Being self-represented (appearing without a lawyer) in a lawsuit is not without risk.
In a recent case at the Western High Court, one of the questions was whether the Housing Court had been entitled to refuse to hear a case about the amount of rent on the grounds that the plaintiff had not made a correct claim.
The case was that the Rent Board had chosen to divide a case into two and then made a decision on the part concerning the amount of the rent, but postponed the consideration regarding the renovation of the lease. The landlord subsequently chose to bring the case before the Housing Court without legal assistance (self-meetings). However, in the writ, the claim was formulated as a demand for payment for renovation and not, as it should be, a demand that the tenant acknowledge the original rent.
This subsequently meant that the Housing Court chose to reject the landlord's claim for consideration of the rent issue. The case was subsequently brought before the High Court, which in February 2020 changed the Housing Court's decision with the following reasons:
"Although the writ of summons of January 27, 2016 does not contain a claim about the amount of the rent, the case file does refer to the fact that the tenant has complained about the rent to the Rent Board, and a budget for the rent determination was attached as an appendix to the writ of summons."
Under these circumstances and with reference to the intensive duty of guidance that the housing court has in small claims under the preparatory works to the Administration of Justice Act, section 406, the High Court finds, after an overall assessment, that there was no basis for dismissing the case in relation to the amount of the rent. The High Court therefore annuls the housing court's judgment of 1 December 2016 and takes the issue of the amount of the rent under consideration.”
If you choose to conduct your own legal proceedings, you must be sure of what you are doing, and the case is a good example of the fact that conducting legal proceedings in Denmark is not uncomplicated, and that professional help from a lawyer is usually recommended. In small claims cases under DKK 50,000, the court has a duty to provide guidance, but as the case shows, this does not mean that the court tells you how to conduct the case.
Contact us for further information about the case or assistance in conducting legal proceedings or rental cases.
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