I am not sure about that. What I can tell you is this - even if the judgement is in your favour then getting the money off him could be a long haul. If he does not agree to pay the amount in full immediately, or does not agree to any monthly payment plan set by yourself (this stuff is NOT discussed in the court room - the judge will tell you to sort this stuff out between yourselves after the hearing) then you will have to go back to court to apply for an 'attachment of earnings order' which your landlord will have to fill in, stating his income (incomings, outgoings etc) and then the court will decide how much a month he should pay to you. Sadly, the court does not check this information that thoroughly - so if he says he has 3 cars and spends a £150 a month on each one for petrol, which is essential to his business etc, then that will impact on the courts decision of payments. I know this from first hand experience...

My landlord is also stating there is rust on the bleed valve of the kitchen radiator - which will cost £55 to replace plus labour. I never noticed that and now she has brought my attention to it - there *is* a small amount of rust on top of the 'bleed' tap - but how do I know there isnt simply a quick fix solution for removing the rust and that a new radiator is really needed? She also wants to charge me for her visiting the property to remove a few weeds (maybe 5) from the front garden. Again - how can she do that? It was her choice to visit and remove those weeds! At no time did she say "In future, you may be charged for that" !

Well, if you are convinced that you are in the right - let the landlord take you to the small claims court. There is absolutely nothing that you have to pay upfront (I know - I've been through the system with a landlord taking me to court). You only pay if you get a judgement against you. If you feel you are right and can prove it - then let them take you to court. My advice would be to *photograph* everything that your landlord claims is in 'disrepair' etc - you will need this type of evidence to present to the district judge. That alone should allow the judge to make a fair evaluation of what the landlord is claiming to be 'broken' and the actual state that the item is in (as revealed by the photos).

My landlady is asking for the house I rent off her to be 'professionally cleaned' before I move out? Is this normal?

Well the upshot of it is - I have been lucky and have found a houseshare just up the road which I will be moving into at the end of September, so I dont have to tell my landlady that she hasnt given me an S21 blah blah blah. I'm just too accomodating at times I guess. Though it does niggle me that not only does she give me one months notice, but she wants to bring potential buyers to view the property every single weekend until I leave! I said yes to tomorrow, but said no to her coming again Sunday with other people to look around. In fairness, she accepted that. But you know, it does bother me because she is in such a rush and doesnt appreciate the fact I am being so good with her and could have made her wait at least another two months if I really wanted to....

Ah okay. Well I havent had the S21 anyway (I understand it has to be handed in person to me or posted to me) so I have at least one months more house hunting time instead of being under pressure to leave the very next day after my tenancy expires.

Additional - I just noticed that an S21 cannot be served until the end of the fixed term? So if I informed my landlord of my knowledge regarding this, and I cannot be forced out on the day my tenancy ends (Sept 28th) they cannot issue me with an S21 before that date which is valid from the date I receive it? It would only be valid from 29th Sept?

Thank you for your reply. No I did not sign an S21 addendum. Okay, well now I know I have at least two months then, as I have not been served an S21. Again, I am happy to move on - I don't have an issue with that - but I got a bit stressed by the way in which my landlord chose to tell me they wanted to sell and the way the email I received of them was worded - implying I had to go in 4 weeks as soon as the tenancy agreement expired.

Hi, My tenancy is up in one month, end of Sept. I had an email this morning from my landlord stating they have decided to sell the property. It wasn't a 'formal' notice for me to leave, in the sense of the wording. They were thoughtful to an extent and told me that if I needed longer, let them know so they can arrange a weekly payment of rent rather than monthly etc. But, from reading the posts on this forum, am I right in thinking that I can't be legally forced out unless they hand me the S21 document ? Just to stress - I am in now way intending to be awkward at all to my landlord - I just want to know if I do have that extra little bit of time if needed (if I was on my own it would be a cinch to move, but I have a dog and ideally want to move into a househare, and finding one that accomodates pets is a lot trickier)

Briefly - myself and my girlfriend took out a year's lease on a property. We BOTH signed the tenancy agreement. She left in January and is living nearby and I have been paying the full amount of rent. Can I force - via small claims court I guess - her to pay her half of the rent (and back date it) ?

Interestingly, the district judge, several times, alluded to the fact that payment in these cases sometimes has to be wrung out of the defendant and that it is never easy. A CCJ against me for 6 years is something I just have to accept - there is absolutely no way on this earth I can afford the £750 - I will be looking to repay £10 a month, if that. I am already on an Involuntary Debt Management Scheme anyway, so I will see if that company can take on this extra debt. From what I have read, the court will send me a form to fill in asking what I can pay so I will offer £10 a month, stating all my other debts etc.

Actually, do I have grounds to appeal on the witness issue? I know I agreed, but could I argue that to assimilate that information within that short period of time was extremely difficult and I was under too much pressure?

He could gamble on a court outcome because he had no fees to pay in the first place, I guess (he is unemployed so was able to claim the benefits or whatever they are, to pay all his costs). Yeah, you are right about the witness I know, but I was representing myself so to have that sprung on you literally as we are sitting down in front of the district judge - its very hard to make a snap decision. I didn't prepare nowhere near well enough - I accept that. A lesson to be learned for me and anyone else reading this thread who is going through a similar case - prepare! Prepare well!

The law really is an ass. The judgement went against me. It just goes to show that it doesnt matter who is right or wrong - what matters is how better prepared you are on the day and how convincing your argument is and my landlord - who is an actor by trade - gave a convincing performance. So I am obliged to pay him £750. Also, he brought a witness with him - a lodger who witnessed the damage on the afternoon of the same day I left. The district judge did say to me that I could object to the witness, but foolishly I allowed him to stay! I was over confident and just was so sure there was no shred of evidence against me, that his supposed 'witness' could not say anything but confirm the condition of items that were there. Ah well. You live and learn. I have been looking at the whole 'attachment of earnings' order thing though and feel duty bound now to force him to go down that route to extract the money out of me. Cant believe the decision went against me! The district judge just didn't seem reasoned and objective in her summing up. Bugger.

I wonder what would happen if I didnt turn up? The stress affects me a lot and sometimes I just want to 'bury my head in the sand'. Yes, I know its not the adult way of dealing with things, but stress can bring out childhood responses in you. I am sort of confident that the judgement will be in my favour - but you can never anticipate or second guess a judge. There is no evidence - I guess its based on 'balance of probabilities'. *sigh*