Punish the landlord victim?

Which council is this?

Perhaps your landlord insurance could cover it.

15 years ago, when I was a cop. I went to a job where a boyfriend had kicked the front door off of its hinges and assaulted the female. He was arrested and charged with both the assault and the damage. I contacted the landlord and tell him that he needed to repair the door. He felt that it was the responsibility of the boyfriend. I agreed. However, it was pointed out to me that the LL had a legal duty to make sure HIS property was safe and secure for his tenant. It was at night time, out of hours and was going to be very expensive. I arranged for the door to be boarded up and the LL was billed for it directly by the boarding up company. The total bill for boarding and a new front door was over £1000. The lad was convicted at court but the court did NOT award costs to the LL for some reason. That was my first realisation of how unfair the law can be towards LLs. And its now much much worse.

Before going to the ombudsman you’ll be expected to go through the council’s own complaints system. It’s not clear how the council became involved or why it was necessary for them to take emergency action, but if as you say it was fair enough then they are able to recover their reasonable costs in taking this action. If it was unnecessary or excessive you could appeal the emergency notice. If successful then their cost in taking the action would be invalid.

Reply to the comment left by at 07/01/2026 – 12:07
I think what you are saying is correct. The council’s claim is against the owner and owner’s claim in turn is against the tenant. There will be no criminal damage claim possible as there’s no proof of who caused the damage, just a contractual claim through the tenancy agreement.

I would try going after the tenant for this cost even if there is 0 chance of recovering the money. CCJ if issued won’t cost much but would stop a nasty tenant renting from the PRS so please help out your fellow LL’s.

Reply to the comment left by Elisabeth Beckett at 07/01/2026 – 10:10
This is in Gateshead

Reply to the comment left by JaSam at 07/01/2026 – 12:31
The damage was caused by the tenant, unless the tenant can prove it was someone else. Therefore, I would issue the tenant with a bill for the damage, and a CCJ if not paid.

By the way, you haven’t said why the flat was ransacked and where the tenant is now. What’s the situation with the deposit?

Check your buildings insurance.

We had similar …they had a grow going on ….police raided and they fled scene etc etc ..
.power networks disconnected property ….cost us 800 for new door..4200 for electric to be reconnected after 6 months …could not use old pavement cables …had to have it all upgraded etc etc ….oh yes I bet that was true …a well known landlord insurance would not pay a penny as it was illegal goings on …..it is my position to know they were growing .lesson …landlord insurance …don’t bother …get out of being a landlord asap …happy new year x