Punish the landlord victim?
Hi, my flat was ransacked by the tenant or a third party introduced by the tenant, and the electric meter was damaged. It will cost £6,000 -£8,000 to make a full repair.
The council made an Emergency Prohibition Order under S43 Housing Act 2004. Fair enough. They now want me, the landlord, to pay them £523.58 “expenses” because my flat was damaged; not the tenant, not any third party, but me, the victim in all of this, should pay them.
There is only a right of appeal against the Order, but none against the “expenses” order.
Has anyone out there had to deal with such a claim, and is the Local Government Ombudsman a possible recourse, or just another waste of space?
Thanks for your attention to this matter.
David
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Member Since October 2025 - Comments: 2
10:10 AM, 7th January 2026, About 4 months ago
Which council is this?
Member Since December 2024 - Comments: 3
11:23 AM, 7th January 2026, About 4 months ago
Perhaps your landlord insurance could cover it.
Member Since July 2023 - Comments: 2
11:23 AM, 7th January 2026, About 4 months ago
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.
Member Since August 2019 - Comments: 66
12:07 PM, 7th January 2026, About 4 months ago
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.
Member Since November 2015 - Comments: 584
12:28 PM, 7th January 2026, About 4 months ago
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.
Member Since March 2022 - Comments: 142
12:31 PM, 7th January 2026, About 4 months ago
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.
Member Since May 2019 - Comments: 2
2:13 PM, 7th January 2026, About 4 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Elisabeth Beckett at 07/01/2026 – 10:10
This is in Gateshead
Member Since October 2013 - Comments: 1642 - Articles: 3
2:16 PM, 7th January 2026, About 4 months ago
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?
Member Since January 2015 - Comments: 1446 - Articles: 1
3:13 PM, 7th January 2026, About 4 months ago
Check your buildings insurance.
Member Since July 2023 - Comments: 16
1:31 PM, 8th January 2026, About 3 months ago
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