axw820
22-03-2011, 13:38 PM
I am a tenant in a student house in Birmingham. The house has no HMO and after a rather long process I received a phonecall from the council today saying that they are sending a court summons for our landlord as they believe they have enough evidence to prosecute.
Obviously I shall apply for a rent repayment order if the prosecution is successful. I have a few questions that I'm sure you guys can help with:
How do I apply for an RRO? Is it through the small claims court?
Can all necessary information for the claim be found online / from CAB and university services (ie is there any need to seek professional legal advice to aid the claim)?
I've done a quick google search that came up with this: w**.lacors.gov.uk/lacors/ContentDetails.aspx?id=23874 [sorry, I do not have a high enough post count to post links]. Tenants are paid a total of £1 each... That doesn't sound too good to me. I know that the landlord is also being fined for the same offence on other properties, which is one of the reasons for the small payment in this case, but my landlord is clearly not low on money: Armani watch, 3 piece designer suits, three new Mercs in the space of a few months, personalised numberplate with his name on etc. Would it be reasonable to expect to get up to 12 months rent from 7 tenants, each paying £300/month?
I need to get proof that all rent has been paid to the landlord, how could this be done? He has been insistent that we pay by cheque, not bank transfer. Is it possible to go to the bank and ask for a statement with all outgoing cheques on? Or is my best bet to simply get him to sign a piece of paper saying that all rent payments are up to date?
Thanks for your help!
Obviously I shall apply for a rent repayment order if the prosecution is successful. I have a few questions that I'm sure you guys can help with:
How do I apply for an RRO? Is it through the small claims court?
Can all necessary information for the claim be found online / from CAB and university services (ie is there any need to seek professional legal advice to aid the claim)?
I've done a quick google search that came up with this: w**.lacors.gov.uk/lacors/ContentDetails.aspx?id=23874 [sorry, I do not have a high enough post count to post links]. Tenants are paid a total of £1 each... That doesn't sound too good to me. I know that the landlord is also being fined for the same offence on other properties, which is one of the reasons for the small payment in this case, but my landlord is clearly not low on money: Armani watch, 3 piece designer suits, three new Mercs in the space of a few months, personalised numberplate with his name on etc. Would it be reasonable to expect to get up to 12 months rent from 7 tenants, each paying £300/month?
I need to get proof that all rent has been paid to the landlord, how could this be done? He has been insistent that we pay by cheque, not bank transfer. Is it possible to go to the bank and ask for a statement with all outgoing cheques on? Or is my best bet to simply get him to sign a piece of paper saying that all rent payments are up to date?
Thanks for your help!