Tenant sent defence form section 21 notice before received my witness statment for claim for possesion

[FireFoxB]

Hi,

 

I have made a claim for repossession but I made a mistake in the form. As a result, I sent a witness statement to the tenant.

 

However, one day after I sent my witness statement and further documents as evidence for my claim (certificate of service,etc) to the tenant, this last sent his defence to the court, apparently ignoring (he acted like he had not received it yet) my last documents sent to him (one day before).

 

Two days ago, I received a copy of a letter he sent to the court asking the judge to disregards my last documents since they were sent after he filed his defence form and claimaing that I sent these lasts documents by spying him using other tenants that listen to his phone call when he was talking to his solicitor. He is equally asking to the court to postpone the hearing if they would like to take into accounts my last documents since he has spent 10 intensives days in preparation of his defence he has now to focus on his job interviews.

 

I would like the court to take into the consideration all my documents without postponement of the hearing but I am not sure that I have done the required steps.

 

Thanks.

Edited January 1, 2014 by FireFoxB

[Lea_HTH]

Was your s21 notice appropriately served, with the correct dates?

 

Was the deposit (if any) protected within the required time and the prescribed information provided to the tenant?

 

If the answer to both the above is 'yes' - it won't matter a blind bit what 'defence' the tenant puts forward as the court has no option but to award possession.

 

If, on the other hand, the answer to either of the above is 'no', then you won't get possession.

[FireFoxB]

Was your s21 notice appropriately served, with the correct dates?

 

The issue is that the tenant is claiming to not have received the section 21 & 8: in fact I sent him a section 21 in october 2013 by special delivery and later a section 21 & 8 notice by first class only but she is claiming to have just received the original notice (section 21) only in December 2013 (she is providing a royalmail proof of delivery). As a defence, she is saying that since she has just received the defence in December 2013 she has two months notice starting end of December 2013 and also the claim for possession (hearing in January 2013) is invalid.

 

Was the deposit (if any) protected within the required time and the prescribed information provided to the tenant?

I protected the deposit too late and had to returned the deposit to the tenant. I have now returned the cheque to the tenant but few days ago, she sent a letter to my solicitor (who sent him the section 21 & 8 notice with my witness statements) stating that we are making a forgery since she has just realized on a document (but she cashed the cheque) my signature on the deposit cheque returned and on other documents presently sent to her is totally different from my signature on the tenancy agreement signed. She is also requesting to the court under Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981 and Perjury Act 1913, that for the court hearing, I reproduce the signature on the tenancy agreement and that this signature must be recognized by an expert (otherwise to postpone the court hearing).

 

In fact, that was one of my relative who signed the tenancy agreement on my behalf but it is my name on it.

 

I have ask my solicitor about this signature request and he told me that it may delay the court hearing.

Edited January 1, 2014 by FireFoxB

[mariner51]

What date you return deposit? Before or after issuing Oct s21?

What date was second s21 issued by First Class post?

Why did you not sign the AST?

[FireFoxB]

What date you return deposit? Before or after issuing Oct s21?

The deposit was returned before Oct s21 but the tenant is now claiming (after she cashed the cheque) that she has just realised my signature on the cheque is not as on the tenancy agreement and as a result request the court to still consider the deposit as not returned and that I am guilty of forgery.

 

What date was second s21 issued by First Class post?

The second s21 was sent end of october (three weeks after first s21).

 

 

Why did you not sign the AST?

 

I though one signature was enough since there was my name above (on the tenancy agreement) and my relative was acting on my behalf. Does this can seriously be considered as a forgery?

Edited January 2, 2014 by FireFoxB

[Lea_HTH]

The court will ask one question of her regarding the deposit: have you got the money? Her answer will have to be 'yes', therefore she has no claim with regards to that.

 

The issue of the difference in signature isn't particularly complex, except for the fact that the person signed it in your name. If they'd signed it in their own, on your behalf, that would not be an issue. Ultimately, whatever the signature on the tenancy agreement, the tenancy exists. If the court finds the signature to be a forgery, then there still remains a tenancy. I would suggest that you get the person who signed on your behalf to write a witness statement to that effect, and to present themselves in court on the day of the hearing. Nothing quite like witnesses who have made statements and appeared in court to confirm what they did to persuade a judge that nothing untoward was intended, or in fact, occurred.

 

If the tenancy agreement makes provision for service of the s21 by the method you chose to serve it in October, then it will be deemed as served, whether she claims she received it or not. I doubt that the Royal Mail has provided evidence that they delivered a special delivery letter two months after it was sent - you'd have a claim against them! However, if the judge believes her, the s21 notice will be thrown out. I suggest you issue another one now, just in case.

 

What date did you file in court? It is material that filing in court must not have occurred until after the s21 notice ran out. If you did it before - then the claim will be struck out.

 

I am more interested in the s8...what grounds were pleaded? You may have more chance of succeeding under the s8 than the s21, which it sounds has been royally screwed up.

[FireFoxB]

The court will ask one question of her regarding the deposit: have you got the money? Her answer will have to be 'yes', therefore she has no claim with regards to that.

The tenant has made a counterclaim for disrepair and equally claim that I previously own him some money and also the cheque is for this purpose and that I now owe him £600 - amount of the cheque.

 

If the court finds the signature to be a forgery, then there still remains a tenancy. I would suggest that you get the person who signed on your behalf to write a witness statement to that effect, and to present themselves in court on the day of the hearing. Nothing quite like witnesses who have made statements and appeared in court to confirm what they did to persuade a judge that nothing untoward was intended, or in fact, occurred.

The tenant is requiring, that in all cases, the signature (from my relative who really signed it or myself) must be check by an expert in order to prevent false statements. Additionally, my relative has traveled.

 

If the tenancy agreement makes provision for service of the s21 by the method you chose to serve it in October, then it will be deemed as served, whether she claims she received it or not. I doubt that the Royal Mail has provided evidence that they delivered a special delivery letter two months after it was sent - you'd have a claim against them! However, if the judge believes her, the s21 notice will be thrown out. I suggest you issue another one now, just in case.

She really provided a royalmail proof of delivery and claiming that it is certainly because my relatives interfere with his mails.

The tenancy agreement makes provision for service of the s21 by the method I chose to serve it in October (first post which will be considered served the next day) but the tenant (and his solicitor) is claiming that this part of the tenancy agreement is not valid since she previously requested from me to send her every mails by recorded delivery due to the fact another tenant through/open (according to her) her mails (she provided proof of lost of a parcel sent by a retailer during last year). For the tenant, I agreed to communicate with her only by at least a recorded delivery and the fact that I sent a special delivery for the first section21 before the supposed section 21 & 8 notice confirm this.

 

She still claiming to have not received my section 21 & 8 despite of my witness statement I sent later after I filed the claim for possession.

Originally I said on the claim form that the section 21 & 8 were delivered under the tenant door and I sent the witness statement two weeks later in order to correct this : the tenant is trying to equally use this against me in order to denied that I equally sent her a section 8 notice.

Edited January 2, 2014 by FireFoxB

[Lea_HTH]

I had already concluded you screwed up the s21.

 

I asked about the s8 grounds.

 

Keep it simple.

[FireFoxB]

I had already concluded you screwed up the s21.

 

I asked about the s8 grounds.

 

Keep it simple.

s8 grounds are 8, 10 and 11 but the tenant is equally claiming for disrepairs and that I need to firstly confirm (by reproducing it) my signature on the tenancy agreement before any further payments from her.

Edited January 4, 2014 by FireFoxB

[Lea_HTH]

Was there, at the time you served the s8 notice (forget whether she claims to have received it or not), 8 weeks (if weekly paid), or two months (if monthly paid), of rent arrears? Is there still that level of arrears or more today?

 

What disrepair is she claiming for?

 

Is the house in your name? I.e. are you the registered owner at the Land Registry?

 

These are straightforward questions, with simple, straightforward answers, so don't complicate things - we'll get there a lot quicker if you give the information you're asked for.

[FireFoxB]

The disrepairs are for no hot water(a health environment officer came in the property and noticed this about six months ago but she is deducting £5 per day from the rent from the last 18 months until present).

 

She's equally claiming for forgery followed by breach of quiet enjoyment and lost of amenity.

 

Yes, the house is in my name.

Edited January 4, 2014 by FireFoxB

[mariner51]

When did T (or EHO) advise you of 'no hot water'?

T cannot unilaterally deduct rent without advance Notice to LL and until after disrepair has been notified and reasonable time allowed for LL to rectify IMO.

When/if did repair fault with hot water?

Can you think of any reason why T is claiming breach of quiet enjoyment? Too many LL visits / contact perhaps?

There is a hidden sub-story here somewhere.

[FireFoxB]

When did T (or EHO) advise you of 'no hot water'?

T cannot unilaterally deduct rent without advance Notice to LL and until after disrepair has been notified and reasonable time allowed for LL to rectify IMO.

When/if did repair fault with hot water?

The tenant claims the repair fault with hot water since April 2012 but in addition she is equally claiming I cut off the hot water (through other tenants that live in the same property than her) when it works from a "back door" since April 2012 in order to prevent her to use it.

 

Can you think of any reason why T is claiming breach of quiet enjoyment? Too many LL visits / contact perhaps?

There is a hidden sub-story here somewhere.

Because I tried to cancel the contract earlier and I was wrongly advised by my previous solicitor about the process. She is claiming that I sent her numerous and threatening emails in order to move before the end of the tenancy agreement.

[mariner51]

You failed to answer "Did you/contractor investigate the lack of hot water when reported, and what was the outcome?"

 

 

Unless you undertook investigation when reported, then s8 success is uncertain IMO.

 

 

Is Ts mail delivered through letterbox in his flat or via letterbox in common entry door and left for collection in a communal area?

 

 

T sounds 'flaky' and I would restrict personal contact as much as poss. A successful s21 may need to be hand-delivered, poss by a High Court Bailiff.

[Lea_HTH]

It's not the tenant that sounds 'flaky' here.

 

I think the LL has royally messed up and is now trying to resolve things in retrospect. There is no mention of attempting to fix anything the tenant complained of, instead the tenant appears to have an abundance of evidence against the LL for failure to do things, and potentially for harassing her.

 

I'd suggest LL re-issue a s21, that way, when this court action fails for what appear to be valid reasons on his telling of the story, he'll already have his second action in hand.

[FireFoxB]

The tenant made me already pay for the harassment by applying to housing benefit since the beginning of his rent and not paying this last since the last 6 months.

Edited January 8, 2014 by FireFoxB

[mariner51]

If T in receipt of HB with 2 months rent owing, why have you not applied for HB to be paid direct to LL?

 

 

Please answer Qs posed in post 14

[FireFoxB]

You failed to answer "Did you/contractor investigate the lack of hot water when reported, and what was the outcome?"

 

 

 

 

On numerous occasions but the problem comes from the fact that the tenant is claiming I have installed a "back door" in order to allow other tenants to prevent her to use the hot water (by cutting it). A contractor came again last week and noticed that the boiler was faulty.

Edited January 9, 2014 by FireFoxB