Avoiding Repairs as Defences to Eviction or Payment Applications in the FTT

What is the best way to disprove this defence? A recent increase in repairs defences to actions for eviction and payment applications based on arrears has been reported. There are generally three arguments made by tenants in these circumstances: withholding rent in order to compel the landlord to effect a repair; they are due an …

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First Ever Award of Wrongful Termination by Eviction Order

An Edinburgh tenant has been awarded a first ever Wrongful Termination Order by the Housing and Property Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland. In this landmark case, the landlord was ordered to pay £1,350 for evicting his tenant on false grounds. Jesus Rodriguez-Ortega rented a studio flat from Cesar Dominguez-Lopez. When Jesus asked his …

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Scottish Government Offers Financial Support to Tenants

Following calls for direct financial support to tenants who are falling into rent arrears due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Scottish Government has established a £10 million Tenant Hardship Loan Fund. Part of a wider package, the fund will offer interest-free loans to tenants who can’t access other forms of support for their rent payments. …

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“The Landlord Rules, Not the Tenant”

Infamous for his Draconian letting rules, the property tycoon and arguably Britain’s most controversial landlord, is retiring from the business. Fergus Wilson is in the process of selling his entire portfolio of 300 properties in Kent after a series of court battles over the way he’s treated his tenants, including discrimination. As a result of …

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TV’s Judge Rinder Rules in Favour of Landlord Who Threw Family’s Belongings from Balcony

An Edinburgh landlord and amateur boxer, who dumped his former tenant’s possessions in the garden after evicting her and her children earlier this year, was awarded £1,250 compensation on the ITV’s Judge Rinder’s show. David Love, who owns properties in and around Edinburgh, served an eviction noticed to mother-of-nine Donna Newby in March to vacate the …

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The “Hateful Eighteen” – Your Guide to the Legal Ways a Landlord Can Evict a Tenant

Everyone knows, courtesy of Simon and Garfunkel, there are 50 ways to leave your lover, but did you know your landlord has 18 ways to get you to leave? Many of them are obvious (you broke the law), others are perhaps irritating (the landlord’s granny needs a gaff), while a few are plain obscure (a …

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