Forged signature? Court hearing for possession claim

Forged signature? Court hearing for possession claim

9:40 AM, 22nd May 2023, About 12 months ago 9

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Hello, I have a tenant who denied that she signed the tenancy receipt document at the court hearing in April. I tried to evict her using section 21.

The judge told her to write a witness statement that she did not sign the NRLA Tenant Receipt Document. She denied receiving How to Rent, the EPC, etc.

In her witness statement, the tenant accuses me of forging her signature.

I sent all the documents with her signatures to a hand writing company and will get the report in a couple days.

What punishments will she get if she found guilty in the second court hearing?

Or she could just say, ‘Oh, I am sorry. I forgot all about it.’ And the judge would say ‘never mind’.

Thank you,

Aric


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Comments

john kelly

10:36 AM, 22nd May 2023, About 12 months ago

good luck
if i was running this country i would imprison her for perverting the courts of Justice!

Terrible

RoseD

10:59 AM, 22nd May 2023, About 12 months ago

It's a waiting game now. You've got as far as Court so really out of your hands. No set precedent even in the Court system. Presumably this is all part of the eviction process. Put it down to the never ending learning curve of the wonderful world of PRS and being a landlord!

Smartermind

11:04 AM, 22nd May 2023, About 12 months ago

Reply to the comment left by RoseD at 22/05/2023 - 10:59
No set precedent? Perjury has plenty of precedent, because that is what this potentially amounts to. Assuming OP is correct, the case will be simply dismised. Nothing will come of it.

RoseD

11:35 AM, 22nd May 2023, About 12 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Smartermind at 22/05/2023 - 11:04
That's a very strong accusation that it is perjury so please do not take my comments out of context. Quite clearly the tenant has let this matter go as far as Court so must feel confident. Also hand writing specialists? Really? This far from straight forward or would have been dismissed from the outset!

Puzzler

11:42 AM, 22nd May 2023, About 12 months ago

Send everything by email and ask for a reply before issuing keys

howdidigethere

12:24 PM, 22nd May 2023, About 12 months ago

The above comments are correct in that she is likely being perjurious.
But in the first instance, is she not the one who is claiming she did not sign them and she alleges that you forges her signature? The rules of law are that "The one who makes the claim bears the burden of proof."
The judge is effectively setting a trap for her to commit herself to perjury by writing this Witness Statement. Be sure that she signs the witness statement (probably any old scrawl) and makes a declaration of truth, as this will bind her to the penalty of perjury should she be found lying.
Regardless of how she signs the witness statement, this is not proof of her signature anyway. A signature needs not be a name or a funny way of writing a name, it can be any stroke of the pen.
These people are getting more and more corrupt as we go further and further into empowering them them through our disempowerment.
Be sure upon each and every claim and allegation she makes that you place the burden of proof upon her. And be sure you tell the judge that this is the proper course of justice, not the other way around.

Darren Peters

12:58 PM, 22nd May 2023, About 12 months ago

Has the tenant taken any action that proves she received a tenancy or other document?

For example if she paid rent of X on such and such a date, how did she know how much to pay and when?

My view, and it is just that, is that the courts view lying to the judge to be much more heinous compared to lying to another member of the public.

As the judge has specifically asked her to make a witness statement for the court, if that is found to be untrue it won't go well. However I don't know how much store the courts put in the professional opinion of a graphologist.

Another angle, if the tenant hasn't signed anything, how could you know what her signature looks like?

Judith Wordsworth

15:13 PM, 22nd May 2023, About 12 months ago

The Court, by asking her to write a Witness Statement, is asking her to confirm the percury.

For the offence to qualify as perjury, it must: Be made under oath; and the statement made/written with the intent of misleading the court.

The punishment for perjury may include prison, probation or paying fines to the court but WILL result in a criminal record for dishonesty - affecting employment.

Aric

15:53 PM, 22nd May 2023, About 12 months ago

I 've the hand writing report back from the expert this morning. It confirms that the tenant signed the document, so it proves that I had produced all documents but she denied receiving any.

The report costs me £540. Can I ask the judge to have the tenant paid me back?

Because of her lying, four weeks has passed. The maximum a tenant can get is six weeks, could I ask the judge to vacate the property in 14 days?

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