Claim for Possession of Property. Any advice please

toya_2

Hi all,

Thanks so much for the brilliant advice. I will definatley direct my husband towards other posts to help him understand that we are not the only people this has happened to. I am also going to seek advice wherever I can find it and the possibility of legal aid sounds promising.

My daughter is 12 and probably already knows more about whats going on than I think anyway as she is bright and children are always very receptive. I think if I explain the situation she will understand our priorities. I think we might move the date of her birthday as suggested and maybe just do some cheap and free quality time things such as bake a cake together and as the weather is good maybe go to our local park to see the animals which is free and share her birthday cake with the swans.

A good nights sleep has really cleared my head as has all the excellent advice and support I have recieved on this forum. I will also request all of the information suggested and make sure everything is in order.

My Landlord is still accepting payments as they are paid directly into his account and although I know I wont be able to clear all of the arrears by the court date I can reduce them to below 8 weeks. Hopefully this will show that not only are we willing to pay we are also more able to do so now that I have found work.

I have made an offer to pay my LL £10 per week in addition to our rent and have included a break down of our income and outgoings to show that this is an amount we can stick to even though it is small. I have also offered to pay any extra funds I can find into his account and to follow this with a letter stating the amount paid and that it is for our debt. This is something I have already done once as we managed to get £450 together so I paid it immediatley and sent a letter letting him know I had done so. We are also paying our current rent and the additional £10 on time.

Unfortunatley we are not protected by the deposit scheme although we did pay one. However we have not been served with a section 21. Knowing this and understanding a bit about my LL difficulty in renting his properties I am hoping that he really just wants to recoup his money and that because we have been good tenants in the past and can prove a change of circumstances he might consider letting us stay on the understanding that any further defaults would result in immediate eviction.

We have even reccomended him to friends and his has rented two properties this way and I know he was grateful as he has a number of empty properties and they are good payers and good people.

I havent heard anything back from my LL yet concerning my offer to pay (probably because he only goes into the office twice a week) do you think it would be worth calling to ensure he has recieved the infomation and asking if he has had the opportunity to consider our offer.

Thanks again,

Toya

theartfullodger

Toya:

Sorry to hear your story, keep your chin up & don't let the b***ard get you down.

I'm sorry to hear of the problems you've had (and btw I'm a Landlord..)

You really really need to get the arrears below 8 weeks by the time of any court hearing or the judge HAS to grant possession.

Keep plugging' away & you'll get there!

Cheers!

Lodger

clutton_2

this thread is a delight to read - this family clearly are taking responsibility for their own life, their own problems, asking for help, listening to advice, getting things sorted, understanding both sides of the questions - and are clearly determined to sort things out

no whining

no moaning

no "not me guv"

these are all reasons why so many of us are returning to the thread to offer our various ideas

best of luck

toya_2

Hi
and thank you again to all of you for your comments, advice and support. It's really encouraging to hear from a LL aswell so thanks Lodger and of course Clutton I have no idea where I'd be without you.

I honestly think my LL is a really decent bloke who's just doing what he feels he has to and I want to take responsibility for whats happpened. After all us having a bit of hard luck should not be his problem.

I really hope that we can get this sorted out without too much suffering on anyones part (LL included) and hopefully I will be able to come through this and maybe offer support and advice to others having learned so much from the experience but for now I'm looking forward to tomorrow. It's Monday places are open and I can take action by following up all your brilliant suggestions.

I wish there was a bigger and better way of saying thank you because it doesnt seem enough. I will keep you posted on our progress.

Toya

clutton_2

i always find that the more "action" i take - the better i feel with regard to a problem - if you have time tonight, spend it preparing a spreadsheet showing all your outgoings and incomings and showing how you proposed to pay off the arrears - this is one way to prove to your landlord and judge that you are a serious person. also the more independent "proof" - bank statements, pay slips, (that sort of thing) you can take, the more prepared you will be and the more likely the judge will be to belive you.

you would be amazed how many tenants simply dont turn up at court hearings, then the judges have no option other than to evict them.

toya_2

Hi Clutton,

Thanks again for posting. My plans for tonight are as follows.

My income and outgoings is already done so I will print this out and start an evidence of change of circumstances file.

I will also add to my file my husbands statements and invoices with payments outstanding and my own bank statements, payslips and details of the money I have managed to pay off the debt already as well as my plan regarding how I propose to find extra money.

First thing tomorrow I am going to explain my situation to my employer and arrange time off for the court hearing. I am also going to ask if a degree of flexibility might be arranged so that I can seek legal advice more easily.

On my lunch I am going to contact shelter as they have asked for more info before we make an appointment and contact my LL to see if he has recieved my offer and had time to consider it. I will also ask for a statement of my payments from him and will check them to make sure my target of paying off 8 weeks rent to avoid section 8 is correct. I am hoping to recieve a call back concerning legal aid aswell.

I have also managed to find a further £100 from selling some old university books to a friend so combined with my agreed £10 per week and the money I have already paid that leaves me with only £180 to find before 27th of this month and we will owe less than 2 months rent. I think that should be very manageable.

Hope my plan sounds ok.

Also I have spoken to my daughter who understands and has arranged to do odd jobs for family (car washing etc) to help out bless her. She isnt in the least bit bothered about her birthday and said she has too much stuff anyway and no space for new things.

tbs624

Toya - you're doing brilliantly As Clutton says, its good to see someone pulling themselves through this sort of situation with such determination.

Do keep the thread updated with how things progress for you- it can all help other posters who may be in a similar predicament.

Btw, if you have any more books to sell, & you want a wider market place, you could try doing it via here or here

toya_2

Hi
Thanks for the tips tbs624. They are very much appreciated. Im hunting through everything to see what I can find so might find a few more books I really think ive run out of stuff to sell tho. Still a bit of hard work never hurt anyone so I still have that route and Im keeping an eye open for extra jobs I might be able to work around my full time job (leafleting that sort of thing).

I know that even if we arent able to stay in our home now is the best time to reduce our debt as much as poosible. I can only imagine how dificult it will be to make regular payments if we become homeless. So I'm determined to sort this while we have a roof over our head at least then I can honestly say I have done what I can and learnt something along the way.

Hopefully tomorrow will bring more news

Regards,

Toya

Fire_Fox

I've just popped onto your thread to invite you over to the Debt-free Wannabe board. It is full of the friendliest, most supportive people!

toya_2

Hi

Ive got great news. Managed to speak to my LL today. He has had a chance to consider my offer of payment and has accepted as he feels reassured our circumstances have changed. We will now be going to court but for a suspended possesion which will give us the opportunity to stay in our home.

I cant tell you how grateful I am for all of the help and support Ive recieved on this forum. I really dont think I would have had the confidence to see this through without you.

I really feel this is a good outcome for us all and will still of course be bringing my arrears to less than 8 weeks oweing before I reach court.

Thanks again

Toya