Council Repossession

[angel1977]

Hi All, i hope someone can give me some advice about this.

On the 26 of Jan i got a letter from court saying the council has made a claim for possession for my home.

I have a secure tenancy.

On the 2nd of Feb which was a tuesday i called the council and paid my rent and arrears fully uptodate i was then told that i had to pay my rent every week and that i had to have a £100 in credit on the day of the court hearing (25 feb) for the costs.

Firstly, is this right because i have had dodgy and downright wrong information from my council before. I had used nearly all my wages to clear the arrears and have nearly 3 weeks to wait till next pay day.

So i have arranged to borrow rent money every week but i dont know if i can make the £100

Could i get the case delayed as the 25 is only a few days before i get paid again and would then have the £100 no problem.

And now because i paid in the 1st week rent on the 4th and there was no rent due they have taken it off the court costs and now they have debited the rent account as its a new week i'm showing as being in arrears again:-x

[Guest Old_andrew2018]

Do you a local law centre or CAB where you can get free advice,

[Big_Bother!]

Hi

Are you with a council property or private landlord?

Can you claim any housing benfit/Council Tax benfits?

Are you classed as Vunerable?

ie have a medical condition?

Lone parent

Pregnant etc?

Best advice as above is to seek help from the likes of CAB or DIAL (if disabled?)

I should try and get to see the council in person - most have a walk in session in the housing/benfits dept.

Write to your MP mine helped when I got in a mess got a refund!

Hope you do too! Good luck.

[Laywoman]

Hi All, i hope someone can give me some advice about this.

On the 26 of Jan i got a letter from court saying the council has made a claim for possession for my home.

I have a secure tenancy.

On the 2nd of Feb which was a tuesday i called the council and paid my rent and arrears fully uptodate i was then told that i had to pay my rent every week and that i had to have a £100 in credit on the day of the court hearing (25 feb) for the costs.

Firstly, is this right because i have had dodgy and downright wrong information from my council before. I had used nearly all my wages to clear the arrears and have nearly 3 weeks to wait till next pay day.

So i have arranged to borrow rent money every week but i dont know if i can make the £100

Could i get the case delayed as the 25 is only a few days before i get paid again and would then have the £100 no problem.

And now because i paid in the 1st week rent on the 4th and there was no rent due they have taken it off the court costs and now they have debited the rent account as its a new week i'm showing as being in arrears again:-x

 

Do you still need advice?

[angel1977]

Oh i think so, I have since been in to my local shelter and am waiting for a call back but they have advised to defo attend court and seemed a little surprised that even tho i have no rent arrears now it was still going to court, which ofcourse i want to avoid.

[Laywoman]

Oh i think so, I have since been in to my local shelter and am waiting for a call back but they have advised to defo attend court and seemed a little surprised that even tho i have no rent arrears now it was still going to court, which ofcourse i want to avoid.

 

 

I'm not surprised Shelter are surprised - you are a secure tenant with no rent arrears. Its likely they will just adjourn the case on the day, if they don't pull it beforehand.

 

Court fees are not rent and so they cant get a rent arrears order for them. Normally with fees they just get added on to the rent account and people pay them off at £3.25/£5 a week.

 

You should check County Court Search to see if you will find a duty adviser at the court. They will represent you and hopefully agree with the council before the case goes in that it needs to be adjourned.

[angel1977]

Thank you, i will do that first thing tomorrow.

[angel1977]

So there is no way of stoping it before it goes to court ?

[Laywoman]

You can ask them to stop the action. Some councils will, others take the approach that you've only paid the arrears because they have taken action and so they go into court for them to collect the £100 costs anyway. Some will just ask the court to adjourn on the day and no costs.

 

Worth a try as it will depend on the particular council's policy. If you have a good payment history they may call it off without costs, particularly as the arrears were only small anyway.

[angel1977]

ok, i went to the county court yesterday and was told there was no duty officer to talk to and that i wouldnt beable to see one until the court date, then i produced a letter from the council saying that they plan to ask the judge to generaly adjurn the case but the clerk at the court checked and said they have not recived a letter from the council so they couldnt do any thing.

I have also called the legal sevices dept for assistance but they started going on about legel aid which i dont think i would get because i have been doing lots of overtime to pay this and other bills.

so it looks like am off to court.

[Laywoman]

ok, i went to the county court yesterday and was told there was no duty officer to talk to and that i wouldnt beable to see one until the court date, then i produced a letter from the council saying that they plan to ask the judge to generaly adjurn the case but the clerk at the court checked and said they have not recived a letter from the council so they couldnt do any thing.

I have also called the legal sevices dept for assistance but they started going on about legel aid which i dont think i would get because i have been doing lots of overtime to pay this and other bills.

so it looks like am off to court.

 

Hi and sorry I should have made it clearer that duty desks are generally only staffed on possession days.

 

The court wont stop the hearing unless confirmed by the claimant (the council) so that is not unusual. The duty adviser will see you on the day though - they try and see everyone with a hearing, just get there a good half hour before your case is due in.

 

Good luck!