Tenancy agreement - please help

sunflower_2

hi

a friend has recently been offered a council house, accepted it and signed the tenancy agreement.

the very next day they rang her saying she couldnt have it, as she had arrears from a council property 7 years ago.
the arrears were an oversight and are very low, it was to do with an overlap in her notice and moving into new property).

does anyone know where she stands with this?

i thought if both parties had signed the tenancy agreement then it was all done and dusted?

thanks
x

ginger_nuts

can she appeal ? did she no she was in arrears ?
As for tenancy suppose it depends whats in it ?

black-saturn

In a tenancy agreement the landlord and the tenant usually get a set amount of time in which they can change their mind but right now I can't remember how long it is (it's a matter of hours though). If it's gone over that time and she's signed the agreement he will under law have to let the property to her. If he still doesn't let it to her she will have a case to take him to court and win. And if he doesn't he will have to evict her by court procedures which takes months.

chugalug

Did the council know about your friends previous tenancy? How much are the arrears? Did your friend know about these? Did she/he make any effort to pay them off? I would get independant advice either from the CAB or from Shelter or other housing advice centre. Try shelter.org.uk - if the council have a blanket policy about not accepting tenants with previous arrears then this could be seen as 'fettering their discretion'. All that means is that they have to consider every case on its merits and not say 'you have arrears you're not eligible'. As the arrears are from 7 years ago and your friend has already signed the tenancy it would be very difficult for the council to justify their decision. So, get advice, try and find any paperwork etc relating to the old debt and argue against their decision. All decisions should be in writing and give a right of appeal so go for it. HTH

ps - just remembered that the council can withdraw an offer of a tenancy if they consider it was obtained fraudulently - are they saying this in your friends case? Get advice!!