Enquiry assessment form

Preamble

To help us work out if we can help you we ask that you please complete the following online questionnaire.

If you have a disability or a language difficulty that makes this difficult for you, please call our reception on 020 7485 8811 or drop in to our office to make your enquiry.

By completing this form you confirm your agreement and consent to Osbornes storing and processing your personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy, a copy of which can be found at: https://osborneslaw.com/your-privacy/.

Tick to confirm consent

Tick to confirm consent *

Initial Contact Information

Full Name *

Telephone No. *

Date of Birth *

Email Address *

Address *

How did you hear about Osbornes? *

Which of the following do you need legal advice about? *

Legal Other *

Please tell us a little more about your query.

Disrepair / uninhabitable housing conditions

Are you a: *

Tenant
Landlord

Do you want to get the issues at your property fixed?

Yes No

Would you like legal aid to pay for us to help you to get the issues fixed?

Yes No

Do you want to claim compensation for the issues at your property?

Yes No

Claiming Compensation

Please note that unfortunately legal aid does not cover a claim for compensation. If you would like us to help you with this, we would need to first open a file to investigate the issues and obtain an expert surveyor’s report.

Funding the Case

Please note that legal aid is not available for a claim for compensation in this type of case. Our fees for initial work can vary but are usually around £1,000 – £2,000 + VAT depending on the complexity of the case, the extent of documents and how experienced your solicitor is. It may also be necessary to instruct an expert surveyor, which may cost around £1,000 + VAT.

Are the issues at your property causing a serious risk to health?

Yes No

Do you have medical evidence that confirms the serious risk to health?

Yes No

Would you like a quote for how much this initial work would cost?

Unfortunately legal aid is not available unless there is a serious risk to health. We also cannot consider offering a ‘no win no fee’ (Conditional Fee Agreement) unless and until we’ve also undertaken work to investigate the issues, consider the evidence and obtain an expert surveyor’s report. The surveyor’s report normally costs around £1,000 + VAT. Our fees for this initial work can vary but are usually around £1,000 – £2,000 + VAT depending on the complexity of the case,

Yes No

Who is your landlord/freeholder? *

Local authority
Private individual
Private company
Housing association

Name of landlord / freeholder *

When did you first tell your landlord about these issues? *

What kind of contract do you have for the accommodation? *

What are the issues at your property? *

If these are affecting health issues, please briefly summarise what health conditions are being affected and how.

Do you have a copy of a surveyor’s report investigating the issues at the property?

Yes No

Possession / Eviction

Please tell us about any hearing dates or deadlines *

Are you a: *

Tenant
Landlord

Who is your landlord/freeholder? *

Name of Landlord / Freeholder *

What type of tenancy do you have? *

This is normally written at the top of your contract .

When did your tenancy start? *

Have you already been evicted?

Yes No

When were you evicted? *

Do you want to be allowed back in to the property?

Yes No

Did your landlord get a possession order or a bailiff’s warrant of eviction?

Yes No

Did your landlord change the locks?

Yes No

Is someone else living in the property now?

Yes No

Do you want to claim compensation?

Yes No

Have you received one of the following types of notice from your landlord? (before starting court proceedings)

A ‘section 21’ notice seeking possession
A ‘section 8’ notice seeking possession
A notice to quit
Another type of notice asking you to leave

What date is the notice? *

When did you receive the notice? *

What date does the notice say you have to leave by? *

Please add more information *

Did you pay a deposit at the start of the tenancy?

Yes No

Did your landlord protect the deposit and give you a document confirming information about your deposit being protected?

Yes No

Has your landlord given you the following:

Energy Performance Certificate
Gas Safety Certificate
‘How to Rent’ guide
Information confirming the deposit was protected in a scheme and the leaflet from the scheme

Did you pay a fee to your landlord / the agent that was not for the rent or deposit? If so, what was the fee for and how much? *

Has the Council sent the landlord an Improvement Notice or Emergency Remedial Notice in the last 6 months, to fix problems at the property, and the landlord has not done so? *

Yes
No
Don't Know

Is the notice on ‘Form 6A’?

Yes No

Has your landlord start court proceedings to evict you?

Yes No

Please tell us about your deadlines and a brief summary of what has happened in the court case so far *

Which of the following grounds are mentioned in the notice?

Ground 8 (you owe at least 8 weeks’ rent (if paid weekly/fortnightly), 2 months’ rent (if paid monthly) or 3 months’ rent (if pair quarterly or yearly)
Ground 10 (you owe some rent)
Ground 11 (you keep paying your rent late)
Ground 12 (you have broken a term in your tenancy agreement)
Ground 13 (you cause damage to property)
Ground 14 (you have behaved antisocially)
Another ground

Which of the following grounds are mentioned in the notice?

How much is the monthly rent?

How much rent do you owe?

Another ground

How much is the monthly rent? *

£

How much rent do you owe? *

£

Please describe the ‘other ground’ mentioned on the notice *

Are there any problems with the condition of the property which your landlord is not fixing? If so, what are these?

Has your landlord start court proceedings to evict you?

Yes No

Would you like legal aid to pay for our advice and assistance?

Yes No

One of our team will be in touch to confirm if we have capacity to assist, and if so, to provide you with a quote. We normally need to know how many pages of documents are involved and have an idea of the complexity of the case before we can provide a proper quote.

Legal Aid Landlord

Please note that legal aid is not available to pursue an eviction. If you would like us to provide a quote for our fees, please proceed to the following questions. One of our team will then be in touch to confirm if we have capacity to assist, and if so, to provide you with a quote. We normally need to know how many pages of documents are involved and have an idea of the complexity of the case before we can provide a proper quote.

What type of tenancy do you have? This is normally written at the top of your contract *

When did your tenancy start? *

Have you/your agent already sent one of the following types of notice to your tenant? (before starting court proceedings)

A ‘section 21’ notice seeking possession
A ‘section 8’ notice seeking possession
A notice to quit
Another type of notice asking you to leave

What date is the notice? *

When did your tenant receive the notice? *

What date does the notice say they have to leave by? *

What type of notice did you send your tenant? *

Did you/your agent receive a deposit at the start of the tenancy?

Yes No

Did you/your agent landlord protect the deposit and give you a document confirming information about the deposit being protected within 30 days of receiving the deposit?

Yes No

Have you/your agent given the following to your tenant:

Energy Performance Certificate
Gas Safety Certificate
How to Rent’ guide
Information confirming the deposit was protected in a scheme and the leaflet from the scheme

Did you/your agent receive a fee that was not for the rent or deposit? If so, what was the fee for and how much?

Has the Council sent you/the agent an Improvement Notice or Emergency Remedial Notice in the last 6 months, to fix problems at the property? *

Yes
No
Don't Know

Have you fully complied with the Notice from the Council? If not, why

Is the section 21 notice on ‘Form 6A’?

Yes No

Have you started court proceedings to evict your tenant?

Yes No

Please tell us about any hearing date, any other deadlines and a brief summary of what has happened in the court case so far *

Which of the following grounds are mentioned in the notice?

Ground 8 (your tenant owes at least 8 weeks’ rent (if paid weekly/fortnightly), 2 months’ rent (if paid monthly) or 3 months’ rent (if pair quarterly or yearly)
Ground 10 (your tenant owes some rent)
Ground 11 (your tenant keeps paying rent late)
Ground 12 (they have broken a term in the tenancy agreement)
Ground 13 (they caused damage to property)
Ground 14 (they have behaved antisocially)
Other ground

How much is the monthly rent? *

£

How much rent do they owe? *

£

Another ground

Are there any problems with the condition of the property which you have not fixed? If so, what are these? *

Have you started court proceedings to evict the tenant?

Yes No

Please tell us about any hearing date and any other deadlines *

Homelessness

Have you asked your local council for help with housing?

Yes No

When did you first ask the Council for help with your homelessness? *

Are you: *

threatened with homelessness
homeless

When will you be homeless and why? *

Which of the following problems would you like our help with:

The council is not processing my homelessness application
The council is refusing to give me temporary accommodation
The council has offered me unsuitable accommodation
Asking for a review of a decision letter you have received from the council
Appealing a negative review decision from the Council
Something else

What date did you receive the decision letter? *

What has the Council decided that you want to review? *

Something else *

What is your immigration status? *

Do you have any children under 18 or who have disabilities needing your care living with you? *

Are you or someone in your household pregnant? *

Have you had to escape from domestic violence? *

Do you have any physical or mental health issues that make it more difficult for you to cope with homelessness? If so, what are these? *

Please tell us about any deadlines *

Welfare Benefits

Legal Aid

* Unless exceptional case funding is obtained, Legal aid is only available for welfare benefits cases if they have reached the Upper Tribunal stage of the appeals process. Unfortunately otherwise you will need to pay privately to instruct Osbornes for advice and assistance. This could be around £1,000 - £2,000 + VAT depending on the complexity, extent of paperwork and the level of experience of the solicitor you instruct. Would you like to proceed?

Yes No

Which benefit(s) do you need help with? *

Have you applied for the benefit?

Yes No

Are you unhappy with the decision that has been made on your benefit application?

Yes No

Have you asked for a statement of reasons?

Yes No

Have you received the statement of reasons?

Yes No

On what date did you receive the statement of reasons? *

Have you asked for a mandatory reconsideration?

Yes No

Have you received a mandatory reconsideration decision?

Yes No

What is the date of the mandatory reconsideration decision? *

Have you sent an appeal to the First Tier Tribunal?

Yes No

Has the First Tier Tribunal made a decision on your appeal?

Yes No

What was their decision and what date did they make the decision? *

What are the next deadlines in the Tribunal appeal? *

Have you been given permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal?

Yes No

Would you like legal aid to pay for our help?

Yes No

Why do you think the decision on your benefit application is wrong? *

Do you need a lawyer to advise you or help you to apply for the benefit? If so, what do you need advice about? *

Support and accommodation for asylum seekers

Have you made a claim for asylum?

Yes No

When did you make your asylum claim? *

We cannot help with immigration advice. You will need to find an immigration adviser if you need advice about making an asylum claim.

Is there a problem with the support and accommodation that the Home Office should be giving you whilst you wait for a decision on your asylum claim?

Yes No

Tell us what the problems are with the support and accommodation. Please say if you have told the Home Office or Migrant Help about these problems, and what they said in reply. *

What do you want advice about? *

Housing Register

Would you like Legal Aid to pay for this case?

Yes No

Have you made an application to join the Council’s housing register?

Yes No

Legal Aid

Legal aid is not available for this type of case unless you have at least tried to already make an application to join the Council’s housing register (there are also other requirements). You would at least need to make an application to join the Council’s housing register first.

What would you like our help with?

Have you finished going through the Council’s internal review procedure to challenge the decision?

Yes No

What is the date of the decision you want to challenge?

Are you homeless or threatened with homelessness?

Yes No

Legal Aid

Unfortunately legal aid is not available for this kind of case unless you have finished going through the Council’s internal review procedure and/or you would also like help with your homelessness case

What is the date of the decision you want to challenge? *

Please explain what about your housing register application you would like advice or help with *

Would you be interested in getting a quote?

We may be able to offer advice and assistance on a privately paying basis. This would be charged at an hourly rate of between £170 - £290 + VAT, depending on the seniority of the solicitor. At the start of the case the solicitor will normally offer an estimate for the cost of considering the case and providing initial advice, which will vary depending on the complexity and extent of paperwork. Would you be interested in getting a quote?

Yes No

Age Assessment

What is your age / date of birth? *

What age / date of birth have you been assessed as having? *

What date did the age assessment finish?

What languages do you speak? *

What country are you from? *

What is the name of the local Council that is involved in your case? *

Do you have any physical or mental health problems? Please tell us what these are *

Are you in contact with any family members? *

Where are you living at the moment? What kind of accommodation is this? *

Support from Children’s Social Services

Are you a: *

If you are an adult enquiring on behalf of a child, please answer the following questions from the child’s point of view.

A child (under 18 years old)
A parent of a child who is under 18 years old
A care leaver older than 18 years old and younger than 25 years old
An adult/professional enquiring on behalf of a young person who is under 25 years old
None of the above

None of the above

Support from Children’s Social Services generally is limited to children up to 18 and care leavers up to the age of 25. It might be that you need to consider support from adult social services instead.

Are you: *

A relevant child
A former relevant child
A qualifying care leaver
Don’t know

Are you (or the child or young person) in care or receiving support from Children’s Social Services

Yes No

Have you (or the child or young person) asked Children’s Social Services for support?

Yes No

When did you approach (date)? *

Which Children’s Social Services did you speak to (which council)? *

What support did you ask for? *

What did Children’s Social Services say to you? *

Legal Aid

Unfortunately legal aid is not available to assist you in approaching children’s social services or to provide general advice on children’s social services. If you are a homeless child and need help, you can call Coram Voice on their free helpline: 08088005792. Coram Voice is a charity that provides advocacy to young people in and around the care system.

Which Children Social Services supports you (which council)? *

What best describes the main issue you would like help with:

Making a complaint

There usually won’t be legal aid available to make a complaint about something that happened in the past. You may be able to get help with a complaint from a youth advocate. You can find out which advocacy service provides help in your area here: https://coramvoice.org.uk/get-help/how-do-i-find-an-advocate-in-my-local-area/advocacy/

Other

Has Children’s Social Services made any specific decision in the last three months that you want to challenge?

Yes No

When did they make the decision? *

Are there any important deadlines or dates coming up. For example, a date where you have to move?

Yes No

What is the date? *

Why is it important? *

Would you like legal aid to pay for us to help you to get the issues fixed?

Yes No

Are you a child aged under 18?

Yes No

Are you in care, an asylum-seeking child or a homeless child?

Yes No

Do you receive any money on a regular basis – not including part-time work (less than 16 hours per week), holiday jobs or pocket money?

Yes No

Do you have any savings of more than £2500.00?

Yes No

You are likely to be eligible for legal aid.

Support from Adult’s Social Services

Are adult social services already involved in your case?

Yes No

Have you approached adult social services for assistance?

Yes No

Legal AId

Unfortunately legal aid is not available to assist you in approaching adult social services or to provide general advice on adult social services.

When did you approach (date)? *

Which Adult Social Services did you speak to (which council)? *

What support did you ask for? *

What did Adult Social Services say to you? *

Which adult social services are involved in your case? Which Council is it?

Which best describes the main issue you would like help with?

Legal Aid

There usually won’t be legal aid available to make a complaint about something that happened in the past.

Has Adult Social Services made any specific decision in the last three months that you want to challenge?

Yes No

When did they make the decision? *

Are there any important deadlines or dates coming up. For example, a date where you have to move?

Yes No

What is the date? *

Why is it important?

Would you like legal aid to pay for us to help you to get the issues fixed?

Yes No

Legal Aid Financial Eligibility Questions

The next questions are to help us work out if you are likely to be financially eligible for legal aid. You can also go online at https://civil-eligibility-calculator.justice.gov.uk/ to find out if you are likely to be financially eligible.

Do you or your partner receive any of the following benefits: Universal Credit, Guarantee Credit, Employment and Support Allowance (income related, not contribution based), Income Support, Income-related Jobseeker’s Allowance.

Yes No

If you add up the total value of all your assets and money in your bank accounts, as well as your partner’s, is it over £8,000?

Yes No

What benefits do you receive (if any), how much for each and how often?

How much do you receive from work (if you are employed)?

How much regular financial support do you receive from others (if any)?

Do you receive any other income? If so, how much and how often?

Do you have a partner living with you?

Yes No

What benefits does your partner receive (if any), how much for each and how often?

How much does your partner receive from work (if they are employed)?

How much regular financial support does your partner receive from others (if any)?

Does your partner receive any other income? If so, how much and how often?

How many dependent children do you have living with you?

How much is your rent/mortgage per month?

How much National Insurance and Income Tax did you pay in the last 30 days?

How much do you pay for maintenance for children living with an ex spouse/partner, or to an ex spouse/partner and how often?

Do you already have or have you had a solicitor in the last 6 months helping you on this case?

Yes No

Why do you want to instruct us instead of continuing with your existing/prior solicitor?

Brief Summary

Please provide a brief summary of what you would like advice about.