landlord trouble...

[<3bis]

ok, i did a bad thing that i am terribly ashamed of but now i am in a right pickle.  Last year i was sharing a flat with my boyfriend, however it only my name on the lease as he was on the dole. He paid the rent fine for the first 3 months, however he then couldnt pay. We then (stupidly) did a bunk and ran out after 5 months of a 6 month contract. The landlord is now taking me to court for �5000, claiming i damaged lots of stuff in the flat (which IS NOT TRUE) and lying about the amount of rent i owe him.( and charging me interst for not paying the rent) he also sent me an invoice from a cleaning company that didnt exist (i called the given number, and the person had no idea what i was talking about). He was extremely dodgy- this is part of the reason why we did a bunk.

I am happy to pay the rent that is owed, however, i dont think he will accept an offer of �1000 when he is trying to extract �5000. I am worried that, because i am admitting to the unpaid rent& bunking, the court will think i am lying about the other stuff. Also, as it was a year ago, i am having difficulty remembering all the details of the encounter.

Can anyone give me any advice

Thankyou!

[Emily Ball]

3bis, have a look at this website :-

http://www.compactlaw.co.uk

and click on 'Private Housing'. If you have to go to court try to find as much paperwork to do with the tenancy as you can, as the onus will be on you to prove that you do not owe as much as the landlord claims,( I'm thinking rent book/receipts here). It may be that your landlord didn't always (or rarely)fulfilled his obligations either, such as actually supplying you with a rent book! I think you may be right and that he won't settle for �1000 out of court, so you might be better off not offering anything until your court appearance . I think you'll find the courts will order you to pay an amount based on your financial circumstances and your present ability to pay the debt over a reasonable length of time. Whatever the outcome, I take it you won't be allowing yourself to get into that kind of mess again in a hurry. Good look and don't panic!

[Gef]

Go to your Citizen's Advice Bureau. They will give you lots of excellent, and free, advice.