Landlord intimidation – now is the time for action

So sorry I am aware Im going on a bit but I would like to ask some questions & if anyone knows the answer to any just let me know please.

1) When I received court papers for council tax they had put it in hubbys name when he had absolutely NOTHING to do with any of this, so how do I go about explaining this to a judge?
2) The paperwork did not include any means of a counter claim or to dispute it, what should I do?? I think I will call the court tomorrow or is there another way??
3) IF I win this case will it help with my defense when I tell them to prosecute me?
4) for the reason I have laid out in previous comment would you say that I have a strong case for the bullying, intimidation & some compensation for what they have put me through remembering of course that I have witnesses to it all?
5) Would this help others in similar circumstances??
If you know the answers to any of the above or can hazard a guess please let me know sooner rather than later, I appreciate my explanation is a bit of a mess due to my blood boiling...Thank you all x

Best of luck with this . I had a single mother dhss tenant who had fallen behind with her rent by 8 weeks . I applied to Rochdale mbc to be paid by them direct . They did this but it took them about another 12 weeks to do it ,because they were very busy and behind with their administration . They did apologize though and the assistant at the housing benefits office said that I should have put it in Writing , telephoned them & emailed them . I only telephoned & emailed them , In the original conversation I had with the benefits office I was told that an email with a scanned copy of the rent book would be enough .
Eventually I started to get the rent paid direct but was still 3 months behind .
After a period of around 1 year I got a letter from the housing benefits office telling me I owed them around £900 because the tenant had moved out 8 weeks ago . I immediately went round to the property where I could see through the window that her furniture & her dog were still int he property .I took photo's of this with a copy of that days newspaper in the photo to prove the date , I also had a witness with me I asked around the neighbors & they told me that she had moved about 6 doors down the street . I knocked on the door of her new house & she opened the door and looked shocked that I had found her (how thick can you be ? She had moved less than 100 Mtrs away ) She told me she had moved out but had not had the time to move her stuff out and that she had left her dog there (which she should not have had in the property) to keep her new place clean . I got her keys off her along with a photograph of her giving me the keys also with the current days newspaper . I sent all the evidence to the council but they wouldn't listen . The next letter I got was from their legal department threatening me with court action. I telephoned the Housing benefits again & eventually I got through to the top man or so I was told & in my opinion I must have interrupted his coffee break or something . I think he sighed more than he spoke . He said that she had moved to a new address & they had a copy of her new lease , I reiterated that her furniture & her dog was still in my property & that she had not informed me that she intended to leave . He returned an even bigger sigh & said if I wanted to go to court then I was welcome to as it was between me & the tenant & nothing to do with them even though they had paid me for 8 weeks after they had received her new tenancy for her new address he also implied I was wasting his time as he was a very busy man . I bet he was busy if this is how his department is run .
At the time (before the recession ) I was running my own building company separately to my rental portfolio & I was just too busy to waste my time going to court so sent them a cheque for the required amount .
It came off my tax bill which was 40% so I just bit the bullet & paid it .
It is time the government and the local councils realized and valued the service that private landlords provide . I know we all do it for profit But what's wrong with that ? I also know that some landlords aren't up to standard but most of us are good & honest hard working people . I have quite a lot of tenants on benefits and I have to say most of them are great and some of them have been tenants for 10 years or more . What would the government do if private landlords said no more tenants on benefits & evicted them all . I personally would be evicting more than 20 families . Just a thought .
This happened a few years ago so the figures are only approximate and I try not to think about it for long .

I had a problem with the council and made a formal complaint against a named person, I did receive an apology and know that that person now does not work there. they have to investigate and any formal complaint counts against them, they do not like it.

Hi Mike you are sooo right, I have just had to evict my 5 tenants that have been with me for 13yrs not because they complained or because of any problem with the house it was simply because it was HMO I spent a fortune getting it that way & then they changed the rules & wanted it all ripped out & another load of crap put in doing EXACTLY the same job, but the council there was trying to get me to lease it to them but I told em I would burn it to the ground before I leased to them after what they put me & my tenants thru.
I really want to fight this but I know its gunna be a hard one so need all my ducks in a row before I take the plunge although I have effectively started that ball rolling...another lesson learnt for you & for me just hate reading what some people have been put thru it makes my blood boil...Sharon

Many councils have Landlord Liaison Officers. I always get on the phone to them first (they are more or less very good at giving you the right advice). Over the past year I have decided to work with the Housing Benefit Sections, getting to know the names etc of who I am dealing with. BUT when it comes to Public Protection Health Depts etc and their claims of safety etc on a property , then they think they are the police. I have had my solicitors send them them threatening letters of legal action telling them they are costing my business money (can claim compensation) and causing stress (no claim allowed on that one). We always state will sue in County Court, and use a local surveyor for any property report. I always request tenant to state there are no problems at the property. IF there are repair problems at the property I/we are there within 24 hours.
I would definately add my support of any motion to take a council to court.

Reply to the comment left by "sharon underwood" at "07/07/2014 - 19:55":

You've had response to show you are not alone Sharon as you requested. Now you need legal advice by the sound of it to "get your ducks in a row" like you say.

Wish i could do something positive and actual to help. Good luck to you.

Richard

Well I have learnt my lesson the hard way with Councils, having had a LHA Tenant for the last 2 years that I still can't get rid of.
It took me over a year before I was able to get any rent AT ALL out of this tenant. I issued a section 8 but it was completely ignored. Decided it was a complete waste of time pursuing it, as the tenant had no money anyway and the Council were clearly on her side. It was only when I was finally able to issue a section 21 that I was able to get Housing Benefit paid to me directly, and even then it could only be back dated for 6 months. The tenant has done a lot of damage to the property. My gas engineer went round to the property to do the Annual Gas Safety Check and on the phone he said to me 'Have you seen the state of that house? It's an absolute wreck.' I said it wasn't when she first moved in. I went round and found both back door and front door smashed. Internal doors smashed, holes in walls, mud on carpets, paintwork destroyed, plaster work destroyed, and a house basically fit only for a pig to live in. Then the best bit:
After continuously trying to contact the tenant to get the damage put right, the Council then rang ME and threatened to take ME to court because of the state of the house! I ended up having to replace both the back door and the front door at a cost of over £500, and that was only the beginning. Less than 3 months later, the Council rang me again to say they were putting notice on the property because I had ignored them previously. Now, BOTH the back AND front doors had been smashed AGAIN! In addition to this 2 windows had been smashed and the Council were taking me to court unless I sorted it! In the end I had to get the property managed by a letting agent as I couldn't cope with any more stress, but I still had to pay for the damage to be put right. I am now lumbered with the tenant for another year as I have signed a contract with the Letting Agent.
It's probably a waste of time emailing your MP. They're probably on the Council's side anyway, but see how you get on.
But for anyone thinking about taking on a LHA tenant, read this and think twice I'd say.

Reply to the comment left by "Anthony Endsor" at "07/07/2014 - 22:14":

Noo Anthony you cant let them do this! what council are you on about??? did you just see the comment from AA properties??? I am going to do that first & foremost, I have already let the cat out of the bag re them prosecuting me so I will have that as a back up, this is EXACTLY what they want you to do it WRONG on every level...I really understand I have almost given up a few times but as I said im a red head so like a battle now & again, I need to think about this some more but you have the law on your side, & as for my MP you are probably right but as I told him in the email thats what he is getting LOTS of tax payers money for & I have forced his hand now in that I have told him he has to basically pick a side, You should read some of the messages I have been getting from other sites as well it horrific, I simply cant believe this really is allowed to carry on, I hope with a little inspiration we can find a way to do this without us all dying under the pressure...Could you all please let me know what councils are doing this, maybe if we get enough landlords in the same area we can deal with each council one by one until they all get the message, judging from the comments on here & other sites we could be soon win ourselves a battle

Reply to the comment left by "AA Properties Wales " at "07/07/2014 - 21:53":

Love this comment what a great idea if WE ALL sent a few of these letters at the same time to every council we might not even have to fight it, if they got 20 letters a mth per council it wont take em long to realize they could be in serious trouble but it has to be done collectively one council at a time if needs be & just hit em hard & fast with MPs letters as well, like it or not our MPs have got to be seen to be doing something so if we picked one particular council sent MP email & an official complaint from as many landlords as possible they are soon going to have to do something about their conduct, this will require organization which I have to admit is not my forte but I will do my best, how many private landlords re in any one particular area the emails are easy, there is a site called writetothem really easy to use & only takes a few mins how hard can it be just spread the word....And please any words of wisdom from a solicitor would be appreciated, I do not want anyone to do the work just give me some ideas about how to move forward please...Im hitting the sack now my brain is frazzled

Reply to the comment left by "sharon underwood" at "07/07/2014 - 22:58":

Hi Sharon.
It's Manchester City Council.
Yes I read the comment from AA Properties, and I have actually tried working with the Housing Benefit Sections, and had a contact with the tenant's support lady, but she was a waste of space and ended up telling me to just throw the tenant out of the property 'if that's the way you feel'. So she seemed to think it was that simple, just to throw the tenant out of the property and obviously didn't realise that in itself would involve a court process.
The other advice from AA Properties is good, regarding County Court etc, though I don't need to tell the tenant to state there are no problems at the property, as she never reports any anyway, it's the Council who do it for her.
I'll certainly add my support to take Councils to court though. It's disgraceful what they are allowed to get away with.