Relationship breakdown both secure tennants help please

Bethankim

Hi,

please bear with me this is a bit complicated, well for me it is.
After months of stress my relationship has broken down and not repairable.

We are joint council tenants and there lies our problem. I have asked my ex to move out, as i have a dependant child in his last year at school and after all the upheaval of the last 2 years im not in a position to move him again.

My ex has been to the council to apply for rehousing (he is on JSA and no job in sight despite applying for everything going) has no access to credit to try and raise the £800 - £1000 needed for deposits etc, has an ok credit history but no references, and has tried everywhere to find a landlord that would take him on LHA.

The housing officer tried to get him discretionary points as my ex has mental health problems but her manager said no because he has a home!

the only way around it is for him to give up his rights to the joint tenancy - but then the council are saying he will make himself intentionally homeless. I have written to the council explaining our situation, he has points for social and medical grounds but is still low priority.

I appreciate some may say well he is a big boy and should get on with it, but he has access to his son, who comes to stay so its not just him really.

After a very difficult day or trying to get some advice from CAB and no luck with the solicitors they suggested..where else?

my main question is how to proceed with the catch 22 - give up his rights - is he really then intentionally homeless as ive basically kicked him out -or at least asked him to go.
If he is where on earth does he go to get help with deposits...
he cant get the councils deposit scheme cause he is not homeless in thier eyes and virtually no landlords or agencies will take it here anyway..

I just dont know anymore..so help anyone

thanks

Jowo_2

Speak to Shelter - they offer free expert advise and will be able to advise you of your rights. Their section on homelessness and how to apply is very informative. They will also be able to advise if he can prove that it was unreasonable for him to stay and thus the 'intentional homelessness' definition does not apply.

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/homelessness/help_from_the_council

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/homelessness

It is the case that by voluntarily giving up the tenancy, they are under no obligation to assist him whereas if he was made homeless, they have an obligation to provide support. However, he could just end up in a B&b or hostel.

It's a real shame that the council have trapped him - they won't assist with social housing and they won't facilitate a move into private housing through the rent deposit scheme. However, it says on the shelter website that "If the council decides that you are intentionally homeless but that you meet all the other criteria, it has to provide you with temporary accommodation to give you time to find your own accommodation,"

theartfullodger

(However he leaves the current place) as a single man, albeit with mental health issues, he ain't gonna be very high up any council housing priority list...

So... without wishing to be accused of suggesting anything devious... he should get on the council web site/visit their offices, find the document that describes their allocations policy (eg for Slough...
http://www.slough.gov.uk/services/10761.aspx

)
and read through it carefully & see if there is anything else on your council's policy that might move him up the priority.... even so housing through the council these days is not very plentiful.,..

If he leaves will there be a spare room?? If so would the council be interested in you "trading down" for something smaller in exchange for helping your partner??

He must do all he can to avoid being considered "intentionally homeless" - as there will be precious little help then...

Sorry, no other ideas.... good luck...

Sadly you ain't alone to be in this dilemma: for council secure, Housing association & people owning their own homes, in the current financial mess a couple splitting up can end up with some very unattractive choices..

Cheers!

Lodger

Bethankim

Hi artfull,

we have a 2 bed flat and my teenage son has 1 room, so nope wont be underoccupied.

He is perfectly willing to go into private, but the council seems stuck in this catch 22 of thier own making. He is going to shelter tomorrow and se eif they can help with advocay - even if it means the council agree to the dposit scheme and waive thier rules a bit..

He isnt happy about the idea of giving up his rights to a secure tenancy, but after everything ive read if we ended up inc ourt (which i dont want) as i have a child i would probably get the tenancy.

After the last 6 months of hell, we have all caved under the pressure..and my son has enough to cope with the poor lad has been through enough and i think his psychiatrist would go ape if i even suggested i try and get myself rehoused..

Fire_Fox

Could you perhaps 'evict' him via a solicitor's letter?

Bethankim

unfortunately not, the only way i can evict him is by taking him to court and letting a judge decide who should get the tenancy..i dont really want to but will if i have to. We are amicable at the minute and he has a greed to go.

He rang shelter this morning and is waiting for a case worker to come back to him.
What we really need is the council to unlock this silly catch 22 situation.

Our council is one of the few who have not yet sorted the choice based letting scheme so its number of points and where you are on the list..they dont even have a joint housing association application list like many others do. If we were 1 mile over the boarder in Nottingham city, then its very different...

robpw2

there is another way bethan but it would make you "temporaily homeless" too
speak to your landlord and ask him if he could end the tenacny early and then re-offer you the tenancy
your landlord can if he wishes do this but there is no guarentee he will offer you a singl tenancy so think carefully about this

the eviction notice would be enough to proove to the council he is being made homless

PasturesNew

Not sure how old he is, but could he go back to his mum's for awhile. I've always gone home between houses, last time was just a couple of years ago, aged mid-40s.

Bethankim

Hi mum is in her late 70's and in warden aided so not an option, he has no other family and Rob thanks but the rules are different in council accomodation...

just have to wait and see what shelter say. He is seeing if he could get a budgeting loan for the deposits etc but note sure if he can...

ho hum, i live and learn. Once this is sorted it will be a very very long time before i think about having anyone else but me on a tenancy....:o

squinty

You both need to seek independent (from each other) specialist advice on this issue, as it is very easy to do the wrong thing which would worsen the situation for both of you. However, there are a number of issues that you need to understand.

Firstly, You state that you are both joint tenants and the you hold a secure tenancy. This means that you cannot assign the tenancy from both to one of you except in certain prescribed circumstances The legislation on this is out in Section 91 of the 1985 Housing Act (as amended).

This says that a secure tenancy is not capable of being assigned except in certain prescribed circumstances. These are:

a. an mutual exchange
b. following an order made under Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 or Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984 or the Children Act 1989 or the Civil Partnership Act, or
c. an assignment to a person who would be qualified to succeed the tenant if the tenant died immediately before the assignment.

You state in the OP that “the only way around it is for him to give up his rights to the joint tenancy”. This is not really possible unless you are seeking a court order as explained in b (above).

This leads to the second point, If he ended the tenancy this would end the whole of the tenancy, and not just his part, i.e. you would have no right to remain. This is why you also need to seek your own advice.

Thirdly, Your partner could perhaps make an application as a homeless person. He may be able to argue that although he is a joint tenant, the relationship has broken down and due to this, and his history of mental health problems it is unreasonable for him to return to the home.

To be blunt this is a difficult argument to make, and one that some homelessness officers will find it difficult to understand. You will probably need help in order to make this argument, a local housing advice centre would be good, or shelter (who have an excellent website and phone service)

Finally, try speaking to someone from the homelessness / housing options section of the council to see if they offer a bond scheme, many do.

Good Luck

PS – I’ve just reread your OP. Was the tenancy granted as a joint tenancy or did you add your partners name later?

Fire_Fox

Bethankim wrote: »

unfortunately not, the only way i can evict him is by taking him to court and letting a judge decide who should get the tenancy..i dont really want to but will if i have to. We are amicable at the minute and he has a greed to go.

I don't mean evict as in be horrible and force him out, I mean start the legal process with your ex's full agreement. Explain all the circumstances to the judge/ magistrate, that your son cannot be moved and that your ex is willing to go but needs appropriate social housing due to his mental health issues. Hopefully the judge will see sense and 'evict' your ex which gives him the paperwork needed for the council. Does that make sense? A collaboration for mutual benefit rather than adversarial.