council tenancy

[miss mermaid]

To cut a long story short, I slpit
up with my ex and was offered a
tenancy with the XXXXX council.
However, before I had chance to
take up residence at the property
HE (ex) informed the XXXX council
that he needed rehousing.
What he actually did was give the
council his name and they linked it
with the address of the property
that I was offered.
They then provided him with a
spare set of keys.
The documentation that was
received (addressed to myself and
typewritten).
But HIS name was later added...
in ballpoint pen.
The reason I mention this is because
although there is only one signature
on the original tenancy agreement,
(mine!)they are insisting I have a
"JOINT" tenancy along with him.
They are refusing to let me see
the original tenancy agreement
and have done so on a number of
occasions.
They KNOW there is a debt outstanding.
They KNOW that it came about as a result
of invalid benefit claims HE had pending
while at the property,for which they have
taken ME to court as a "JOINT" tenant.
They have failed to take responsibility
for THEIR actions.

In the meantime, I could not get
him out BECAUSE of the wrangle
over the "tenancy"
They know that they have wrongfully
obtained an eviction warrant.
And they are "using" it to threaten ME
with eviction

They do NOT want to admit to this
because it would mean they would have
to admit to being in the wrong.
Which I believe they are.
They have even gone so far as to say
that they will NOT remove his name from
the tenancy
Speaks for itself!

[miss mermaid]

Oh,and plz don't advise me
to go to the C.A.B, I have
already been down that route
and to numerous solicitors, all
of whom have failed to see my
point of view.
The council know that as long as they
stick to the "JOINT" tenancy theory
they ARE safe!
And I know that's a miscarriage of justice!

[Candygirl 06]

Anyone going to reply ?

[beccysmum]

Hi

I would make an official complaint to the Council - this should be looked at by a different department, so it's independent of the original people making decisions about your tenancy. Your local council should have an official complaints procedure to follow, you should be able to find details on their website, or ring them and state that you want to make an Official Complaint.

I would not try the Housing Department again, as they have obviously made their minds up and are unlikely to change it.

If they then don't find in your favour (or don't complete their investigation within an acceptable timeframe) make a complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman. The Local Government Ombudsman. Hope this helps

cheers
Beccysmum

[beccysmum]

Sorry - I should have made clear in my last post that the ombudsman will expect you to make an official complaint to the council before they take up your case. And they really are independent of the local council, so they will look at your case on its merits.

[miss mermaid]

Thanks for your response,but
I have aready made an official
complaint to the council.
I have lost count of the number
of trips I have made to the
council offices and the number
of the "estate managers" that
I have seen, who have come and gone,
over the years, in an attempt to get
to the bottom of this, that is why I am
in the position I am in now, because
they have failed in their duty as a
landlord on numerous occasions

[beccysmum]

Miss Mermaid

if you're making an official complaint to the council you will not be speaking to any estate managers - it is usually the Chief Executives department that deals with an official complaint. The whole point is that your issues are looked at by a completely different department, who are not at all involved. It appears that you have maybe been given the impression that you're making an official complaint when you're not really.

If it was an official complaint you should have a letter from a different department, stating their findings. If you only have letters from the Housing Department it has not been dealt with as an official complaint.

Have you tried the Local Government Ombudsman already?

[miss mermaid]

Since I have got nowhere with
the council and keep getting
passed from pillar to post and
being referred back to the
estate manager all the time
wouldn't it be better if I went
straight ahead to the
government ombudsman, and
if so, what would I put in a
letter of complaint ?

[beccysmum]

If you've officially complained in writing you can make your complaint to the Ombudsman. Basically you need to write a letter and set out exactly what has happened in date order. Include copies of letters you have written, and copies of letters received in return. The Ombudsman may make a visit to the Council, and inspect their records and speak to staff members. They will also speak to you to get your side of the story, so really you need to ensure that you have all records to hand. Anything said verbally between you and estate staff will not really count (your word against their, and vice versa), but that counts both ways.

The best bet is to set it out in diary format -

1.1.06 - wrote to Mr X, estate manager, re: etc.

15.1.06 - received reply, which answered query a but did not answer query B, etc.

You can do the initial application online at The Local Government Ombudsman. Let me know if you need any more assistance.

Good luck!

[beccysmum]

Also from what you have posted here it sounds as though it has been verbal contact, rather than in writing. With the Council you need to put everything in writing. I would also take everything to their counter, ask for a receipt plus a date stamped copy of any letters you hand in. If you do this they can't claim that they didn't receive items, as you will have copies with their official datestamp on them.