Eviction if you are disabled

squinty

Morglin wrote: »

Yes, if she is disabled, she is protected, and they would have to rehouse her anyway, as she is legally classed as 'vulnerable'.
(The partner is not protected, though)

It would be a rare court that would evict her, from social housing, under these circumstances! In fact, it would be unheard of, as the law protects her.

But, obviously, the rent needs to be paid, and they need to work out doing this, plus paying off arrears owed.

She should seek advice, and get some proper help, as the rules are complicated:

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

http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

Lin

This is not quite right.

In order to be accepted as homeless by the council there are a number of checks that the council will carry out. This is referred to as the investigation.

Firstly, is the applicant homeless, at risk of losing their home or accommodation is not useable ?– if the SIL was facing eviction, and had a court order she would meet this criteria

Secondly – if she eligible for assistance? There appears to be no reason why not (this does exclude many people from abroad)

Thirdly – is she in a priority need group?. Only the Council can decide this, there do not appear to be any dependant children, but her disability may mean this meets this step. The council may well ask for information about her health and send this to their own medical officer to make a decision. Not all people with disabilities will meet this criteria.

Fourthly – did she become homeless intentionally? The question is, did she do anything that contributed to her losing her home or not do something that would have prevented her from losing the home. This is where she may struggle. She has previously been to court to resolve the issues, she has been visited by the Housing Officer. From the limited information in this post, I think most councils would find her intentionally homeless.

The fifth ‘hurdle’ is about having a local connection, but this is irrelevant unless you clear the previous hurdles.

However, also be aware that is she was accepted as a homeless person the option may be bed and breakfast accommodation or a hostel. Not her current home. Her safest route is to make sure that she makes sure the rent is paid each week.

It is not unheard of for a disabled person to be evicted. However, there is case law that suggests that it is not correct to evict someone with a disability where the tenant has breached their tenancy for a reason that is linked to their disability. The main cases are London Borough of Lewisham v Malcolm where a man with schizophrenia without medication had sublet his flat without understanding the consequences and Manchester City Council v Romano where the council tried to evict someone for Anti-Social Behaviour but the tenant was successful in saying her behaviour was the result of a mental health issue.

It is difficult to see how the non-payment of rent could be considered in the same way.

blckbrd

Pardon any seeming flippancy but it appears OP’s SIL’s greatest disability is her husband and son.
Just to clarify - only tenants can be evicted. Household members can’t be evicted or asked to leave by the council.
If there are mental health issues which mean she is not making the right choices coupled with the rent issue then Housing Support/Social Services should be called upon again. I’d consider your SIL to have mental health issues caused or exacerbated by the negative ‘drip-drip’ effect of living with her husband.
Vulnerable adults do not have the same protection under the law as children as adult neglect isn’t a crime in itself. If the lady is determined to stay with her husband and son she may well find herself homeless. Local authorities are not in the business of splitting up families willy-nilly (not even when a child may be being neglected/abused). They are not going so say, ‘You can stay but the dead weight has to go’. Rather they’ll evict and consider rehousing whichever members of the household, in whatever combination, present as homeless.
What does ‘Husband of the Year’ have to say on the matter? Is he worried about eviction? If so, maybe he can be persuaded into an attachment of earnings order. If he can’t get his mitts on his wages, he can’t fritter it away. Maybe, if he were mine - in some very twisted, nightmare scenario - I might get him to sign something binding when he’s off his face. Actually, I’d probably just iron him in his sleep.