Housing Association trying to evict me for rent arrears

[00765]

No I don't. All the discussions have been on the phone. Last one was last Tuesday, day after i received the court papers

[Lea_HTH]

Better still, scan the PoC, redact any personal information (including the court number) and post up a link. I'd like to see it for myself.

[00765]

No. 4 of particulars of claim state

 

'The reason the claimant is asking for possession is: RENT ARREARS'

 

OK i will scan the POc & post it

[Lea_HTH]

If that is genuinely all that the PoC states as the grounds, then the claim is defective.

[stu007]

Hi

 

Do you still have the reciepts of your payments of £878 + £200 or a bank statement shown these at all?

[00765]

I have attached my evicition court docs

 

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]40194[/ATTACH]

Edited December 27, 2012 by citizenB
Edited personal information

[00765]

I did not receive any pay because my employer was saying that i had been made redundant it turned out that they had done so in error but took them nearly nine months to sort the mess out, sending me to Occupational Health in August since February 2012. I contacted HA a few months after i began my work related sickness ie about May 2012. I had no money to pay reny but as soon as i could which was mid October, I paid £200 then £200 agin in November & this month full rent. I told the HA shortly after i returned to work that i was back at work but they wanted £3,000 before agreeing any repayment. This month is the 1st month i have received full pay so this is the 1st month i have paid full rent

[Lea_HTH]

First, the particulars of claim are defective. The CPR states that the grounds relied on must be specified, and they are not. It is likely the judge will allow the HA time to amend the PoC and reserve on you.

 

Second, if you state you did not receive the notice referred to in the PoC, then you MUST inform the judge of this - the judge does have jurisdiction to dispense with the service of notice if he deems this necessary in the interests of justice. My view is a social landlord should not be allowed to claim service of notice was not required.

 

The above two points are technical issues - they are unlikely to mean that the claim will be struck out, particularly given the level of the arrears. But they may mean a slight adjournment for the amendment to take place. Do not rely on this - the judge does have discretion to dispense with both points at the hearing.

 

You are going to have to phone the HA tomorrow and ask them what grounds they are claiming under. It is impossible for me to guess (well, I could, but it would be foolhardy to give advice on a guess), and frankly, impossible to give accurate advice without knowing the specifics.

 

Your arrears are substantial, amounting to over 8 months worth of arrears. On an AST that would usually mean a mandatory claim for possession, however the HA may be lenient enough to only use discretionary grounds, in which case if you can put together a reasonable proposal to repay the arrears, they may consider this. But until we are clear what grounds they are claiming under, any advice is tenuous at best. (In the interim, if you find your way over to the repossessions forum, you can download a copy of the income and expenditure form to fill in.)

 

Can you phone them tomorrow and ask them what grounds they are claiming possession on and whether they can forward you a copy of the notice they claim they sent (they will have to provide a copy to the court, so it should be no issue to provide you with another one - remind them that the court expects them to provide you with a copy of all evidence they intend to rely on in court).

[mariner51]

What OP can request of HA is monthly rent account statement for duration of T and copy of Notice served prior to Court application. This Notice is deemed served 2 working days after posying, if properly addressed and mailed by First Class post. No acknowledgent of receipt by T required, so holidyays etc irrelevent.

The Court claim is for rent arrears, (tick box selection), as detailed in the prior (unseen) HA Notice of Intent (s8?)

 

If OP contacts HA by tel tomorrow, s/he should gets works email address of person spoken to or dept email, so the contents of the conversation can be confirmed and evidenced from email.

[caro]

It's possible the HA may not be open until after new year (certainly this is the case for the one I work for), so if this is the case contact the court and let them know that you need information from them before you can submit your defence.

[mariner51]

IANAL (employment nor LL&T) but some things do not compute without sight of OPs Contract ot Employment

1 OP went on sick leave for a 'work related' codition.

How long had OP worked for Co prior to sick leave? Was Statutory Sick leave payable/received forthis period?

2 OP was subs made reduntant (rules on selecting employees on sick leave for redundancy?) and later re-instated due to procedural error), so basic back pay & poss compensation should be payable.

3 OP decided not to apply for HB due to 'intrusive' forms & expectation of early employment With/out a dependent child, you claim for due due benefits. Worth a day form filling, but OPs decision not to apply, despite accruing rent arrears!

 

Rent owing is a finacial debt and AIUI HA under no obligation to offer/accept any suggested repayment sched. (reasonable offers for repayment not be unreasonably rejected. Judge to determine reasonable terms).

 

Whilst Council may be obliged to provide temp accom, due to child, most are not obliged to offer perm accom, as evictionfor rent arrears is perceived as 'intentionally homeless'

I suggest OP pursues poss income streams, poss against employer

[citizenB]

I have edited your documents as some of your personal information was showing through.. Have also turned all the pages right way up

[Surfer01]

I wonder if it may be possible for the OP to negotiate with the HA to obtain a property with a lower rent which will then allow OP to pay back arrears more quickly? At nearly £900 per month, this is an awfully high rental.

[Lea_HTH]

Highly unlikely at this stage Surfer01. The HA, like all other social landlords, will be extremely reluctant to move any one in arrears from one property to another. This is because the arrears relate directly to the property that the tenant is in, and creating a new tenancy for another property means that they lose their 'security' and ability to evict for non-payment. A tenant could, if allowed to move and take up a new tenancy, simply stop paying towards the arrears and apart from the usual enforcement action for any other debt, the LL would have no power to evict from the new property (if all rent is paid and up to date). Hence, the likelihood of being moved whilst arrears are as substantial as the OP's are slim to none.

 

The rent is very high, and the OP may have found she was entitled to some HB, or LHA, but clearly made the choice not to make an application at all, which has contributed to her position and the level of arrears.

[Lillibelle]

I was wondering why a claim for HB wasn't mentioned during the sickness period and/or as a single parent

[Lea_HTH]

OP said she chose not to apply for HB as she felt the forms were intrusive. One can only assume this was a constant opinion throughout (i.e during ill health) and not only when the HA told her to claim 4 months ago (see post 1).

[raydetinu]

Shelter is your best for advice, they are used to dealing with HA and the courts and will give very good advice and will attend court if necessary.

try on line or phone, dont give up, they are probably busy at this time of year.