Distress for Rent and Set-Off

From time to time decisions are made in the Courts which affect, either directly or indirectly, the remedies of Distress for Rent and Common Law Forfeiture.

In February 2001 a case came up in the Chancery Division (Fuller v Happy Shopper Markets Ltd and another. EGCS 25) which has repercussions for the landlords. The tenant in question had mistakenly over paid his rent, and on discovering this, he ceased payments to compensate. The Landlord levied distress. The tenant, it was held, (despite earlier legal cases which had decided to the contrary) was entitled to "equitable set off".

The Judge concluded that any Landlord who was thinking of levying distress would be well advised to get the tenants agreement as to what was owing! From a debt recovery perspective this is of course nonsense. However, Landlords should make sure - before levying - that in fact there is no possibility of any equitable set-off, or they might in practice fall foul of Article 8 of the ECHR. Be warned.

Web Design and Web Hosting
by www.propertymall.com

Dawkins Specialist Certificated Bailiffs