio. She did not take a deposit to avoid depositing it.

Even the kitchen and bathroom had been converted into flats.

as it had been done a few months before the other 5 tenants and i had moved in there was a lot to been done yet the landlady still demanded the £800 monthly rent.

In addition the electric had been sub metered and we/I were have not been given a top up key or card we had to give Her £10 every Sunday and she would use a disposable prepaid card then tore it up so we could not read what was on it.

She was charging us 20p kwh day or night.

She put the heating radiators on when it got cold in December and put it on a timer to suit her as she was paying for it.

I noticed that the extension at the back had walls that were not straight and all partition walls had no insulation.

Heating the place got very expensive costing Me £40 a week.

That suited her very well that she gave every tenant an electric blanket for Xmas .

All the other tenants praised and thanked her saying she was the best landlord ever.

OK I WILL EXPLAIN VERY BRIEFLY

By now it was clear that getting them to report her to the council would be futile so I did it myself in January. They told her and she gave me a section 21 as tenancy was 6 months.

I read it would be invalid if name was spelt wrong and she put a O instead of A.

I had broken my leg badly mid January at work so was off for the next 6 months and being self employed the council now paid my rent.

BTW....4 other tenants all on ESA and taking illegal substance paid for by tax payer.

I thought council would take action but nope.

I lived in a hostile place but they slowly came around to listening to me when I showed them how she was robbing us.

It was only 30 June 2018 that a enforcement notice came from the council stating no planning permission and illegal use as flats that has to be rectified within 4 months of the notice.

I thought finally they took action even though very late.

11 July an eviction notice is put under my door saying I had to be out on 19 July.

Seems she had had a tenant get all important mail so I did not even get the defence form.

i text her and asked where all that information was and she just replied i have until 19th.

On 18th in went to court with a few photos of the place and n244 to stop eviction and give me a hearing and got one for 20th.

On the 19th she came to the house and thought I was out I could hear her shouting to a tenant in room 6 above me as I am 4, asking why he didn't tell her I went to court etc.

I ignored them and did my research for hours trying to find something to help as I knew the wrong spelling would not be enough when she tell court a lie that I got all letters from court. I was up all night and went to court for 10am and she was sitting there looking all confident.

what I did was to tell the judge that the sec 21 was invalid because the EPC she gave me was not valid as law state every self contained unit must have its own EPC.

she must pay me £200 and face a fine of 5000.

I went on to say the GAS cert she gave me was also invalid because it has a Beko gas stove test results in the kitchen....OPPS, there is no kitchen in the house or gas stove,

I went on to say the law says if she sub meters electricity she can't charge more then what she is paying the supplier and if she did she is to pay me back double plus the bank of England interest rate (needs better explaining I m writing fast as its getting late) she charge 20p and at times was paying 10p.

The Judge had to look up everything I said for 30 mins then came back and told her I made my case the sec 21 is cancelled. She did say anyone can say they didn't get the defence form and he explained that when I got the eviction notice I contacted her and took action in taking evidence to court, And that did not make a difference because my EPC evidence is water tight.

She kept insisting about the defence form so the judge said he will give me the form and other docs and I should file my defence form in 14 days which is tomorrow.

to make things worse she offered me £500 to move out as she needs the property empty to do the work and I turned it down.

She turned my electric off this past Monday saying she was changing the meters.

Yet I told her I was doing my evidence for court and she kept it off all day.

My question is

can counter claim and ask for the £920 paid in electric, £200 for epc, my time and expenses gathering evidence and the stress I been through in the past 2 weeks or do I have to file separately in small claim court?

I also want the court to award me an amount that will get her to know she is not above the rule or law because she has 12 other tenants living in the same type unit as I and just yesterday she tried to rent flat 1 that got vacated when she gave a sec 21 because he spoke up to her

Thank you for your time.

Now that the council is involved and actively going after her, she's got very little to be confident about.

I understand that the work has not been approved by planning dpt and not passed by building control dpt, so she's properly screwed.

You'll have to find another place quickly because if the council involves the h&s dpt, you'll be out on the street, unless vulnerable.

If you want to do a good number on her, contact HMRC as I'm pretty confident that she's not declaring any of her rental income.

Hi King12345,

Of the 121 views you replied and I thank you for that.

Yes the council is involved but their actual involvement is right now is to wait until 6 August 2018 to see if she will pay £4486 to file an appeal which she has no intention of doing and would be foolish because there really is nothing to appeal.

After the 6 of August with chance of appeal over the enforcement come into effect giving her until 1 December to have this property back to the way it was built being a single family home.

She has given the other 4 tenants 14 day notice to leave so will give them sec 21 on Tuesday the 7th. So the tenants that were her cheer leaders are now asking me how they can challenge her.

You're sure right i want her to get what's coming not just for me but for all tenants she has mistreated knowing they were not in good position to stand up to her for fear of being evicted.

If she will be ignorant to give them a sec 21 just as she pointlessly changed the sub meters from analogue to digital but still over charging, I will let the others know that it is not valid

I have looked at a few 1 bedroom flats and will move as soon as the case is over.

When she called me last night to ask if I was still going to file my defendant papers she again offered me £500 so I could move out this Saturday she would even help me move all my gear. I told her I had to file or be found in contempt maybe and possession given to her even though she said she dropped the claim.

I said after I file the form today and we have a court date for next week, I will listen to any fair offer based on the cost of the deposit and rent of where I move, over charging electric, my costs for the past 2 weeks such as buying printer ink, paper, travel to court/council etc and all the stress from making my case.

I had hoped some one would know if i could make a counter claim or some other claim so i can get her to pay me what the Laws says. I am looking for case law so it would make things a whole lot simpler.

PS: I also told her to tell the other tenants exactly what she is doing because they all truly think she is going to rehouse them.

Does any of the following apply to you.

When you cannot use a Section 21 notice

You cannot use a Section 21 notice if any of the following apply:

•it’s less than 6 months since the tenancy started

•the fixed term has not ended, unless there’s a clause in the contract which allows you to do this

•the property is categorised as a house in multiple occupation (HMO) and does not have a HMO licence from the council

•the council has served an improvement notice on the property in the last 6 months

•the council has served a notice in the last 6 months that says it will do emergency works on the property

•the tenancy started after April 2007 and you have not put the tenants’ deposit in a deposit protection scheme

•you do not have a landlord licence - if you live in Wales

You also cannot use a Section 21 notice if you have not given the tenants copies of:

•the property’s Energy Performance Certificate

•a current gas safety record for the property

•the government’s ‘How to Rent’ guide

That's the basis of defence.

You should go see a free for the 1st half hour solicitor on a counter claim.

It's all well and good to dispute the section 21 based on the above, but your compelling priority should be to find another place.

The council will most likely send inspectors to report on the unauthorised work she's done and when found that it's dangerous you will have to evacuate.

Follow sgtbush advice to challenge her in court and get compensation, but at the same time go house hunting.

She's going to be in a lot of trouble for converting a house in bedsits without planning permission, that's for sure.

It's game over for her, but unfortunately you'll have to move very soon.

Does any of the following apply to you.

 

 

When you cannot use a Section 21 notice

 

You cannot use a Section 21 notice if any of the following apply:

•it’s less than 6 months since the tenancy started

•the fixed term has not ended, unless there’s a clause in the contract which allows you to do this

•the property is categorised as a house in multiple occupation (HMO) and does not have a HMO licence from the council

•the council has served an improvement notice on the property in the last 6 months

•the council has served a notice in the last 6 months that says it will do emergency works on the property

•the tenancy started after April 2007 and you have not put the tenants’ deposit in a deposit protection scheme

•you do not have a landlord licence - if you live in Wales

 

You also cannot use a Section 21 notice if you have not given the tenants copies of:

•the property’s Energy Performance Certificate

•a current gas safety record for the property

•the government’s ‘How to Rent’ guide

 

That's the basis of defence.

 

You should go see a free for the 1st half hour solicitor on a counter claim.

Good looking out SgtBush....

since 11 July when the eviction notice came under my door i have done everything by myself searching online for the correct info and trying to find case law dealing with the resale of electricity by her purely for profit.

I have been sleeping 2hrs then have to be at work 6am

when coming home today i actually fell asleep standing up.

Don't know how I managed that.

I will write what happened when I take in my forms on Friday.

Thanks for looking out King12345

You are correct i am looking for a stand alone flat to rent in Harrow, Middlesex, that cost about that same as what I were paying here ( but council helped pay a lot.)

I am not relying on Brent council because I don't see the sense in handing her Enforcement notice that actually go into effect tomorrow 6 August 2018 if she did not appeal, then it the PONR.

I just wonder how they give the Notice ordering that she cease using it as HMO hut they still paying the full rent of the other 4 tenants. Maybe someone reading this from the council can explain because I really think they are her enablers.

She came to see me on Friday before I went to court asking if there was anyway we could work something out.

I said say what's on your mind as I also saw that she came with a woman holding a bunch of papers.

She started off by saying "i don't know why you are trying to punish me by wanting me to pay you to move, I offered £500 you said you want more. Because of you all the tenants are wanting me to pay them"!

I replied, "are you saying I approached you and asked for cash and I will move out" she said yes.

It was then that I said there is nothing to talk about.

I took the screen shots of the text when she offered me £500 to move and handed them in to Court.

when I got back from court I found that the other tenant being evicted on 9 August accepted a pay off for £150 not to go ask Judge to set it aside and she would rehouse every tenant. And they believed her!!

I guess the other tenant will find out for himself this Thursday when bailiff come.

Extra Extra Read All About It!!!

After the Landlady received my defence form and all the evidence including how I will be asking the judge to allow me to ask for compensation, she contacted the court on Tuesday and withdrew her claim. It was only on Wednesday morning that I receive a email from the court saying she had withdrawn so no further action had to be taken and she would have to refile the sec21.

I should have been glad hearing this right? No way I was fuming!! All the hours spent reading up on everything I could find, downloading hundreds of pages including pictures that had me buy 2 packs of 500 sheet paper, printer ink 2 x black & colour and worse of all, paying HP to print page s from my own printer and paper. How the h..l did that happen? Has anyone else heard of that? They locked up my printer until I paid for certain amount of pages. To top it all up when I finally got my defence ready it was 53 pages x 3. I was vexed! So no way was she getting off with only having to pay the court fee of £330.

I called them and asked where was JUSTICE because her sec21 was already found to be invalid and the Judge only extended the case because she said anyone could say they did not receive the defence form. So he gave me the chance to do so. Then she saw her way out and withdrew it so no harm no foul. No way Jose. I said I have to have my chance to discredit her and if not given it, they had become her enablers and every landlord would do the same thing. So they said I should refile as the claimant instead and informed her of this.

At 5pm yesterday she came knocking at my door and I didn't answer because I was watching "say yes to the dress" on quest red. Then she said "i can hear the TV can I come in to talk to you?" I said no call me later.....then she puts keys in and opens my door. I said "are you crazy lady!!??" Don't just unlock my door and enter...I could have you arrested! Then she said could I go out to her car her son wants to talk to me. I said its a tag team now is it?/ I will after I finish watching Say yes..........haha.

I will make a long story short because I agreed not to tell anyone especially the other tenants, but they made me an offer and after I weighed the pros and cons i accepted it.

So that's what has happened to me in the past 20 days. Thank you all that advised me it helped. I can only say to any one in this situation not to just bow out to the tactics used by some rogue and maybe even legit landlords. If you look hard enough and most importantly read the rules and regs you will find something that they may not know so you go from defendant to claimant.

Good result.

Now tell the other tenants so they can milk her for the same amount.

Rougue LLs need a slap, but not on the wrist.

Some of you may have seen my thread about invalid sec21...this is in relation to it and put me it that situation.I will give a short explanation and if anyone can give me a certain answer I will be grateful.

In August 2017 when my lease had ended and had to move out but had not yet found a place, I asked Harrow council in the borough I lived in for 17 years if they could refer me a some landlords that they have on file that take HB as half my rent was paid that way at the time. They said they don't house people as less they are in priority need etc and being a single male I had no chance. I made it clear that I don't want to be housed only to be put through to landlords that have registered with them. They could not even do that. Infact I can quote the housing officer as saying "today a man came in with a broken back and will still did not house him"! Again I explained and was then referred to a place called New Day. In one day they found me a place and as I was pretty much homeless on that day and them telling me it was the only one they had I had to take it but it was now in Brent.

The house was converted to 6 studios each with its own sub meter so we were being sold electric for 20p kwh or should I say being sold 40kwh for £10. The place was done very badly with walls not straight , no insulation, light bulbs that would actually busts when on to long and on the ground floor sewer pipes right under laminate floor. I could not understand how the guy could even live there. I reported it to the lady from New Day and she said she would look into it. days gone by and nothing. In the next few weeks I reported it to Harrow council and they just wrote me a letter saying they were glad a had found a place that was safe and conformed to all the rules for rented accommodation and they expected me to live there for 6 months and be a good boy. And th letter also said if the place I was in had been found to be not suitable they would be responsible to house me immediately, On September 22 2017 a letter cane from Brent council saying the are investigating this property and the result will come in due time. It was then the landlady gave me a sec21 2 months later but no one else. So I know it were revenge but would be hard to prove. I stayed i9n the damp until 30 June the enforcement letter came that is to shut down the whole place for many violations. i went to court to fight the eviction and won then I got her to compensate me so I move as she would have to reapply for sec21 but could no cos no EPC.....you can find it all in my thread about SEC21 and EPC. I moved and am now in a B&B looking for a place to rent.

My question is, since New Day acted as agents to Harrow Council and they are a small group of 4 people, should Harrow council be responsible for housing me completely because they failed to inspect the place I was put in and when I complained they wrote me to say New Day were professional organization who not put me in a place I was describing? The enforcement notice proves everything,

What can I do Please??

Threads merged...one thread per same issue please.

Andy