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Private landlord selling house, and can't afford to rent privately again


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Our landlord is hoping to sell up within 4-6 months. I was just wondering if anyone knows whether the council will house us or at least give some extra points for housing as we cannot afford another privately rented accommodation (deposit, rent in advance etc) We also don't have a guarantor. I have been looking for months anyway at alternative private rentals and they are just too expensive, and/or they will not accept housing benefit tenants, and even then you need cash and deposit upfront which we don't have.

 

Is there any way the council or a housing association will give us somewhere to live because we have a 1 year old child and I don't really want to be living in the streets in those circumstances. We don't have any family or anyone who can fit us in their house even for a few months.

 

My partner has bad mental health issues too and she gets help from her CPN and what not, but they don't seem to know how to help much with the housing issue so any help is appreciated.

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Hi

I can't help but these sure can

 

http://england.shelter.org.uk/

 

What they don't know would fit on the head of a pin

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Everything I say is opinion only. If you are unsure on any comment made, you should see a qualified solicitor

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Our landlord is hoping to sell up within 4-6 months. I was just wondering if anyone knows whether the council will house us or at least give some extra points for housing as we cannot afford another privately rented accommodation (deposit, rent in advance etc) We also don't have a guarantor. I have been looking for months anyway at alternative private rentals and they are just too expensive, and/or they will not accept housing benefit tenants, and even then you need cash and deposit upfront which we don't have.

 

Is there any way the council or a housing association will give us somewhere to live because we have a 1 year old child and I don't really want to be living in the streets in those circumstances. We don't have any family or anyone who can fit us in their house even for a few months.

 

My partner has bad mental health issues too and she gets help from her CPN and what not, but they don't seem to know how to help much with the housing issue so any help is appreciated.

 

 

Contact your local council and apply for assistance. What they can offer you will depend on their resources and how they allocate them. For instance, our local council are very strict on who they let on the housing list, but they do have private landlords that will take benefit claimants, and they will help with deposit and rent up front.

We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office ~ Aesop

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Hi,

Because you are in receipt of housing benefit, you will be eligible to claim discretionary housing payment for rent in advance / deposit to be able to move house and prevent homelessness.

 

Your council is where you apply: the info and the application form shall be on their website.

You need to show that it would have an adverse affect on your health if you do not get the amount claimed. Homelessness is an adverse effect.

 

bank statements going back to 3-6 months to prove income / need for help. letter from landlord that he is selling up. evidence about medical conditions / chronic illness to support your claim.

reasonable to ask for a month rent in advance [local housing allowance rates in your area].

 

The council will deem you intentionally homeless if you move out before the county court bailiffs evict you. Landlord has to serve you a written notice [2 clear months if Section 21] and get a possession order to evict you which takes a few months. if you still don't move out when he has the order, he has to apply for a bailiff order: only they can physically evict you and you get a letter from them about the time and date they going to come to change the locks.

 

that letter secures you temporary accommodation provided by the council because you meet the 3 required conditions to be housed: you are in the priority group [have a child], you are not intentionally homeless and you have a local connection to the area [been living there].

 

Apply for discretionary housing payment anyway. You won't have to pay it back and this way you can show that you have done every effort to find a new house thus not intentionally homeless.

 

These days councils do not have to house you in social housing but they will offer you private rented accommodation [after putting you up in temporary accom] to discharge their homelessness duty: you will have a contract with a private landlord.

 

Shelter helpline and the Citizens Advice Bureau is best for advice. The council's housing advice and homelessness team will advise you about how they can help. Councils try to save money by proving you are intentionally homeless / you have a stronger connection with another borough [provide evidence of your address for the past 5 yrs].

 

A lady up here posted a similar situation. She and her child was put into temporary accom though somewhat smelly by the council well before the eviction date.

 

You will be liable to pay your landlord's court costs, as you will know. About £80 to bring a possession claim but it buys you time to find something suitable and not intentionally homeless.

 

The above advice is my understanding of your rights: please contact Shelter and the council for experienced and qualified advice. The latter will want you to sit it out and have a possession order in your hand before they say they can help you.

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Hi Beatrice, thanks for the reply. Just regarding this bit

 

Apply for discretionary housing payment anyway. You won't have to pay it back and this way you can show that you have done every effort to find a new house thus not intentionally homeless.
At a previous address we applied for the discretionary housing payment for deposit/rent in advance and it was refused as they said they do not provide a payment unless you have an exact address lined up to move into. they need the landlord's details and the address of the property you are moving to, tenancy start date etc before they will give a discretionary payment which is almost impossible as you a need the deposit in cash to secure the property in the first place. No landlord is going to wait around several weeks for them to approve a discretionary payment to get the deposit, they will just let the property to the person who hands them the cash

 

Given this, do you still think it's worth applying for the discretionary for deposit/rent in advance ? Thanks

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I should point out we are already on the council housing waiting list but no points. The difficulty in renting privately again is that all the rents are way higher than the housing benefit/LHA allowance for our area, and so the rent top up would be too much to afford. For example our allowance is £117 a week for a 2 bed house but all the 2 bed houses advertised by landlords are around 145-150 a week

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If it is not in your tenancy agreement that you have to provide access to potential buyers then you do not have to let them in to view the property.

The landlord has to give you 24 hrs written notice to enter the property and it has to be during reasonable hours, not 7am or 11pm. He [and his workmen] can enter to carry out his statutory repair obligations, eg to service the boiler or inspect it once a year with a Corgi engineer to get a statement it works [annual statutory gas safety certificate he has to provide to the tenants].

 

Tenants evicted for rent arrears may be deemed as intentionally homeless [section 8 notice, two-week notice, then court application for possession order].

Even if your housing benefit does not cover the rent, you need to show that you made every effort to top up the rent, eg applied for discretionary housing payment, used some of your living allowance to make up the shortfall [child benefit, JSA, ESA, DLA].

 

For the landlord to get a possession order for rent arrears, you have to be at least 8 weeks late with the rent when he serves you the Section 8 notice. Also, you have to be at least 8 weeks late on the day of the hearing, otherwise the judge has discretion.

 

The court throws out the case if the notice is invalid, eg not the right type, not the right period of notice given, etc. You need to find fault with the notice and write it down in the defence papers the court sends you. You have to return it within 14 days. The Citizens Advice will be able to tell if it is a valid notice upon seeing your tenancy agreement [commencement, etc].

 

If no written agreement, the tenancy still exists: you can prove it with various documents that you live there [bank statement, DWP letters]. The only way to evict you is through the court unless the landlord lives in the same property as the tenant [lodger].

 

Some landlords opt for an illegal eviction and change the locks while you are out to cut the 3-12 month court process short. You can get back within a few days with an injunction order but better to avoid by pointing out you got legal advice and you will get him a criminal record if he decides to get funny. Illegal eviction is a criminal offence. Scan in your tenancy agreement and proof of address, proof of benefits to save them in your email account: can print a copy off for the court if locked out and your possessions are not given back.

 

I had no money to move out and had to read up on law to defend the case. Resulted in cutting off water to make me move out, then illegal eviction. Normally it is £160 to get an on the day injunction any day you walk into the court to restore your water, electric and reinstate you. Free if on low income or on certain benefits like IBJSA if evidence attached.

 

So if the council and an independent advice agency suggest you need to get a possession order before the council is willing and able to help you, then discuss it with the landlord that you would need him to go down the possession order route, otherwise you "will not and can not move out and you have been advised about your rights to stay in the property". This way you avoid funny business like landlord harassing you with frequent visits etc to make you move out without having to obtain a court order.

 

You probably / might know the whole lot. Thought it would be useful info for other readers and will / might save them from the hell I went through.

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The council housing waiting list is no use in your current case: it takes 20 years to get social housing, even if you are threatened with homelessness because landlord is selling up. You need to make a homeless housing application. You are threatened with homelessness if within 28 days you may become homeless: they will have to help you when the possession order arrives from the court that you have to move out within a certain time [41 days if you applied for extension, otherwise more like within 2 weeks, I think].

 

To be able to fight the council to give you housing you need know the law regarding their duty to house you. Google "legislation.gov.uk Housing Act 1996 Part VII" to find out how to play their game because they will not want to house you in homeless accommodation to save money. It costs a lot to put up families in B&B so the council fights appeals to avoid having to house people. Not saying they are going to misadvise you about your rights and their duty but won't be as helpful as an independent legal advisor like Shelter or the CAB.

 

I have no kids yet my council paid me £800 discretionary housing payment to cover the shortfall in the rent for a 6 month period to allow me time to find cheaper accommodation. Attach evidence of disability / chronic illness and say it will get worse due to stress if they do not provide the money. My one was depression and chronic back pain, sick note / statement from GP provided.

 

Still apply for discretionary housing payment: the fresh refusal letter from the council is a weapon against them you can and will have to use when applying for homelessness accommodation.

 

Get written evidence that landlords refuse to let to you because you are DSS: ask them via email if DSS is ok and ask them to reply in writing. Print off 5-10 such replies to go with your homeless application claim. Council knows private landlords do not take DSS but in a court you need written evidence about everything.

 

Ask the council in writing to put it in writing that you only get rent in advance if / once you find a landlord. They will have to house you if you are threatened with homelessness: if and when you have a letter in your hand from the court, showing that there is a risk of you becoming homeless within 28 days. The possession order tells you within how many days you have to move out. With that order, with proof of your income, savings, benefits, fact that you have a one-year old child living with you you make an emergency homeless application to the council. They will have to house you at that point but you may be able to register your case a lot sooner and they will keep your file updated with you filing eviction notice from landlord, court papers, refusal of rent in advance decision letter. There are hundreds / thousands of families in your situation [rent arrears if not selling up] so the route I advise you is a sure one. Councils have limited resources and will only house people that they have to by law. Part VII for you, one-hour read to win your case.

 

You sound British [i'm from Eastern Europe] so your case is easier because of your nationality. If I was given £800 discretionary to live in a flat on my own in London for 6 more months without incurring rent arrears than your case is much stronger [child!!]. You have to look at the law to see their duties to see what evidence to put in your applications to get what you want, as you will know.

 

Bottom line is: discuss the possession order route with your landlord [he won't like it]. Ask him to communicate in writing only if he becomes horrible and do not answer the phone to keep evidence what he says.

 

In English law tenants acquire an estate in property: it is your property until you hand back the keys and move out on your own account [surrender] or until the bailiffs evict you. You are in possession of the property: your landlord needs a possession order to get it back because it is yours until you get evicted or you surrender it, regardless of rent arrears or "wanting to sell up".

 

Landlords are tenants as well: a leaseholder is merely a tenant, renting from the freeholder for 90 or so years. You acquired an assured shorthold tenancy and at that point it became your property though a short lease, minimum 6 months. It rolls on even after the end of the fixed term and even if you do not pay a penny.

 

The Section 21 notice will not be valid if your tenancy deposit is not protected at the time when the notice is served. Of course you do not volunteer such info to the landlord but let him take you to court with an invalid notice and lose the case. Did he give you a deposit protection certificate? If not, you just qoute the law in your defence to say the notice is not valid. Housing Act 2004, Housing Act 1988 [section 8, Section 21- notices to serve].

 

You need to defend the roof over your head: the current one because getting another one is an uncertain business. Even offer to pay the £80 court fee to your landlord to keep it friendly, upon seeing the receipt. That way you will have that possession order and the council will put you up in emergency housing before the landlord sells up. It takes a lot of viewings before a property is bought and by law you do not have to let in prospective buyers unless agreed otherwise in tenancy agreement. Point it out and keep it friendly. Of course you will let the viewers in but show landlord you know your rights and the route you will have to go down.

 

You may be in emergency accommodation for several months until the council finds you permanent accommodation to discharge their homelessness duty. Permanent means an assured shorthold tenancy for min 6 months with a private landlord, rent might be higher than the LHA [ask the council in writing to confirm]. Not ideal but if you can not find your own private landlord, what can you do.

 

Take it easy and the law [if you read it] will be your biggest weapon. It saved the roof over my head and it will save yours.

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councils have a duty to help you find housing. it is rare now for them to offer their own accommodation to homeless people, instead they will help you source accommodation, privatetely rented usually. I would get in touch with the housing department as soon as you have been given notice to leave where you are, which should be a 2 months notice. Once within 28 days you will be accepted as homeless. Some councils expect you to use your legal right to remain where you are until evicted by my LA don't.

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I agree

 

Don't just have an application in with the council also check which Housing Association/Trust (remember to ask for their medical assessment form with the application) are in your area and put an application for housing into as many as you can (remember to keep copies as proof of application) this way if it comes to having to declare homeless to council you have evidence.

 

I would also recommend asking the medical professionals if they would provide a letters to support your applications for housing.

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Hi,

This last sentence from Stu is very wise: it just made me remember that to my discretionary housing benefit claim I attached a letter from my GP saying: "To who it may concern. Beatrice B our registered patient is suffering from depression due to her financial and housing situation and is currently on high dose anti-depressant medication. Could you please provide her assistance with her housing situation?"

 

The above letter must have gotten me the £800 discretionary housing payment because the London borough councils are overstretched when it comes to discretionary payments: the rents are the highest in the UK and housing is short due to most migrants settling in the capital, as you will know.

 

OK, this GP had seen me crying due to stress the year before due to possession cases brought against me, then illegal eviction, etc. Then rent much higher than the local housing allowance.

 

In London I doubt it councils will accept you as homeless once you are within 28 days of the expiry of your notice. Yes, you are threatened with homelessness but you can put in a defense if you have a ground like counter claim for disrepair, non-protection of tenancy deposit to claim 3 times the amount the deposit paid, to wipe out rent arrears if Section 8 notice given and not Section 21.

 

Isn't it they will consider you intentionally homeless if you do not put in a defence but move out to stay with friends / family? Or you just state you had no defence to the claim, here is the CAB's written advice that the notice is valid, Section 21, and it is a no fault claim and it is the landlord's statutory right to have it back once the fix term ended.

 

The other day I saw a case with horror where the council's decision was upheld: the claimant was decided to be intentionally homeless after adding up every penny of their income and expenditure because it was deemed they spent too much on essentials like food and some of the JSA could have been used to top up the HB to cover the shortfall in the rent. and it is a family with children. They moved out to family fearing future rent arrears. Maybe notice was not even served. Cannot remember.

 

Statutory homeless, eligible for assistance, not intentionally homeless, in priority need, local connection to the borough where you apply for homeless accommodation.

Housing associations may be nicer than the council, I agree.

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In my area the LA run a joint list for all social housing and advertise and allocate all properties for HA and LA properties, which I guess saves the need for applying to different places and allots each according to priority and amount time on the waiting list. So do find out what your area does.

 

In my area the only way you would jump a waiting list, is life or death (ie cardiac problems and can't climb stairs or somesuch) if it won't kill you then you don't jump queues. The LA say they pass so few through medical panels because so few properties become available to rent and if they allowed more, no one at all would get a property simply for being on the waiting list. Worth a try though, but I wouldn't think my LA is alone in this policy.

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I have asked the housing associations several times about their waiting lists but every time they say they only advertise through the local council so I have to be on the council waiting list which already am. Also each time I have asked for a list of private landlords that accept housing benefit they always post out a list of housing associations NOT private landlords saying that they don't have a list of landlords that accept DSS

 

Basically the landlord is not forcing us to move out or evict us or anything, he has just said that he is getting the house valued and it gives us some time to look for somewhere else (about 4-6 months) so do i have to ask him for a possession order?

 

I have looked for years for suitable private rental properties before we had this one even and none are affordable even when I was working. The weekly rent is simply too much compared to the local council properties. The weekly rent of a 2 bed private is much more than a 3 bed council one. Living in this one has been bad enough making up the shortfall in rent all the time means less food and gas and electric and everything, and also the landlord doesn't keep up with repairs, the property is dangerous for our child according to health visitor etc. It's basically been a nightmare renting privately and her mental health has worsened a lot because of it

 

My partner has had letters of support from her mental health team because she basically can't go out of the house without me with her because she was attacked in this area before and gets flashbacks etc so i am like her carer 24 hours a day. One of her workers was on the phone to the council for almost an hour one time saying that her mental health is deteriorating because of the housing situation etc, but they just reject it and won't give her any extra points for social housing and also won't give the discretionary payment unless she has a property ready and waiting to be moved into. Every house we have viewed the landlord will either not accept housing benefit tenants or they want a guarantor, or the deposit (£550-600) right there in cash. We have none of those

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I would make contact soon with your local authority housing department so you can find out what their protocol is with regard to assistance in finding housing as each LA will vary. My LA doesn't expect people to wait to be evicted before being accepted as homeless, however I personally was advised to remain in my property paying rent after the end date as they were imminently finding me somewhere to live. So I remained where I was for a 3 week period after the end of my notice period. No court action was started in that time.

 

My LA would normally house families with children or those with high levels of health needs by renting properties from property owners which they then rent out to the families. The bonus for the tenant of this scheme is you deal with the council wrt any repairs and so they tend to be dealt with and sorted quickly, the standards of the properties are usually good, you don't need to pay a deposit and just pay rent weekly in advance as you would had the property been owned by the LA/HA, this will change to monthly with UC though. Also any rent has to be lower than the LHA. It is a good scheme and many local authorities use it. Hopefully your LA run the same or similar schemes.

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This was posted by Shelter: -

 

NATIONAL:Blog: The tenants’ trap

 

By Martha Mackenzie at Shelter

 

Following the actions of Fergus and Judith Wilson hundreds of private renters have been served legal eviction notices- simply for receiving some housing benefit. According to the most recent National Landlords Association survey just one in five landlords let to people on benefits.

 

Those in desperate need may turn to their council for homelessness assistance. All local authorities in England have a legal duty to assist people who are homeless, or threatened with homelessness. As the loss of a private sector tenancy is now the leading cause of homelessness a growing number of people are finding themselves in precisely this situation.

 

The Homelessness Code of Guidance calls on local authorities to accept a Section 21 notice (which is what landlords use to end a tenancy) as evidence of homelessness and a just reason to help a family. However, legally councils can wait until the date of eviction – when the bailiff has been and actually chucked you out – before they’ll recognise your case and offer any help. Eviction also requires the landlord to have issued a possession order, a process that can take months.

 

This is a particular problem for renters who are being forced to leave their home because they can no longer afford the rent. As wages continue to stagnate, and the housing safety net is dismantled, many renters are now unable to meet their soaring housing costs. As we have seen, it can be incredibly difficult to set up a new tenancy under these circumstances and those in desperate need will be forced to declare themselves as homeless.

 

Councils are increasingly advising these renters to stay in their property until eviction: a terrifying prospect for anyone left feeling threatened, unwanted, and without any surety of when they’ll next have a place to call home. In the process, they may also rack up huge rent arrears. This could then allow the council to declare them ‘intentionally homeless’ and refuse support. Even if they are accepted as unintentionally homeless, eviction is still incredibly destructive for the tenant as they are left with a huge black mark against their name.

 

When seeking a new private rented property, credit checks will reveal their history, almost guaranteeing that the landlord will reject them. Equally, a number of social housing providers now refuse to offer a home to anyone with a history of arrears.

 

The result is that a cycle of repeat homelessness can set in, or that families can be left languishing in ‘temporary accommodation purgatory’ despite doing everything properly. They could also be driven into the hands of the worst rogue landlords, who are willing to exploit those with nowhere else to turn.

 

What can we do?

Many councils are driven to this course of action because they simply do not have the resources or the affordable homes to provide the help that is desperately needed. The Government should provide realistic budgets for councils to help those facing homelessness, and lift the borrowing cap on councils to enable them to borrow sensibly to build more genuinely affordable homes.

 

The Government could also tighten the existing legislation so that councils have a legal duty to assist and rehouse these renters when their eviction notice runs out, rather than waiting for a court order and the bailiffs.

 

Housing benefit for private tenants needs to be paid at a level that allows them to access affordable homes in the private rented sector. LHA rates should keep pace with market rents.

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Keep looking for a private landlord who accepts DSS. I found one after 2 months of having to room share with other girls and 2 months of having to pay my rent with my JSA because I did not even dare to ask for a contract in these room shares to be able to claim housing benefit.

 

Now my rent is the same as the LHA though live-in landlord. Not all of them are profiteering.

 

To get the months deposit and the month rent in advance to get a new private rented flat, you may have to stop paying your current landlord. CCJ county court judgement against your name and address if he takes you to court for rent arrears which he can with a Section 8 notice in which he would seek possession as well.

 

That way, if you have rent arrears towards your last tenancy when the council has put you into emergency accom and it is considering whether it has a duty to house you, rent arrears may be a red flag and normally an easy way for the council to prove that you are intentionally homeless.

 

You need to get a written statement from your landlord [notice] that he is selling up, that is the only reason why he wants you out. In a Section 21 notice they do not have to give a reason but say you need this statement to avoid the council claiming you are intentionally homeless.

 

A person will be deemed intentionally homeless if he rents a property where it is beyond his means to keep up rent payments and knows when he moves in that even with benefits, on the long run he will incur rent arrears.

 

Your choice to move out of a council house to move in with your partner renting privately: right to a private life, Human Rights Act, if the council wants to be nasty saying why did you give up your council accommodation.

 

So even if you have rent arrears with this tenancy, a statement from the landlord that he is selling up and needs you out is your ticket to the council putting you into emergency accom when you have the letter with the bailiff eviction date, and then they will have to find you somewhere to live [a private landlord who accepts DSS they will source].

 

Also, you will find the house you live in now advertised online and at estate agencies: written proof why you have to move out if LL does not give a statement.

 

By law he has to give you a written notice if he wants you to move out. The later, the better, as it is now, because once the notice runs out, he can issue court proceedings. Yet it seems like that is what we need now, to get you that bailiff letter about the eviction date to get the council house you.

 

It is a lot of stress, I know, to sit it out. Been there myself.

 

You will either find privately rented if you google "DSS accepted / considered" hard enough. Agencies want a guarantor or two months deposit.

 

Council will have no choice about having to house you once you got the bailiff letter: not intentionally homeless: proven with written evidence that the landlord is selling up. In priority need because got a minor living with you. Statutory homeless because you have no property where you can legally live [staying with family / friends or in B&B you still statutory homeless]. Eligible for assistance: British, in receipt of state benefits. Strong local connection to the area / borough council [proof of addresses for past 5 yrs]. You work in the borough that is local connection as well, just as studying.

 

Partner's mental health condition won't need to come up to get housing: the above is enough. And evidence that you tried hard enough to rent privately, put in a discretionary housing payment claim to raise the money, and prove that you are not simply after a council accommodation.

 

Anyone disagrees please say so. It is a lot of help knowing that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

 

Please get that statement from your LL that he is selling up thus he needs you to move out. It sounds like a notice which is the last thing a tenant wants to get yet while you are on friendly terms with him, get it, because it is your ticket to council housing to fend off the "intentionally homeless" game the council is to bring on.

 

Section 21 is the easiest to use to evict provided the LL gets the dates right [2 clear months and not 2 full months]. Notice has to run out on the last day of the period of the tenancy and he has to seek poseession after that day. £7.00 from WHSmiths, solicitor approved, just fill it in.

 

Section 21 can not say why he wants you out [eg rent arrears, selling up] and it will invalidate the notice if he adds anything of the like so a separate statement needed about the "selling up and him wanting you to move out for that reason and no other." The fix term of the tenancy comes to an end, LL can have property back by virtue of Section 21, Housing Act 1988. No other reason needed so fool proof if notice is valid. Judge will spot a badly messed up notice and throw it out even if the tenant fails to raise the that it is defective.

 

Eg tenancy starts 10th May. The date of the service of the notice is 20th of the month and notice expires / seeks possession on the 20th of the month, 2 months later: defective.

 

It has to expire on the last day of the period of the tenancy [the 9th of the month] and has to say he wants possession AFTER that day. So in many cases it is almost like 3 months.

 

You might know all this but there will be some for whom it means extra time, spotting a defective notice knowing the court will throw it out.

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  • 2 months later...

Just an update on this, we are at the stage now where we have done a homeless application with the council and waiting 33 working days for a decision. If the decision is in our favour we will receive 140 homeless points on our housing application. The council are refusing to give temporary accommodation as they are saying we are not homeless and have the right to remain in the property as long as we want because the landlord has not been through the legal process such as going to court and getting a warrant of eviction etc. All the landlord has done has given us a section 21 which we have taken to the council, but still the council are insisting he has to go to court if he wants us out.

 

Now the landlord has told us and the council he has no intention of going to court because it will cost him a lot of money and we are not bad tenants, we are on good terms with him etc.

 

The problem is that he has already sold the property and the guy who has bought it wants to move in. The councils response to that is tough, if the landlord wants us out he has to go through the legal process. However, we are getting pressure from all angles to move out. The estate agent wants to know why we haven't left, the guy who has bought the house wants to move in, etc. We have shelter helping us who have basically just repeated what the council have said that he must go through the legal process.

 

This is all causing my partner, who is pregnant, an almighty amount of stress and she has already had a relapse in her mental health because of it. We are stuck day to day not knowing where we are going to be living because the council are insisting the landlord has to go to court, and he has already said he's not going down that route.

 

At the same time people from the council have been ringing the landlord asking are we good tenants, any arrears etc and saying that they are legally obligated to house us. This is what they are saying to him that they will house us, yet whenever we go and speak to them they tell us different and won't even give us any temp accommodation.

 

We have pretty much exhausted all options but any other advice would be appreciated.

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My partners mental health team have contacted the local MP also who basically repeated again that he has to go to court etc if he wants us out and we should stay put as he can't evict us.

 

I appreciate he has to go to court and everything, and the council are saying they won't act until bailiffs are at the door, but with my partners current mental health and also being pregnant, due to the stress, we cannot afford to wait it out that long even if he did decide to go to court. The indecision of the council is killing my partner mentally, especially as they are then ringing the landlord himself and telling him themselves that they will rehouse us. The pressure from landlord, estate agents, the guy who has bought the house etc is too much to cope with.

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My understanding of what happens is that your landlord either goes to court to evict you prior to the house sale going through, or sells the house and you become tenants in situ and the new owner then becomes your landlord and it is up to him to then go through the eviction process and go to court.

 

 

If you want to get housed as homeless, you need to hold tight and wait for a court process from whoever starts it (probably the new owner, if your current landlord is not willing to bother with court). If you move voluntarily you will be making yourselves voluntarily homeless.

We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office ~ Aesop

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My understanding of what happens is that your landlord either goes to court to evict you prior to the house sale going through, or sells the house and you become tenants in situ and the new owner then becomes your landlord and it is up to him to then go through the eviction process and go to court.

 

 

If you want to get housed as homeless, you need to hold tight and wait for a court process from whoever starts it (probably the new owner, if your current landlord is not willing to bother with court). If you move voluntarily you will be making yourselves voluntarily homeless.

 

Okay. The part I am confused about is the temporary accommodation bit. Basically we have been told that to hand landlord the keys back is to make yourself voluntarily homeless because he's not been to court, but at the same time we are being told they have a legal obligation to help us by both Shelter and the council themselves. We also have letters from Shelters legal people stating that we can go to the council and request temp/emergency housing, yet when we go and do that they won't provide the temp accommodation as we still have the keys to this place. So it's just going round in circles.

 

Then the council are also ringing the landlord telling him they have a legal obligation to home us and asking about us as tenants. Another senior needs officer in the council told us that when he actually exchanges contracts with the buyer on that date they will provide us with temp accommodation.

 

Everyone we speak to at citizens advice, shelter all of them sit there and say to us 'They have a legal duty to help you because you are vulnerable, pregnant, and have a young child, they can't let you go onto the streets' So what I don't understand is if they are obligated to help us why does the voluntarily/involuntary homeless part even matter?

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Okay. The part I am confused about is the temporary accommodation bit. Basically we have been told that to hand landlord the keys back is to make yourself voluntarily homeless because he's not been to court, but at the same time we are being told they have a legal obligation to help us by both Shelter and the council themselves. We also have letters from Shelters legal people stating that we can go to the council and request temp/emergency housing, yet when we go and do that they won't provide the temp accommodation as we still have the keys to this place. So it's just going round in circles.

 

Then the council are also ringing the landlord telling him they have a legal obligation to home us and asking about us as tenants. Another senior needs officer in the council told us that when he actually exchanges contracts with the buyer on that date they will provide us with temp accommodation.

 

Everyone we speak to at citizens advice, shelter all of them sit there and say to us 'They have a legal duty to help you because you are vulnerable, pregnant, and have a young child, they can't let you go onto the streets' So what I don't understand is if they are obligated to help us why does the voluntarily/involuntary homeless part even matter?

 

 

It's just 'the process' that you have to go through. Yes, they have to help you if you are homeless, but not until you are actually homeless. They can't have people just giving up the keys to private rentals and then demanding to be rehoused in social housing as homeless - it just wouldn't work - they'd have hordes of families ditching their private rentals and turning up at the council offices to be rehoused, prepared to put up with the temporary hardship of a B&B, in order to eventually get a social housing tenancy.

 

 

They have to have these rules or the system would break down. With social housing places so limited, they need to have these processes in place to ensure only the most needy and least able to secure help for themselves get accommodated first.

 

 

So, yes, the council has a legal duty to help you, but they need you to stay put until the law says you have to leave your private rental - at that point they can then step in. The fact that they've talked to your landlord now suggests that they are preparing in advance for the day they need to find you accommodation, which is a good sign - some councils just ignore the problem until the family arrives homeless in the offices.

We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office ~ Aesop

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Okay, thanks for the clarification. Neither the landlord or the buyer are prepared to go to court. So hypothetically he exchanges contracts with the buyer tomorrow or the day after, we give him the keys and go to the council and they say we have made ourselves intentionally homeless and they can't help us, where do we then go for help? That's what I'm trying to understand. We don't have any family who could put us up. Would it be a local housing association? Have already contacted over 20 of those and each one says that they only advertise properties through the council anyway.

 

Have viewed about 10 private rentals over the last few months and all of them are simply not affordable, or unless we have the deposit and rent in advance (about a grand and a half up front) they don't want to know. I have even got the council to put in writing the way the discretionary payment works, and that the landlord would have to wait a few weeks to receive his rent in advance, but the landlords still insist they don't know how housing benefit works and have only ever had had working tenants. From speaking to these private landlords, I always get the impression that housing benefit/dss is not something they 'want to get involved with'. Not through any kind of discrimination, but rather it runs smoother for them with less complications if they take working tenants. I think they see housing benefit as too much hassle, which is fair enough.

 

Furthermore, my partners mental health team are most insistent that we must be accommodated in social housing due to her mental state and they say we must have stable housing so we are not in this situation again, or in a situation where the landlord can come along and up the rent whenever he feels like etc

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Okay, thanks for the clarification. Neither the landlord or the buyer are prepared to go to court. So hypothetically he exchanges contracts with the buyer tomorrow or the day after, we give him the keys and go to the council and they say we have made ourselves intentionally homeless and they can't help us, where do we then go for help? That's what I'm trying to understand. We don't have any family who could put us up. Would it be a local housing association? Have already contacted over 20 of those and each one says that they only advertise properties through the council anyway.

 

Have viewed about 10 private rentals over the last few months and all of them are simply not affordable, or unless we have the deposit and rent in advance (about a grand and a half up front) they don't want to know. I have even got the council to put in writing the way the discretionary payment works, and that the landlord would have to wait a few weeks to receive his rent in advance, but the landlords still insist they don't know how housing benefit works and have only ever had had working tenants. From speaking to these private landlords, I always get the impression that housing benefit/dss is not something they 'want to get involved with'. Not through any kind of discrimination, but rather it runs smoother for them with less complications if they take working tenants. I think they see housing benefit as too much hassle, which is fair enough.

 

Furthermore, my partners mental health team are most insistent that we must be accommodated in social housing due to her mental state and they say we must have stable housing so we are not in this situation again, or in a situation where the landlord can come along and up the rent whenever he feels like etc

 

I am wondering whether the landlord and the new buyer are being totally honest with you. I would have thought if the new buyer is buying with a residential mortgage as apposed to a BTL mortgage there is no way his mortgage provider would release funds and allow him to exchange with tenants in place.

 

If he is a cash buyer then again I would have thought that a good solicitor whould strongly advise him not to proceed with tenants in place.

 

Now you may need to look that up or maybe someone on here can conform or deny what I have said.

 

But something does not feel right, you are being put under pressure from two sides and it could be the 'buyer' is not a buyer at all but a means to get you out without the LL having to go to court.

 

Mods would this thread get a better response on the homeless forum, I think these poeople need urgent help

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He is a cash buyer, we showed him around the house a few months ago, he made the landlord an offer and the landlord accepted his offer. Now the landlord, buyer, buyers solicitor, landlords solicitor, and estate agent who he bought the property through, are coming to us and saying 'why haven't you moved out yet' and threatening to pull out. They keep phoning us and pressuring us. The councils response to that is tough, if you want our help you have to wait it out, or go through the court, which we know he's not doing. The landlord spoke to the council himself several times and said he is not going down the court route, which they seemed to accept, and then proceeded to tell him that they will be able house us. That conversation took place 3 weeks ago so the landlord keeps asking us why they said they can house us but haven't yet.

 

The trouble with 'why haven't you found somewhere to live yet' is that we don't have anywhere to go, and the council's homeless application is a very long one to wait out (33 working days) at the end of those 33 days there is no guarantee that we will be housed anyway because they only give you some homeless points towards accommodation which may not even be enough to secure a property. He has told us we can't have another 33 days because he's let us stay long enough, even though the tenancy expired 2 months ago, and he issued the section 21 over a month ago.

 

Even though I have been looking and looking for other private lets, we are being strongly advised by her mental health team NOT to go private again because we need stable, secure accommodation, both for her mental health and our children, and also her maternity services. So the council, local MP, Shelter, and mental health services are all telling us to wait it out and he can't evict us without going through court etc, but the actual pressure coming from all sides is what we have to deal with, and she has already relapsed in her mental health because of it. I really can't see us dealing with months and months more of this at the end of which the council probably won't help anyway if he hasn't been down the legal route.

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