Just Had My Or Interview But Have One Question

tcalamity · 2 January 2008 at 6:43PM

happy new year to you all.
i had my interview today at 2pm. i felt numb and nervous as the phone rang. i have to say i had a very nice, considerate and to the point OR. he went through only a few questions and was considerate in listerning to me. it lasted 30-40 minutes and at the end he told me i will not have an IPA order and he is putting me forward for an early discharge but this depends on how busy the office is(obviously im happy even if i dont). he said dont worry anymore, enjoy my new debt free life. i am very happy now and the relief has just hit me. but there is one question maybe someone may be able to answer for me. he told me he would have to tell my landlord, i live in local housing association housing. my rent is paid on time and up to date, will i be evicted?

tigerfeet2006 · 2 January 2008 at 6:52PM

Our HA just said as long as we were up to date with and contunued to pay the rent on time then they were quite happy for us to stay as tennants. There is a lot of anecdotal evidence on here that that is the norm across the board.

Why not give yours a ring in the morning or send them an email, you can do this anonymously.

wherediditallgo · 2 January 2008 at 7:18PM

I agree with tiger. The only people I've heard of in social housing who've had difficulties are those who had rent or Council Tax arrears before they went BR - they didn't lose their home, they just had a battle with the housing provider who felt they still had to clear the arrears after BR. As you weren't in arrears, there's virtually no chance of your BR status having an effect on your tenancy. I'm a council tenant & when I anonymously checked the position with my council before going BR, they said it's none of their business whether I'm BR or not as I didn't owe them any money.

Gaz1971 · 2 January 2008 at 10:53PM

Am I right in thinking that the problem would be that if you owed them rent and had it wiped off when you went BR then they wouldnt like that and may ask you to move out?As long as you pay the rent theres no problem?

tigerfeet2006 · 2 January 2008 at 11:04PM

Gaz1971 wrote: »

Am I right in thinking that the problem would be that if you owed them rent and had it wiped off when you went BR then they wouldnt like that and may ask you to move out?As long as you pay the rent theres no problem?

Yep! you will find as long as you are up to date you should have no problems. You might be able to fight your case if you have arrears.

Gaz1971 · 2 January 2008 at 11:07PM

I guess thats common sense really, you cant write off cash you owe them and still live in their property.

I emailed my HA and asked if it mattered and they said only if you have arrears, I guess for the above reason, they dont want what you owe them writing off

wherediditallgo · 2 January 2008 at 11:18PM

My council's attitude is that it's none of their business & they don't need to know whether you're BR or not as long as you were in credit when you went BR. Even if you owed them money at the time you went BR, you're very unlikely to lose your home as a result if they're informed that you're BR, but the council would still keep details of the debt on file & if you later wanted to move either within the borough or to another one, they'd be obliged to tell your new housing office/authority that you'd gone BR owing them money. I think some housing application foms now ask if you've ever been BR, as they want to have an idea whether there'd be a risk of the rent not getting paid.

Being BR won't usually affect an existing tenancy if you don't owe them money, but if you want to move or exercise a Right To Buy it could affect that. Someone on the Housebuyers board went BR as a council tenant & owed the council money - years later they wanted to buy their home under the RTB legislation, & were told by the council that they expected the debt to be cleared before they'd allow the application to go ahead, so they'd basically be getting a smaller discount.

In terms of law, councils can still try to claim arrears from you even if you think they've been written off by going BR. I'll look for the link - it's something to do with what action the council's already taken before the BR order came into effect.

Gaz1971 · 2 January 2008 at 11:54PM

When you say owe them money what do you mean? Would a week or two's rent be classed as arrears if you pay your rent monthly?

wherediditallgo · 2 January 2008 at 11:57PM

Here are some links:

Bankruptcy does not affect obligation to pay rent arrears to local authorities and social landlords - Harlow District Council v Hall (CA) here & here.

Torridge Council - scroll down to "Bankrupt Tenants"

Landlord's right to levy distress - - item viii is particularly relevant, but the whole page is worth reading

Local authorities & council tax - item 9.11

I'm sure there's another one about them being allowed to continue a claim for arrears if they'd started legal action prior to you going BR, I just can't remember where I saw it.

Hopefully, someone else will come up with it.

wherediditallgo · 3 January 2008 at 12:03AM

Gaz1971 wrote: »

When you say owe them money what do you mean? Would a week or two's rent be classed as arrears if you pay your rent monthly?

Owing money is not being up to date with your rent on the day you go BR according to terms of your tenancy agreement. If you normally pay monthly in arrears but should be paying weekly/monthly in advance & are concerned about your landlord's possible action/reaction, I'd suggest paying it weekly until your court date & for a few weeks afterwards, to make sure that your rent account is showing an up-to-date/clear balance when they look at it. You can always go back to monthly payments at a later date if that's easier for you.

Gaz1971 · 3 January 2008 at 12:10AM

I have already gone BR but havent yet spoken to the OR

Just Had My Or Interview But Have One Question

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