Renting Trouble

rchddap1

Looking for advice for my step daughter. She's renting a place with her boyfriend, and after she lost her job they can't afford the rent. Turns out that they've missed 2 months and are being threatened with baliffs etc...

I know this is their own fault and I'm not trying to find a way for them to stay in the place.....they need to get out.

What I am looking for is advice on what they can expect should the eviction / baliff process be started (which I suspect it will)

robpw2

have they been issued with notice a section 8 ?

if not the ll has to provide this before he can go to court to get bailiffs

are they claiming housing benefit >?

rchddap1

Benefits they are trying to sort, but as per usual the council is being very slow (despite knowing the full situation).

I don't know exactly what they have received, but I do know they have received a letter demanding payment of the back rent or baliffs / eviction.

I haven't seen the letter yet, so I'm not exactly sure where they are in the process.

robpw2

they have to have been given notice to quit ..
the landlord cannot get the baliffs involved unless he goes to court and they will only get involved if he has followed correct procedure so any letter threatning the above would be invalid unless it includes a section 8 notice
the council will be slow

what does her bf do does he have a job .. ? why have they not paid the last 2 months rent .. ?

rchddap1

He has a job yes, but she lost hers when the company shut the location down. He can't pay it on his own it seems. The exact details I don't know.....all I know is what I've been told by them. Why on earth they didn't mention this before to us I don't know, but we're only just starting to get the truth out of them.

Sounds like I need to find out whether the letter included anything about 'section 8'.

And yes...I wouldn't expect the council to be fast moving. Its their first place and despite telling them they need a 'just in case fund'...it appears they didn't listen.

Fire_Fox

rchddap1 wrote: »

Looking for advice for my step daughter. She's renting a place with her boyfriend, and after she lost her job they can't afford the rent. Turns out that they've missed 2 months and are being threatened with baliffs etc...

I know this is their own fault and I'm not trying to find a way for them to stay in the place.....they need to get out.

What I am looking for is advice on what they can expect should the eviction / baliff process be started (which I suspect it will)

Re-post this on the Debt-free Wannabe board, they have all the bailiff advice and will explain about priority debts (rent, council tax, food). Have they spoken to the landlord or just buried their heads? Has the boyfriend not paid anything/ can he pay something even if not full rent?

rchddap1

Thanks for the advice. I believe they are managing all the other bills at the moment. The only one to fall through the net is the rent. It is taken by direct debit....so if the money is not there is just bounces. Don't tell me ... I know....they'll get charged. Have told them. But they're still at that age.

They've spoken to the Landlord / agent and he won't accept anything less than in full and now. Something that they can't manage.

robpw2

rchddap1 wrote: »

He has a job yes, but she lost hers when the company shut the location down. He can't pay it on his own it seems. The exact details I don't know.....all I know is what I've been told by them. Why on earth they didn't mention this before to us I don't know, but we're only just starting to get the truth out of them.

Sounds like I need to find out whether the letter included anything about 'section 8'.

And yes...I wouldn't expect the council to be fast moving. Its their first place and despite telling them they need a 'just in case fund'...it appears they didn't listen.

the just in case fund isnt always easy .. mine has about 66p in at moment because the money has needed to be used on bills etc so lets not comment on that situation

You need to get them to visit the Citizens advice bearau they need to take all documents they have recieved of landlord including the ast and this letter they need to complete a statement of affairs i would reccomend they do this and then they can see what they might be entitled to

is she claiming jobseekers allowance .. ?

i think for the time being the most important thing is finding out when the eviction date will be and getting them somewhere else to live .. although if the ll has not issued the correct documents they have another 2 months at least and howver long the court take to take action

is he working 36 hours or more a week because if they are thats at least £1000 a month and they should be able to pay the rent anf the bills and eat between the two of them ok im not saying its easy but me and my paretner have survived on this .. its all about priorities and paying first the important things

rent , electric, gas, water, food , then other luxries ..

robpw2

rchddap1 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice. I believe they are managing all the other bills at the moment. The only one to fall through the net is the rent. It is taken by direct debit....so if the money is not there is just bounces. Don't tell me ... I know....they'll get charged. Have told them. But they're still at that age.

They've spoken to the Landlord / agent and he won't accept anything less than in full and now. Something that they can't manage.

If they pay at least something to the landlord each month it will go in their favour so whilst he might say he wont accept anything less

something is better than nothing

what is their rent btw .. ?
they need to cancel all Direct Debits and focus on paying the rent . things like tv, broadband mobile phones etc need to come after the rent ..

silvercar

You need to find out what documents have been served.

It could be a section 21 - notice to quit at end of fixed term or 2 months if periodic tenancy

section 8 - rent arrears of at least 2 months, at time of serving and at court date

county court judgement for rent arrears - could then appoint baliffs without an eviction notice. Could be used when tenant is on benefits; get council to pay rent direct due to level of arrears and pursue the rent arrears therough court.

princeofpounds

They can be kicked out only by a court order. That normally take a couple of weeks to get a court date, up to a month or two, from when the process is started. Bailiffs normally turn up a couple of weeks after the order is granted, depeding on the schedule. So there is time not to panic.

They will initially just evict them, but the LL can then also recover lost rent by placing them under CCJs, getting attachment of earnings orders, garnishee orders etc. They will either get their credit record ruined, have a severely cramped lifestyle and/or go bankrupt to clear the debt.

Court orders can be applied for in 2 main ways. After a tenant fails to meet a Section 21 notice (terminates lease by giving notice under normal contractual arrangements, non-discretionary so if served correctly court always grants order)...

... or after a section 8 is issued (2 months rent overdue. This is discretionary - judge may not kick them out if they have an exceptionally good excuse and are likely to clear arrears shortly).

Unless they are over 6 months in their tenancy, it will likely be a section 8 route. This can be avoided by minimising the rent overdue (not in arrears, if it's due, pay it even if it's for next month!) to below the 2 month threshold by the time of the hearing.

In any case the LL will likely issue a section 21 as well as an 8 so they will have to leave at the earliest opportunity anyway.

Get them to post on landlordzone for advice, search there youself for info. Get them to check exactly what they have and haven't been served. A sec21 might even be served at the start of a tenancy