Will i be able to ask to speak to a court solicitor on monday when i get there.

I really did not steal anything from the ex ll, i moved out on the friday and the

bailiffs were due on the following tuesday. Everything was there when i moved out including most of my large furniture and my tumble dryer which i could not take as i had no one to move me and my flat where i am now living is mostly furnished with everything i need, it also belongs to a family friend who has gone away travelling and left me with their flat, so why would i even be bothered with it. The ll said the property had not been broken into so it had to be me. I told the police exactly what happened and once i had moved out, which i could not wait to do, i forgot about it and could not believe it when they knocked on my door and told me what they were doing there. I dont know how i am supposed to prove that i didnt take it but on the other hand the ex ll has to prove that i did.

Hi everyone, my ex ll had me arrested before christmas for allegedly stealing

the washing machine and cooker from the property i was renting. I was interviewed regarding this and subsecuently charged. I am due in magistrates court next monday. I did not steal anything from him i had only just come out of

hospital 3 weeks before having had major abdominal surgery. I also left most of my large furniture plus my tumble dryer in the property as i had no one to help me move and also i have everything i need in my new property. I dont know which way

to turn as i moved out on 16h november and the bailiffs went in on 20th. They said that the property had not been broken into so i had to have taken them . They were both broken anyway and i would not have even thought about it. Can anyone help me out with what to do . I am on benefits and cannot afford a solicitor i also thought that he would have to prove that i actually did it.

I couldnt do anything before the possession order ran out as i was already in hospital. Will the judge take this into account

that i was unable to even look for a new property and still cant, i am hoping that he or she will know how serious my surgery was and what the recovery time actually is.

Also i dont know how i am supposed to talk to the ll and try and sort something out if he wont have anything to do with me

I have got the certificate that i was given from my deposits ltd with the end date as 28th february 2012, and nothing since,

i have checked with the other companies and they have no record of my deposit at all.

I also made a mistake with the date of possession, i thought you meant when was i supposed to move out, that was the 17th october the hearing was on 19th september.

I am hoping that the fact that i can hardly move at the moment and the court has copies of all my hospital notes the judge will just suspend the eviction for now.

yes i owe £2.900 but have told them that i am willing to pay off the arrears out of my benefits. I havent managed to clear anything since then as i was in hospital on 15th

and have been out of it for the last 2 wks since coming out of hospital. as i said i am not even supposed to go out before the 6 weeks let alone drive. I am only going in the morning so the judge can see i really cannot do anything. the ll does not go to court he sends homelet there to represent him so i cannot speak to him. he just will not let

me any where near him which makes it very hard. I have also just been given the so called certificate for the deposit protection scheme he so called used. it was cancelled

in march this year one month after i signed a new tenancy agreement and was not renewed anywhere.

there is a slight shortfall from the HB because they said he was charging to much for the rent.

If the judge can give me a further 8 days and then the LL has to apply for another eviction date that would give me time to at least recover a bit more and look for a new

place to live. at the moment i cant even go looking at properties.

Grounds 8.10 and 11 are on paperwork. and date of eviction is tuesday 20th november.

yes and s8 notice was served, and rent arrears were the grounds, i think mandatory

sorry forgot to say it was for rental. and rent arrears, the housing benefits are paying the rent straight to the LL and i said once i was able i would start to pay off the arrears,

but the LL will not allow me to talk to him to sort things out he went straight to the court.

17th october but i went into hospital on 15th for the major surgery. When i spoke to the court clerks to get the form N244 sent to me they said I had a very good

reason to have the eviction postponed, suspended as with this surgery there is a major chance of hemoraging, probably didnt spell that right. you really cannot do anything for 6 to 8 wks and it is only 3 weeks since my surgery and i am not able to get around very well at all. I got the eviction date last week

and immediately applied for a suspension/postponement of it due to medical reasons. what do you think. plse help.

I have to go to court tomorrow morning for a suspension postponement of eviction hearing. I have just come out of hospital after having a total abdominal hysterectomy. I cannot do anything for 6 to 8 wks and

have applied for a suspension on this basis. I have sent all paperwork from hospital and also a letter from

my consultant with my follow up appointment. The eviction is due to take place next tuesday but i cannot move

at the moment i cant even walk properly. Does anyone think i have done enough. I am not supposed to be going out but thought if judge saw me he would know how serious it is.

Shelter are wrong to say that you will 'probably be awarded 3x the deposit' - plus it's not 'compensation', it's a penalty payment for the LL. It is far more likely, dependent on whether the judge feels the LL acted reasonably or not, for the penalty to be at the lower end of the scale. If the LL is a multiple-property LL the award is likely to be higher than if it is a LL with only one or two properties. So don't raise your expectations too high at this stage.

 

I would suspect that your circumstances constitute exceptional hardship - medical issues often do count - however make sure you provide actual proof from your GP/Consultant with regards to this as it is less persuasive if you just say it.

 

Good luck.

thank you. The LL has 6 properties that i know of all in the same area so who knows what he will get. I thought it was a penalty payment not compo. I thought shelter knew what they were talking about.

Thank you again

Thank you so much for that. I have got all the paperwork that i have at home together and the letters from the HB saying how much they are paying and when.

I am going to ask the duty solicitor to speak for me on wednesday and hopefully I will get a bit longer than the 14 days. I think my circumstances warrant

exceptional hardship and will give me time to find somewhere new. I eventually spoke to shelter, they dont have anyone to go to court with me but they did

explain about the deposit protection scheme. they said the LL did not have a leg to stand on regarding this and I would probably be awarded 3x rent in compo.

I know i should not be putting myself in danger of a relapse but i think i will be better at the court than sitting at home wondering. and at least i will have someone with me i hope. i thought that when the date was given for the order i had to get out then but i feel a little better knowing that even after that date if the judge says 14 days i will probably have another 2 to 3 weeks grace.

I take it you're not in the London or M25 area?

i am in romford essex

I have been ringing the number you have given me for shelter but cannot get to speak to anyone, i really need someone who knows about this to be with me

in court, I am not well enough to do it myself. all the paperwork is done and has been submitted so it is just bringing them up to speed and help me by

speaking for me, any other ideas.

Have you counterclaimed for non-protection of deposit? If not, it may not get considered as not requirement for s8 process.. If LL attends, he may persuade Judge he mistakenly used deposit for rent when rent payments dried up. Hence he may avoid penalty or receive lower end penalty of 1x, not 3x, so rent arrears will not be covered and you may end up with CCJ against you and other recovery action.

Writing to the Judge asking for time & compassion, unlikely to work unless you attend. Judge will have heard it all many times before.

Concentrate on getting HB arrears sorted. Shelter have web page about entitlement during hospital stay.

Sorry about misleading 56 days earlier, I was thinking about motoring timescales at time?

also the HB has been sorted and monthly payment was paid direct to LL today. Should i take the paperwork from HB with me

Have you counterclaimed for non-protection of deposit? If not, it may not get considered as not requirement for s8 process.. If LL attends, he may persuade Judge he mistakenly used deposit for rent when rent payments dried up. Hence he may avoid penalty or receive lower end penalty of 1x, not 3x, so rent arrears will not be covered and you may end up with CCJ against you and other recovery action.

Writing to the Judge asking for time & compassion, unlikely to work unless you attend. Judge will have heard it all many times before.

Concentrate on getting HB arrears sorted. Shelter have web page about entitlement during hospital stay.

Sorry about misleading 56 days earlier, I was thinking about motoring timescales at time?

i have decided to go to court i dont want him to lie and get away with it. I dont know how long i will last though but at least the judge will see i have tried. I know the LL has not used the deposit as i have the last 4 months listed. Do you think me being there will make a difference. I would like someone to speak for me, will there be anyone at the court i could ask.

The judge has discretion to deal with the deposit claim at the possession hearing if he/she so chooses. However, any monies awarded will be used to off-set the arrears, so you probably won't see it.

 

The maximum that the judge can give you for possession is 42 days - and this only in circumstances where there may be exceptional hardship, which is quite difficult to prove, particularly if you are not in court to state your case. It is far more likely that a 14 day order will be made - though if you have already provided proof of your surgery and your recovery time, the judge will definitely take that into consideration. If you haven't done so, get your GP to write you a note that you can send to the judge by the hearing date..

 

That said, judges are reluctant to make possession orders, even on ground 8, when the issue has arisen via a housing benefit mishap. If you have proof that HB have stated they will repay the arrears but only via a small amount per week/month however it is paid, then you should point this out to the judge (hence the need to attend). If there is no proof, because paying outstanding HB in that way is not the standard, it is unlikely the judge will believe it to be true.

i would be more than happy for the arrears to be paid by the claim. If he gives a 14 day order then i am stuffed. I have no where to go and at the moment cannot go out. I have written to the judge asking for a bit of compassion and said i want to move but need a bit of time.

Whoever said they won't pay it back all at once is talking absolute nonsense. In your first post you said you wanted to make an arrangement to repay the arrears...

 

3250 sounds like it might be more than 8 weeks rent, in which case if your LL is claiming under s8, grounds 8, 10 and 11 (you neglected to state even though I asked), then he will get a possession order whether you are present or not. If the arrears are under 8 weeks, then the judge can use his discretion.

sorry yes it is s8 grounds 8 10 and 11. And it is 3 month. Yes when i said i would pay off the arrears each payment i was talking about the HB paying not me personally. I know that he will get the order i am just worried about how long he will give me especially as at the moment i cannot go out. Also what about the non protection of my deposit, i know it is illegal to not protect it do you think i will get compensated i need the deposit for a new property.

It is always preferable to turn up to a court hearing.

 

Do you have someone you can send on your behalf? You'll need to give them a letter authorising them to attend the hearing. They may not be granted permission to speak, but they could be your ears at the hearing and report back on what happened on the day.

 

If HB 'mucked up' your housing benefit payments, why, when it was resolved, were the arrears not cleared? It doesn't make any sense if it was a HB issue for there to continue to be arrears once HB has been resolved...ergo there must have been something else at play there.

 

How much are the arrears? What grounds has the LL claimed under (the particulars of claim, plus your notice should inform you of this.

No i dont have anyone who can go for me. The court knows my circumstances. The HB was stopped when i went into hospital and has only just started again, they have said that it shouldnt have been stopped but wont back pay the arrears all at once as it is £3250 but will pay extra each payment until it is paid off. As i said i have had so much harrassment from rhe LL i just want to find somewhere new to live but need until end of october. Also there is the deposit protection that he cancelled back in march.

The landlord is taking me to court this wednesday coming for possession of my home due to rent arrears. these arrears happened due to the housing benefit payments being completely mucked up

by benefits office. It has now been sorted and I have offered to pay extra ontop of the benefits payment

to pay off the arrears. I cannot attend the hearing as I have just had major surgery and cannot go out. I have sent all my papers to the court and also told them that the LL cancelled the deposit protection 1 month after I signed my last tenancy agreement and never renewed. and i want to claim for compensation for this. I also have told them how the LL has been harrassing me by turning up whenever he feels like it and ignored a letter I sent him. He has also lied to his solicitor about the circumstances of the arrears and said he new nothing of my circumstances, I kept him informed througth the whole time. I want to leave this property as it was him that made me ill in the first place but need to stay until the end of october. I have written to the court telling them all this and also not to

penalise me for not being there and to be fair to me.

Will me not being there make any difference, I really cannot go as i have had heart surgery.

plse advise.

willo be fair to me.

I am on housing benefit which is paid direct to the ll every two weeks. I had to go into hospital and they stopped the benefits while i was in there. They then realised that they shouldnt have and have said that the arrears will be paid direct to the ll asap when they

have sorted it out. I have told the ll this but he just doesnt want anyone in there on benefits. I lost my job earlier this year which is when i had to go on benefits for the first time in my life i am 55yrs old. I have been in my house for 6 years. I wish i could get a job and be in control again but it is hard out there and he just does not care.as i said i am taking him to court re the deposit, he had also refused to do any repairs inside or out so over the years i have spent £2445.00 putting things right. He sent a section 21 i april

saying then that he wanted me out at the end of the tenancy on 28/8/2012. Then 3 weeks ago i got section 151 i thought and was told that he could not do that until the section 21 had expired.

NO

I was told that the ll could not issue section 151 until the section 21 expires, also he cancelled the deposit protection on my

deposit i am now going to court re this. I was also told that as he cancelled the deposit protection it made the notices void.

The LL has sent me a section151 notice seeking possession. He has already sent a section 21 notice is april. I thought that nothing else can be sent until the section 21 notice expires which is on 27/8/2012.

I have also found out that the LL has cancelled my deposit protection back in March which I understand

makes the other notices null and void. I am taking him to court for compensation regarding the deposit and have been told that I will probably win, the other notice says that he will apply to the court for an

eviction order after the 27.7.2012. plse help