Denial of Access to the boats - legal position and compensation ?

[longjohnsilver]

Better than the tabloids would have you believe. It is an easy one for the cops to trace and follow up on, virtually no time needed spent on it and still a result for the books. Police love having middle class people as suspects, because middle class people are far more likely to run their mouths in indignation.

Get real. A padlock worth a few quid, and no,proof as to who cut it?!

 

[sailaboutvic]

I'm glad you've taken encouragement from the thread, but I must admit I can't really see how you have done so . Apart from the gung-ho suggestions involving bolt-croppers, which you seem too calm and careful to adopt, most appear to be agreed that whatever happens your access is highly unlikely to continue past the renewal date in March.

Pete

Nailed it Peter

 

[Babylon]

Someone referred to the disrepair as “cosmetic”, but I get the impression it is more than that? If it is not a H&S risk and you ask him to spend money then maybe he is right to be peed off! But I do not read that to be the case.

You say that you have a lease under the Landlord and Tenant Act - but not which one, there are several.
If you refer to the 1954 Act, which deals with security of tenure (when the lease term expires), then you only have protection under that act if you pay rent (you do), occupy for the purpose of a business (suspect you don’t) and have exclusive occupation (I assume that you do not have exclusive occupation of the access route - but does the landlord own the area where dinghies are stored and do you have exclusive occupation of that?)
However we are not considering your right to renew at expiry but your eviction from the site during a contractual term.

It would be interesting to know how much you pay. If this is a pittance then you might consider another letter stating that you have considered the matter carefully and that perhaps you have expected too much for the fee you pay and offer an increase going forward, and say that your group will undertake the repair as a gesture of goodwill.

Assuming that you have paid to March and that you have a contract (which seems to be the case) then your landlord seems to be in breach of that contract. If, after all of your reasoned pleadings he is unmoved and you are not going to get a renewal of the tenancy agreement (unless you do qualify as a business tenant under L&T 1954 and the landlord has none of the grounds stated in that act where he can seek possession) then you might as well make alternative arrangements from March. In the meantime, I would speak to your solicitor with a view to serving notice upon the landlord that he is in breach of your lease/licence and that he has 5 working days to repair the step and remove the padlock (seeking return of an appropriate amount of the rent for the period of denied access) and that if he fails to comply then you will
1. Remove the padlock and let him have a key for its replacement;
2. Repair the steps (to minimum standard necessary for H&S compliance);
3. Seek recovery of the cost of padlock and stairway repair;
4. Seek compensation for loss of amenity, and the cost of those 20 mile round trips!

However, note that if the repair of the stairs is inadequate and leads to injury........!

This is the sort of advice a solicitor would give (which is unfortunately the only way to go). It might deal with the short-term problem - although if the landlord simply ignores it, as he's likely to, then it would likely take many months before the matter could be actually heard in court - with the only outcome being potential recovery of damages for the period access was denied (don't know whether legal costs could be applied for). The longer-term problem, however, is that you have an unreasonable and obdurate person as your landlord, and (so far as we've been informed) you have no clear security of tenure beyond March.

You could resort to less savoury methods like bolt-cropping the lock to get to your tenders in the short term, but the very first thing you need to to do is club together to pay for a solicitor with experience of landlord and tenant law to give you clear preliminary advice.

 

[Babylon]

PS How many people keep their tenders there?

Assume something like £500 (2hrs work) for a solicitor's preliminary advice, guess at ten willing participants from the folk who keep their tenders there, which equates to £50 each.

Then assume something like (wild guess) £200-300 damages per person for the inconvenience of a longer drive and more outboard fuel etc during the period access is/was denied (equating to £2,000-3,000 in total), plus whatever 'rent' you get back, plus say a minimum of £1,500 legal fees for the morning's hearing etc. This is Small Claims Court territory (£10k limit with no recovery of legal expenses possible), for which your best current bet for a hearing is only some time next summer! AND there are no guarantees that you'll win!

You have to assume that your landlord already knows all of this. He also has the advantage that he is one person, possibly being advised by a skilled solicitor. You have the disadvantage of being a group, with likely disparate views on how to proceed.

In my view its time for you to be pragmatic - individually and collectively.

 

[Blue Sunray]

I'm glad you've taken encouragement from the thread, but I must admit I can't really see how you have done so . Apart from the gung-ho suggestions involving bolt-croppers, which you seem too calm and careful to adopt, most appear to be agreed that whatever happens your access is highly unlikely to continue past the renewal date in March.

Pete

I'm beginning to wonder if this and the other related thread have been concocted as a mildly amusing way to fill the quiet pre-Christmas days. If so full marks to the OP for imagination and execution, a fair change from the tried and tested ways to get the usual suspects exited about trivia.

 

[anoccasionalyachtsman]

I'm beginning to wonder if this and the other related thread have been concocted as a mildly amusing way to fill the quiet pre-Christmas days. If so full marks to the OP for imagination and execution, a fair change from the tried and tested ways to get the usual suspects exited about trivia.

Indeed. All we need now is for Fatbeard to swim round and tow the stranded dinghies to safety.

 

[Blue Sunray]

Indeed. All we need now is for Fatbeard to swim round and tow the stranded dinghies to safety.

I'd forgotten about him.