Citizenship application and pending case in civil court

I was asked by my former landlord if I could do him a favour by vacating my flat at short notice do that he and his heavily pregnant wife could move in as they needed extra space. I moved out to help him. Now he refuses to return my deposit, saying I didn't give him notice. It's outrageous, so I am taking him to the small claims court.

There is a danger he will make a counter claim against me stating that I gave no notice. If he did make a counter claim, technically there would be a court case pending against me. Would this affect my ability to apply for UK citizenship?

rnr79 wrote:I was asked by my former landlord if I could do him a favour by vacating my flat at short notice do that he and his heavily pregnant wife could move in as they needed extra space. I moved out to help him. Now he refuses to return my deposit, saying I didn't give him notice. It's outrageous, so I am taking him to the small claims court.

There is a danger he will make a counter claim against me stating that I gave no notice. If he did make a counter claim, technically there would be a court case pending against me. Would this affect my ability to apply for UK citizenship?

try and be strategic, is it worth taking him to court if you are submitting your application in one month time? if so try and delay the court claim as much as you can but keep pressure on the landlord, send him a written letter stating that you are owed deposit money. if you were given a contract then state the relevant clauses in the contract. have you signed one when you moved in?

Tell him you are moving back.
He has no notice and the contract is not terminated so he would need to use court to move you out.
Even if you do not pay, landlord cannot force you out without court sentence.
Tell him you will come with housing officer from the council and police to gain access to your home.
He will surely quickly pay your deposit back as I suppose he relies on you not knowing your rights.

Also, is your deposit protected? Assuming that yes if you moved in after April 2007, then you can lodge complaint to the company holding deposit.
If you were letting "silently", then unfortunately it'd be hard for you to get anything back from your former landlord.

You may also consider how much you are figting for and if it is worth the hassle.
You can find a lot of help on landlordzone forum.
Good luck.

Thanks guys for your replies and advice, really appreciate it.
I have researched a lot on this case and when I don't have written proof of the fact that landlord asked me too move out so I won't stand a chance of winning the case and deposit protection scheme is totally flawed it doesn't help tenant in any case at all.
Only thing I am thinking of a court case against him that at least I will try to get my money back and the only loss to me would be court fees but if I win somehow I will have my deposit back. This is about £1000 guys so it is considerable amount

But in the worst case if I loose a case against him or the case is still pending will this affect my application for citizenship please can I have your views on this point

Thanks

rnr79 wrote:
But in the worst case if I loose a case against him or the case is still pending will this affect my application for citizenship please can I have your views on this point

Thanks

a good case worker will look into why there is a civil court case pending and will be unlikely to dismiss it just because the words "Pending court case" are stated in the application.

a smart case worker will realised you are actually doing society a favour by exposing of a crooked landlord and doing it by the laws governing this country, this shows a commendable citizenship and that you are actively participating in the British society.

to put your mind at ease give the HO a call see what they say, give NCS a call and ask them the question before you actually book it, they will tell you then whether or not to submit your application.

as i said though i know £1000 is too much but if you are ready to go ahead with your application tomorrow, then waiting a month or two (apparently thats how long it takes to process the application) might actually be wise.

the last thing you need is if the landlord makes a counter move and then you realised this is going to be dragged out for months , eventually you will chicken out and then fold, your case will be dismissed and you cant make another claim in the future.

ukpl wrote: If you were letting "silently", then unfortunately it'd be hard for you to get anything back from your former landlord.

What does letting "siletnlty" means? I was living there leaglly with proper tenancy agreement and paying rent on time and kept property in good condition.

dz_nostalgia wrote:
to put your mind at ease give the HO a call see what they say, give NCS a call and ask them the question before you actually book it, they will tell you then whether or not to submit your application.

Thanks mate...yes thats good idea i will give the HO and NCS a call and see what they say

rnr79 wrote:

ukpl wrote: If you were letting "silently", then unfortunately it'd be hard for you to get anything back from your former landlord.

What does letting "siletnlty" means? I was living there leaglly with proper tenancy agreement and paying rent on time and kept property in good condition.

It means: no proper contract, landlord name is on council tax bill (although tennat is paying it), mortgage provider has not agreed to let the property out, payment is by cash and landlord is not paying tax, plus some other things.
But you say you have "proper tenancy agreement". Then as you haven't given the notice, have you received proper and relevant notice from him on the basis you abandoned the property and stopped payments? IMHO this is not such difficult case as you think. Landlord CANNOT move in without terminating the contract in a proper and legal way. You are probably ill-informed. Probably serving letter with your intention and then follow up with small claims court will work the trick. Best of luck.

As for your concerns: you are giving out factual information on the date you sign it and send over to UKBA. If the case is not ongoing at such time, you have nothing to add to your application. I wouldn't worry that much about as you said: danger he will make a counter claim. (And he would not as he would lose without serving you s8 note and moving in to "your" home)

Thanks for all your help and replies guys...I have sadly decided not to proceed with the claim against landlord. I feel getting BC is more important at the moment that £1000.

I have contacted shelter, housing advisor at council and all they are saying that there are more cases of going the result in landlord's favour that tenant's. They say that there are so many loopeholes in the system that will help landlord. They didnt say that i will not win the case but their view is that more chances that LL will win in this case by looking at history of such cases. This is really unbelievable, this happens in this country but that's the fact.

Also i the AN form has columns saying that i have to mention if there are any cases against me in civil court. So I think its a big risk for me at the moment to file a case against LL and then take another risk of having counter claim against me.

You should proceed with the case, as i hope this will not effect your application but a senior member or a legal advisor should be able to shed some light on it, Also did you mention about Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme to you landlord? if he did not secure your deposit in this scheme than he is liable to pay you 3 times back so basically the ball is in your court

ferrarilondon wrote:You should proceed with the case, as i hope this will not effect your application but a senior member or a legal advisor should be able to shed some light on it, Also did you mention about Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme to you landlord? if he did not secure your deposit in this scheme than he is liable to pay you 3 times back so basically the ball is in your court

I have already told the LL about DPS scheme and contacted all three schemes and checked that he hasnt protected it. But for him its not an issue if i file a case for 3 times deposit, he has time to protect the deposit until the time he appears in the court for hearing. and LLs have provision to protect the deposit with one of the scheme even after the tenacy has ended. So in every situation tenant is at loss and if tenanct makes a claim they wont get 3 times deposit at all and they will loose court fees as well.

The deeper i go in these things it makes me more sad mate...there is no law in this country which protects tenants. But i think i am the only one to blame, did stupid mistake of not taking in writing from landlord.

I feel for you brother, all the best

YOUR CIVIL CLAIM CAN NEVER AFFECT YOUR NATURALISATIOM APPLICATION! The only type of court hearings are criminal convictions and bankruptcy (civil) which affect naturalisation. General civil law disputes do not be silly

mcovet wrote:YOUR CIVIL CLAIM CAN NEVER AFFECT YOUR NATURALISATIOM APPLICATION! The only type of court hearings are criminal convictions and bankruptcy (civil) which affect naturalisation. General civil law disputes do not be silly

even so how can he prove that the landlord actually asked him to move out? the guy moved out with his own consent and no written evidence that he did so because the landlord's wife was pregnant.

it'll be his word again the landlord's.

one thing with most contracts though, you have to give a written notice that you are vacating the house/flat and vice versa, if you do take him to court you can use that against him. i.e. show me a written evidence that either you or me have initiated the termination of my contract.

from what you are telling us he wont be able to do so, your story will be more believable especially if you mention the pregnancy story .

rnr79 wrote:there is no law in this country which protects tenants.

it's true, sadly, that tenants are treated as lower category citizens
BUT DO NOT GIVE UP, please!

Concentrate now on your BC but please go and use specialised forums like landlordzone and section about housing on MSE - there are very knowledgeable people over there who will help you.

Forget about Shelter, CAB and other charities - they do great job but are useless in cases like yours (you have roof over your head).

Wish you the best.