Terms & Conditions

[sedwards]

Clmt moved in with his aunt on 26.05.06. He has been bailed to this address and can not return to Blackpool. Intention to claim date 12.07.06.
I/S awarded from 03.07.06.

Clmt is renting a room at £350 p/m but has not made any rental payments.

There is no evidence that L/L has started eviction proceedings due to rent arrears.

Proof of rent is a letter from the L/L which states 1 months notice is to be given before vacating but there is no period of tenancy.

L/L has stated arrears of £244.30 from 01.07.06 – 21.07.06 – but during interview clmt stated no payments have been made.

I would like to treat this as a contrived tenancy/non commercial, any thoughts/advise, supporting arguments gratefully received.

[Kevin D]

To take the points one by one:

[quote:267d46cc7d]Proof of rent is a letter from the L/L which states 1 months notice is to be given before vacating but there is no period of tenancy. [/quote:267d46cc7d]
There is no requirement for a period of tenancy. If, as it appears, it is a resident L/L, any agreement will be no more than a licence.

[quote:267d46cc7d]L/L has stated arrears of £244.30 from 01.07.06 – 21.07.06 – but during interview clmt stated no payments have been made. [/quote:267d46cc7d]
If the clmt is relying on HB to pay his rent and has no other means of paying, then it would seem inevitable that there will be arrears until the clmt has the money to pay the rent.

[quote:267d46cc7d]I would like to treat this as a contrived tenancy/non commercial, any thoughts/advise, supporting arguments gratefully received.[/quote:267d46cc7d]
Based on what you have so far, I’d happily represent the clmt and would fully expect a Tribunal to find for the clmt. There are many many more questions that need to be asked. Such as; how did the Aunt become involved? What other options were available to the clmt (bearing in mind he was bailed to the address)? Is it so unreasonable, based on ALL of the facts of the case, for a rent charge to be made?

You’ll need to establish full details of how the arrangement(s) came about – only then will it be possible to come to the right decision (whichever way it goes).

[b:267d46cc7d]R(H) 1/03[/b:267d46cc7d] might be useful (on this site under rent and rent liability in the case law section).

Hope the above helps.

[Anonymous]

I think where sedwards is getting muddled on the arrears issue is because one would normally expect rent to be paid in advance – so if the first month’s rent is not paid, the claimant would be in arrears of £350 from day one. However, the landlord has apportioned the monthly rent over a lesser period (can’t quite figure the maths, however!).

[petedavies]

I think you may be on weak ground with the evidence listed –

The LL & claimant’s statements regarding arrears are not necessarily mutually exclusive – When was the actual liability for rent first incurred?
If this was after the date that your claimant moved in, why?

If both statements are correct the agreement seems to have happened at the same time that I.S. was awarded which may be indicative of contrivance.

The maths relating to arrears do not seem to add up (although that’s probably me!)

Not sure you have much to pursue non-commerciality but I do think that there is a question as to whether there is actually any liability in the first place.

It may also be worth looking at the conditions of bail – if, for example, the aunt has given an undertaking to the Court to provide your claimant with a place to stay I am not sure she can then qualify the undertaking by charging rent without first requesting the Court’s permission.

[jgwizdak]

One other point:

Does the claimant have a liability to pay rent in Blackpool?

Are they possibly paying HB on temporary absence there?

[Author]

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