Possession Order Help

skint-student-nurse

afternoon all,

my cousin has received a possession order from the county court requiring possesion of her flat. she rents a flat from a housing assosiaton,but she is not a council tenant.

a letter was sent to her back in may reqesting her deposit and first months rent,or face eviction, and as she wasnt aware the cheque hadnt cleared her savings account,she sent another cheque, which cleared.

then,yesterday she recieved a possesion order asking her to attend courty in 4 weeks time, citing that no deposit has been paid and she is in rental arrers but she isnt. she can prove that her rent has been paid and the deposit has cleared.

she is concerned about:

• can she actually be evicted as there is no apparent rental/deposit arrers?
• is she liable for the court costs?
• as she has a 2 year old son, could the council re-house her as priority?
• can she take legal action against them? she is on-edge and not herself and i fear it will affect her health

she works part-time and only recieves cb + ctc, and im taking her to shelter and the CAB tomorrow

any advice would be appriciated,thank you in advance

Oldernotwiser

It sounds like this is a simple misunderstanding which could be cleared up quite easily. Has she been in to the HA's offices with receipts, bank statements etc to show that everything is in order?

Talking about being rehoused by the Council and threatening legal action seem totally inappropriate on the information you've given.

G_M

has received a possession order from the county court requiring possesion of her flat.

Is this a possession order or a summmons to attend court in 4 weeks time? Very different things. She cannot be made to leave without a possession order.

Did she pay the deposit and has she paid the rent? Can she prove it ie through bank statements or receipts?

If so, she has nothing to fear. Simply go to the HA with the receipt/bank statement and they will withdraw the court action. If they don't, take the evidence to court.

However, you say: "she wasnt aware the cheque hadn't cleared her savings account" - savings accounts don't usually have cheques.
There again, you say the 2nd cheque cleared, so what is the problem?

Has she been paying the rent since then? Again, if she has, and has receipts/bank statements, no problem.

Milliewilly

So presuming the first cheque bounced - she would have been notified by her bank so would know as they would have charged her?

If the cheque was lost in the post did she cancel it before writing another?

If she has proof she's paid I would go to Court and Counterclaim for my costs and the inconvenience.

Fire_Fox

Deposit plus first month's rent is quite a lit of money, how could you not notice that hadn't been paid? How recently did she get paid up to date, is it possible the court action had already been initiated, bearing in mind the postal strike AND the time it takes for a cheque to clear?

Your cousin should definitely try to sort this out with thew housing association in person, and also follow up the meeting with a recorded delivery letter. Don't rely on the HA saying they will cancel the court date, also speak to the court and return any defense paperwork required, again by recorded delivery. Take names of anyone she speaks to - there was someone posted just yesterday who is getting evicted after she only dealt with the council by phone and they told her to ignore a court summons.

skint-student-nurse

the cheque was a bankers draft from her savings account, and she checked with the bank and there had been no attempt to clear the cheque as it hadnt been banked.

the first letter she received was a notice requiring possession, but as she was up-to-date with her payments,etc she was told to ignore this by her HA.

yesterday, she recieved a claim form for possession of property to give what seems her side of events/evidence,a letter requiring possession under section 21,housing act 1988 and she has to attend court on the 23rd november.

she has proof she has paid, we have gone through her bank statements and highlighted everything she has paid to them.

she is concerned that she will have nowhere to live and that she will have to pay the court costs which she can not afford.

clutton_2

it sounds like an accounting error to me - take all these bank statements into the council office tomorrow, show them to the staff, GET A RECEIPT, dont leave till you get one. Ask the staff to put in a letter that you are up to date with your rent. If they wont, then go home and write a leter to the Head of Housing Benefit at the council, (send it registered) explainign that you have paid and can prove it by bank statements, and are happy to tell the court this if they insist on taking it to court. You will not have to pay their costs if you are in the right.

If you are up to date with the rent on the morning of the case, they cannot evict you fior rebt arrears

blckbrd

Housing associations tend to have similar arrears processes as local authorities involving a number of standard letters over 'x' period of time. Arrears cases are not escalated unless debt increases over that period or requests for payment are ignored. In order to apply to the court for possession, at least 8 weeks rent must be outstanding.

I've never heard of a housing association (when acting as a registered social landlord) requesting a deposit but, regardless, a deposit is not rent and IMO should not be included in arrears calculations. There are grounds for possession where there is repeated failure to pay rent on time and the non-payment of the deposit could be seen as a breach of tenancy conditions giving further grounds. Whatever grounds are being used must be listed on the initial notice of seeking possession.

Does what your cousin says about deposit/first month add up to the debt being chased? Does she have an up-to-date statement so that she can see exactly where in the tenancy the shortfall occured. Is she paying on time now or allowing debt to accrue before making payment? (i.e. if you choose to pay monthly rather than weekly it should be in advance.)

If the HA has a website, see if it has a published arrears policy/procedure and check if that has been followed to the letter. If not online ask for details in writing. Where procedures are not followed, courts may throw out the case.

Your cousin really needs to go and speak to the housing asociation. Confirm everything that is said/agreed in writing - don't wait/rely on the officer dealing to do it.

This is not a Housing Benefit issue if there is no benefit entitlement. Ward councillors may assist but hold less sway with housing associations than local authorities. Initiate the complaints process if procedures have been breached.

If she owes money, the best she can hope for is the granting of a 28-day suspended possession order dependant on sticking to an arrangement to pay, in which case costs will be awarded against her.

Reassure your cousin that there's help available if she's really struggling, but she needs to be absolutely honest about her situation.

Good luck.

skint-student-nurse

thanks for that reply blckbrd, the issue she is having is the fact that she doesnt owe them any money, but since speaking to them about this,they are adimant that they want to take her to court. shes got proof of everything she has paid and together we have worked out that she has overpaid her rent (she was due some rent free weeks,but they have not been deducted) so its really frustrating to find out what they are after exactly. only time will tell

clutton_2

you can go to court with her - she can ask the judge to allow you in to be with her as her "McKenzies friend"

blckbrd

OK OP...I'm baffled! Just sounds like spite.

Have they numbered the grounds on which possesion is sought and/or what's the exact wording? Really baffled!

Start and exhaust the complaints procedure and then go to the Housing Ombudsman. Sooner than that, I think your cous needs to see the local CAB or law centre.

Do you feel like sharing which HA it is?