Can't afford to pay rent - WWYD?

meredeterre

Long story short DH has been out of work for some time and the housing benefit doesn't cover the rent. Our tenancy is up for renewal in June and unless the landlords reduce the rent DH & I have agreed that we cannot stay here as we are struggling for pay for bills and food. We have applied to go on the council housing list and are waiting to here from them...but we are wondering what would be best to do. Assuming the landlord doesn't reduce the rent (it would need to be c.£200 lower so not likely at all) we will need to get a council house/flat but aren't sure if we will even qualify if we are effectively making ourselves homeless by not renewing our tenancy. The situation is complicated further by the fact that the letting agent has just been bought out. TBH we aren't even sure the new agent even realise our contract is up for renewal. The only contact we've had from them is a letter with details for us to set up a new standing order to pay the rent. DH left a message for them to call us but that was a week ago :rolleyes:

We have a s21 notice from the previous agent so does that mean we will qualify for council housing once we are within 28 days of the end of the tenancy? Or do we need to wait for the new agent to issue a court notice? The last thing we need is for this tenancy to grumble on for months.

TIA

pinkshoes

What sort of accommodation are you currently living in? And how many are there of you?

You won't automatically qualify for council housing, and by not paying the rent the council might decide that you made yourself homeless deliberately. If you end up with a court notice, you might not only find that the council won't touch you, but you'll screw your credit rating so private LLs won't touch you either!! The council might house you in a B&B or emergency accommodation.

Why don't you post on the DFW board to see if there are any ways of cutting down your spending to save money? Have you looked at private rentals that are cheaper?

meredeterre

We are currently in a 3 bed terrace. There are 3 of us - DH, me & our son. We moved here when DH was working and could afford the rent (not that we had any choice at the time due to the fast pace of the rental market round here). We are perfectly happy to move to a 2 bed and if we could move to a smaller private rental we would, but we have no spare money for the application fees, let alone a deposit and the first months' rent upfront.

I realise that not paying rent is a bad idea...and we have managed to pay it so far by taking the car off the road, selling a few of our belongings etc...but there is only so long you can go using half of the JSA on rent and just existing - we pay our bills and eat - no luxuries like new clothes, shoes for our son at all. Our budget is about as frugal as it gets.

Doozergirl

If you go to the council the I suspect that they will advise you not to leave until the landlord has followed all the legal procedures to evict you, otherwise you would be seen as making yourself intentionally homeless.


You should contact Shelter 0808 800 4444 or CAB.

http://england.shelter.org.uk/search_results?mode=results&queries_search_query=rent+arrears&Search=

meredeterre

ugh this is sounding worse by the moment. I think shelter will be my first call tomorrow. Really confused as to how we go about getting accommodation then...not sure we can last another few months waiting for the agent to go through all the court proceedings without going into rent arrears...which will then prevent us from getting a council house...vicious bloody cycle.

Does the fact that we've been turned down for a discretionary payment from the council count for anything do you think?

poppysarah

Ring Shelter tomorrow- start writing down all the questions you have now.

elmer

You can apply for a Discretionary Housing Payment to top up your rent from the Housing Benefit people at the local council. Give them a ring to ask for the form, they will take an income and expenditure from you and then make decision. It isnt a permanent payment but it may tide you over till you can find something smaller.

Hope this helps

Elmer

meredeterre

See my previous post elmer - the council rejected our application

tbs624

Do you know if your LL has other properties? If not , and if you have been a reliable T so far, s/he may be happy to recommend you to a fellow LL who has a smaller property.

Would your LL agree to you subletting the third bedroom to a lodger?

You say that your husband has lost his job - are you working? If not, can you look for a job - part time if necessary? What age is your son? Have you looked at that bit on this board about ways of upping your income?

meredeterre

No, the landlord doesn't have any other properties. Might be worth a shot asking them if they can recommend us...but I doubt any landlord would be willing to accept us without a deposit.

A lodger isn't something we would consider - we have a young son (he is 4) and value our privacy...not that anyone would take a room that small - you can barely get a bed in there!

No I don't work - I'm a SAHM to our son. Although I have been looking every week at the papers and on the net...but there aren't any jobs that I could get to easily or that I could do....unemployment is VERY high here atm.

lemonjelly

Under the homelessness rules, you would not be making yourselves homeless if it is not financially viable for you to remain in the property.

If you went down this route, effectively you'd be applying as homeless. If the council found they had a duty to rehouse you as homeless, your current landlord would have needed to follow all the correct legal steps to evict you from your current home. The council would then make only 1 formal offer to you. If you don't accept it, then you'd be on your own.

You may experience a period of time in some form of temporary accommodation. The key word here is temporary. Trust me, it is not always as bad as it sounds.

A lot will depend on the quality of the homelessness team of your council. Many councils simply fob people off. Get decisions off them in writing, and take advice from shelter or CAB to check what they tell you.