Housing Assoc changed door lock without notice

[king12345]

He needs to contact the HA to understand what's going on. 

What springs to mind is the fact that he was never registered there as a resident, so the HA has regained ownership of the property after he failed to contact them.

I'm sure there are legal timeframes, however,  once a person dies, they move very quickly and i mean same day.

It's heartless if you ask me but they don't care, they're short of accommodations and getting a property back is gold dust to them.

If he can prove that he was a permanent resident and paying the rent maybe he could convince them to stay there, but he needs to contact them immediately before they assign the property to someone else. 

[king12345]

Whatever disability he has, he better contact a dedicated charity and ask if they can guide him to a solution. 

Some charities are very good in getting involved and sort things out, others are not.

Worth a shot.

[king12345]

Sorry 45002, that would never be the case for many reasons.

1. HA are notoriously a law into themselves and judges are very lenient with them

2. LA OFFICIALLY was not aware of his residency there, in fact his mother was claiming single occupancy (i suppose to pay less council tax)

3. All bills were in mother's name, so proving residency would prove difficult with a mobile phone bill

4. Shortage of accommodations has made changing locks an accepted practice when someone dies and next of kin don't get in touch within a few days. Again, judges are aware of this and lenient.

 

Given all of the above, going down the legal route would probably open a can of worms with the unpaid council tax since 1977, of course if the son can prove of having lived there without any evidence.

So my previous advice remains unchanged,  the son should seek help from a charity related to his disability, they might help.

[king12345]

To add to my previous post, this is not an eviction.

As far as the HA is concerned, the mother lived there alone, they tried to get in touch with her next of kin who was not reachable.

At best they could be held responsible if they disposed of mother's belongings,  but in my experience they keep them for at least 28 days.

[king12345]

Hi stu007, I can guarantee that HA and LA don't take months to change locks.

As soon as they're notified of the death of a sole occupant, they contact the next of kin, phone call, email and letter.

If they don't get a response within a couple of days they pack all the tenant's belongings, store them safely and change the locks.

The property is then assessed for any defect to be repaired (usually same day) and once ready is put back in the pool of available properties to rent out.

This process can take as little as a week, it all depends on the state of the property.

The lock change happens in a few days.

Even if the next of kin asks for some time to empty the property, i've never heard of anyone being given longer than a week.

Remember,  the key point is that the mum lived there alone, the son was staying occasionally at weekends and cannot even prove it as all bills were in mum's name, including sole occupant council tax.

As much as I dislike HA and LA, in this case they won't get in any trouble for the reasons in my previous post.

The son should have registered his occupancy 40 odd years ago instead of saving a few pounds by paying single occupant council tax. 

[king12345]

Yes, this is the correct procedure, but at least around here in Greater London,  they don't follow it.

And I know people who have taken the HA to court only to be told: "that's not your house, you should have replied to the HA communication" and at best, awarded a nominal sum for the inconvenience of having to collect the deceased belongings from storage.

If you think about it, you can't even blame the HA, they need the property and they're not going to hung about waiting for the next of kin. 

[king12345]

All well and good, but once the locks have been changed, what are you going to do about it?

You can throw money at it and waste taxpayer's money to win £50 compensation for distress.

And then?

The lock has been changed.

You say illegally, They would argue that the son was staying there rent free and cheating the system by claiming of not being there.

Then what?

The son could be in for a shock with an enormous bill for unpaid council tax and rent.

I am all against HA, they're the devil, but on this one I have to say that the son could've at least replied to their communication instead of waiting until they changed the locks.

Now it's too late and there's too much to lose challenging the HA.

The son in any case will not get back into the property,  unless a miracle happens.

Edited June 27, 2019 by king12345

[king12345]

Yes, i agreed to that at post 1.

My following question is: What you gonna do about it???

Answer: Nothing!

And in this case the son could be peeled like a potato in a banana coat if he's not careful.

So the illegality of it is absolutely irrelevant. 

[king12345]

I'm not supporting anything illegal but i am old enough to accept that sometimes i cannot change things and have to live with it.

Fighting a lost cause is for younger and inexperienced people so they can learn like i did in the days when I had a head full of hair and could run 10 miles barefoot.

Besides, the son failed to declare he was living there and avoided paying rent and council tax for 4 decades, isn't that illegal?

Edited June 27, 2019 by king12345

[king12345]

"They were aware of her son" sounds exactly like "i told them i stay here sometimes at weekend, i'm in the clear".

They won't have any record of this anyway,  unless the son has proof of having told them.

As much as I hate it,  my money is on the HA unfortunately; I doubt the son would have any proof in his favour.

[king12345]

The voice of reason...

[king12345]

As i said previously the son is not considered a tenant because he's not registered there.

Nothing he can do imo rather than collect his stuff and find another place.

Unless he's ready to break the lock and enter the property, at risk of being arrested.

[king12345]

I said that in my other post, but someone here thinks that it's ok to do that and than claim full tenancy rights.