How do I get on here?

[smoky]

you should ring 0800 83 62 62 for free advice

But basically my advice is to deal with the issue of the tenancy separately, what was your agreement, document what they owe you, photograph the mess and document it, make sure you document and photograph the damage as well, then send him a letter asking for the money, and apply to the tribunal for rent owing and damages

If you were down stairs and had a verbal agreement to be there - then that's a separate issue, and he still had no right to vacate without giving notice, and no right to leave the place in a mess.
But you say he's taking you to court? did he ask you to leave?

[Mom]

Seems this is a muddy one really. Still all is not lost, we will just get to the bottom of what the agreement was, who signed it and then get stuck in sorting it. Tenants can not simply say "see you", they can not stop paying rent either. They can however complain about a landlord staying on the property, unless it was agreed it was ok. They can not leave a property in a mess, with damage, they get to pay to remedy.

In case any of you are wondering, I used to manage property for a living for years, owned a couple of my own rentals for 20 odd years too. Happy to point people in the right direction regarding tenancy issues.

[Elysium]

Didn't the last govenment introduce a bill that gave the land lords more power? And also cant bad tenants be put on sort of "bad person" list that land lords can look up?