Lodger ran off oweing me 2.5k in rent. Can I take him to court?

[Bushman31]

I had a lodger (ex friend) stay with me for 8 months, since he had no where to go, until I asked him to leave. We had a verbal agreement that he would pay me �300 in rent everymonth. In the 8 months he did not pay me a cent and kept saying that he will give me the money he owes me. I therefore after 8 months asked him to leave and presented him with bill for �2.5K and asked him to pay it before he left. He left without me knowing one day and left no money. I have now found out where he is living. My question can I take him to court over this matter ? How do i stand legally and what are he chances of getting my money?

[Peter Pedant]

yes of course you can

small claims court

wont cost you more than 50 quid

Does the other fella agree that there was an agreement ? You will have to show to the judge on the balance of probabilites that there was.

like a letter saying where is this months rent ?

Oh and you have to find hiim and an address for the summons

Good Luck

[EverClean]

Verbal contract is always going to be difficult to prove.

[saintpeter48]

make sure he has got that sort of money before trying small claims, you could be throwing good money after bad. is he working, has he any assets, how much is he earning. send recorded delivery letter to him stating that you want him to pay up in say 14 days, warning him that faliure to do so will mean you applying to the small claims court with a view of recovering rent owed. if he does not respond go to local court and fill in forms, very easy but you must pay percentage of debt owed which you will get back if you win, you can include interest of debt, postage, photo copying, anything that involves you trying to get your money, keep all records and copies of letters, phone calls, etc it all helps your case. BUT, as i said earlier, make sure he has the money to pay, if hes not working forget it, treat it as a lesson learned.

[JanineG]

Depends how good a friend he was in the first place - do you want to lose a friend over money? Sounds like he was in a tight spot and you helped him out. I'm surprised he agreed to �300 for lodgings though - sounds quite a lot for a room to a friend who had nowhere else to go