Arghh eviction immenant

[mcjordiuk]

long time lurker first time poster be nice

 

current rent £67.odd (£61.51 housing benefit)

arrears £513.12 plus court costs of 169.50 (added on to rent account)

landlord- local authority

 

the arrears should only be £451.61 as housing benefit had not been taking off this figure plus the costs. housing benefit is applied monthly and not weekly

 

the hearing was on Tuesday 23rd feb 2010 i couldn't attend due to being ill with my bad back (although no doctor was called my medical file could be released to the court if necessary)

 

i am in receipt of income support (due to my disability) and offered my current rent (5.83 water rates) plus £5 extra per week and when i can pay off more.

this was accepted from the looks of the paper work the court sent me but then today receive a 28 day notice off the landlord/court saying i have 28days to get out or they will get an eviction notice/warrant.

 

i rang the court who said i had to fill in a n244 ? form which they are sending to me to get another hearing (how likely are they to suspend the order?)

the local authority seem to be happy with my arrangement and were suprised (so they say) that a 28 day notice was issued..

 

a judgement has been granted for the 513.12 plus 169.50 costs but the arrears are wrong

 

im single with no kids etc.

ive made a payment of rent and arrears payment (extra £6 odd)

 

i have no idea how to fill in this application as ive never had to do this before

i will get full fee remission the court says

 

any help

cheers jordan

[MrShed]

Can you explain why HB has not been removed, has it in fact yet been received by the landlord?

[mcjordiuk]

ive rang the local housing association and it has so now owe £457. but asked why they claimed for the other 61.51 and they havent according to a lady up there

but it has been awarded to them so surely they have asked for it a judge isnt going to give money willy nilly is he/she.

housing benefit is paid every 4 weeks

[MrShed]

Does HB get paid directly to the landlord, or to you?

[mcjordiuk]

to the landlord.

[Aviva]

Are you a Council or Housing Association tenant?

[mcjordiuk]

it was a council house till the bigwigs decided it would be best to go to one big council..

the houses then transferred to a not for profit housing scheme - so could be classed as a housing association i suppose

[MrShed]

The rent situation as it stands is confusing me.

 

In any event, a Section 8 notice for possession must be granted if there are 2 months arrears or more.

 

I am totally unclear from your post as to the actual level of arrears, and any alleged discrepancy.

[Aviva]

If there was a stock transfer done from the Council to a Housing Association then the HA will be your landlord and you are not a Council tenant.

 

If the Council set up an Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) then you will still be a Council tenant and the Council is still your landlord. The ALMO just manages the properties. These were set up because Councils were not allowed to access Decent Homes funding.

 

If you are a Council tenant then I think you have a very good chance of getting the order changed to a suspended/postponed possession order and then you will be able to carry on clearing the arrears bit by bit as you say you have been trying to do. Especially as your arrears are below £500 and your conversations with the officers involved indicate that they would not oppose such an order being granted.

 

It does seem strange to me that they have taken you to Court and received this order even though you state you have been paying a bit extra a week towards clearing the arrears and the officers state they did not ask for the outright order. It may be worth your while finding out why they decided to take this action.

 

Although, I did attend Court once where there was a Judge who had been drafted in as cover and had certain ideas about rent arrears. If we asked for a suspended order on terms of current rent plus £5 per week, he would grant an order for rent plus £10 per week. He also gave a Housing Association an outright order when they had asked for a suspended order because the tenant had not turned up for the hearing. So it's not unheard of for Judges to give a harsher order than was asked for.

 

As a representative of the Council you should know when leaving the Court room what judgement has been given. Did the officer(s) who attended the hearing know that an outright order had been given or did they think they had a suspended order? I ask this because usually a lot of rent cases are heard on the same day and maybe the ruling for your case has been mixed up with another hearing.

 

Not sure about the arrears amount and the missing HB as we get HB paid to our accounts on a weekly basis so don't have this problem. Although, Judges want to see a current rent statement and so the figure has probably been taken from that.

 

I only about rent arrears cases from a practical basis for Council tenants. I don't know if there would be any differences if you are a HA tenant.

 

Hope this info helps.

[mcjordiuk]

without costs etc i owe £457.63

they claimed for 513.12 plus costs

i get £61.51 a week housing benefit so only pay 5 odd a week at the moment.

even at £61.51 a week (8 weeks rent is £492.08) less any arrears payments i make prior to the hearing, so as it stands i owe less than 8 weeks rent

 

i didnt attend the hearing as i wasnt very well due to my bad back, the local housing manager didnt attend court a representative from Sedgefield borough homes did. the manager did say i most likely i got the 28 day order as i didnt attend.. hence phoning the court today, the lady on the other end told me to fill in a application for another hearing, she said turn up whatever to the new hearing

[mcjordi]

got my arrears down to £432.73

 

didnt realise i had 2 accounts on here

Edited February 26, 2010 by mcjordi
D'oh

[mcjordi]

i have filled in the n244 form and said

 

couldnt attend due to bad back *(scolosis of the spine) and said i can get a medical letter off my doctor if they need it

said ive reduced arrears and how much extra i am paying and when i think arrears will be clear ..

sending that in next week so fingers crossed the judge will be kind to me when i get another hearing

[mcjordi]

looked on the paper work and it says council.. so assuming its an ALMCO as aviva said

Edited February 26, 2010 by mcjordi

[mcjordi]

well n244 posted off to the court Recorded delivery

 

what are the chances of a suspended possession order?

Edited February 27, 2010 by mcjordi

[mcjordi]

from what i am reading on other sites theres a good chance this will be made into a suspended order,

a 28day order is normally granted if you dont turn up to argue case ( well i couldnt go as i was ill)

[mcjordi]

having re read the paper work from court/housing association they asked for a suspended order which was a approved according to the notes at the bottom, so i can only assume it was down to me not being able to attend

 

it says order approved district judge in type face not a stamp/signed

 

does this mean they would of given me a suspended one?

[Aviva]

If you are unsure of what order was given then contact the Court. The order they have on file is what you need to know.

[mcjordi]

i have another hearing on the 26th march all action suspended till then

 

i have no idea what to say its a 10 minute hearing