Likely to be evicted...

[Deleted User]

Well as the title says really...

My landlord has increased my rent from £110 per week to £195 per week :eek:

I'm a single parent claiming IS & CTC & therefore get my rent paid for me, I went to the housing about this & recieved a letter saying that they would not pay anymore than £110 per week, there is no way I wil be able to make up the extra £85 - hence the fact I am likly to be evicted... I will now try & see if I can get a council property - but cannot see them re-housing me unless I am actually homeless - they are very much in demand as it is.

I have lived here for almost 10 years & took over the tenancy from my ex end of 2003/beginning 2004 when we split, I really have no idea why the rent increase is so high.. the last time I did have an increase it went up by £10 per week - that was quite some time ago now, I understand that a landlord has to make a living & rents do increase but after hearing some people tell me that he might be trying to price me out I really have no idea why - after all these years!

This is more of a rant really - but any help/advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

real1314

Have you looked at other privately rented property in the area? What sort of rent are they charging?
If they're charging the same as your landlord is now asking for, then perhaps you should look at it from the point of view that you've done well to stay there for the rent that's been paid?
If they're charging less, then a move to another privately rented place looks on the cards.

Took_Me_Away

£195 a week? Where the hell are you living? Thats silly money... Could you not find somewhere cheaper to live?

chugalug

It may be an idea to contact Shelter for help with this one. There may be action you can take but this is going to depend on the tenancy you have so you'll need your paperwork - including the original tenancy agreement if you still have it.

All I can say is don't move until you've taken proper, independent advice. Carry on paying your current rent because if you want to dispute the increase you shouldn't pay it. Paying it would seem as though you're accepting it. If you can't get advice immediately, write to the landlord stating you'll be taking further advice on the rent increase and in the meantime you'll be paying your current rent. Keep a copy and send recorded delivery.

The CAB might be able to help. Otherwise try https://www.shelter.org.uk for your nearest housing advice centre. You should be able to get advice on your options and the long term consequences including the likelyhood of being allocated council accommodation. HTH

liz545

I think your first step would be to talk to your LL, and find out why he wants to increase the rent, and by so much. It might be that he plans to make improvements to the property that you don't want or need. If you're a good tenant he may be prepared to compromise, especially if he'd rather have the property occupied than vacant.

Housing benefit is based on market rates in your area, so if the average rate for a property like yours is £110/wk, and he wants to increase the rent to nearly double that, you should be able to find another property closer to the rent you were paying.

Your council should have a housing advisor, and I think it would be a good idea if you could go and talk things through with them - take a copy of your tenancy agreement. Depending on the type of tenancy agreement you have, there are rules about rent increases. If you've been living in the property for 10 years you may be an assured tenant, which gives you a lot more protection than a shorthold tenant.

He should have given you a date from when the rent raise will become effective (it can't be overnight) so if you can, put as much money beside to pay the new rent - this demonstrates that you're trying to cooperate, rather than just immediately falling into arrears.

I know that you're probably really stressed right now, and worried about how you're going to find a new home for yourself and your child, but don't panic. Even if your landlord does evict you, he has to give you enough notice to find a new home. There are people who can help and advise you; calling Shelter's freephone advice line on 0808 800 4444 is a good start.
My thoughts are with you - this is a very unpleasant situation!

loveandlight

I suggest you contact the Rent Service Office. They will assess the rental increase and decide whether its fair or not. Their customer service telephone number is 0207 0236076. They will have an office local to where you live so you just need to find out which one it is. Their web address is https://www.therentservice.gov.uk.

The Rent Service provide Fair Rent determinations for landlords and tenants under the provision laid down in the Rent Act 1977. The Rent Service is an executive agency of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Their primary functions are to provide a series of residential rental determinations which influence the amount of housing benefit that local authorities pay to housing benefit claimants living in the private rented sector of the housing market; and to provide valuations for landlords and tenants for fair rent registrations.

Lots of luck. I am sure you must be very worried and stressed about it all but just hang in there. Everything will be ok.

DrFluffy

Took_Me_Away wrote:

£195 a week? Where the hell are you living? Thats silly money... Could you not find somewhere cheaper to live?

Depends on the location and size and type of property. Studio flats around here rent for over £200 a week :eek: :eek: :eek: *





*so glad we bought when we did!

The advice to speak to Shelter is sage, as is approaching the CAB.

tee_pee_2

if you want to go into LA housing DO NOT LEAVE YOUR CURRENT HOME UNTIL YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN A COURT ORDER AND HAVE LESS THAN 28 DAYS TO LEAVE.
if you termnate your current property and then go to LA claiming to be homeless they will tell you that you ahve made yourself intentionally homeless so sit tight.

Are you a secure tenant? If so then your LL has to give you 2mths notice. Go and see your local CAB or have a chat to the local housing office. It is worthwhile at least going on the w/l even if there is already a high demand. You never know you might get lucky.

Big hug from me to you.

noyk

tee_pee wrote:

if you want to go into LA housing DO NOT LEAVE YOUR CURRENT HOME UNTIL YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN A COURT ORDER AND HAVE LESS THAN 28 DAYS TO LEAVE.
if you termnate your current property and then go to LA claiming to be homeless they will tell you that you ahve made yourself intentionally homeless so sit tight.

Are you a secure tenant? If so then your LL has to give you 2mths notice. Go and see your local CAB or have a chat to the local housing office. It is worthwhile at least going on the w/l even if there is already a high demand. You never know you might get lucky.

Big hug from me to you.

Great advice above, dont leave until you recieve an eviction notice (there is no stigma in this, you are simply standing your ground) - which as you have been there 10 years is not going to be as easy to come by as it may be for more recent tenancies. Do you know the type of tenancy you have, is it assured shorthold tenancy or assured tenancy?
Do you have a written contract?

[Deleted User]

Thanks for all the replies. sorry I do not know how to do the quote things, but I will answer some of what has been asked/said so far.

I have looked at other properties & my rent is actually quite cheap for this area. I am living in East London (2 bed end of terrace), I could rent cheaper if I moved out of London, however I have lived in London all my life & all my family are here. I have considered moving out further I just don't want to end up stranded on my own in an area I don't know.

I will be seeing my landlord about the increase & let him know there is no way I can afford the extra amount. He will not have any problems finding another tenant - he owns alot of properties around here & they are snapped up very quickly.

Many thanks for suggesting that I should contact the Rent Service Office I will contact them & see if they can make a visit to me.

I have just found my agreement - not the original one (I have that here somewhere though) its the new one stating the rent increase & says Assured [periodic Tenancy] I'm not sure for definate but I think the original tenancy agreement said Assured shorthold tenancy - Same thing ??? I'm unsure of the differences to be honest.

I will stay put & see what happens - whilst finding out info from some of the services that have been mentioned & getting myself on the council waiting list(should have done that a while back as I have 3 children in 1 room.. just thought that I would be able to find a bigger property easier going privately but seems so much harder than I had imagined). If I cannot get my rent lowered then I guess my landlord will have to evict me - not a nice thought - most probably an awful process to go through - but I guess at the end of the day I can't be left at the end of the road with a blanket & a cardboard box!.

Anyway once again many thanks for all the info you guys have been great.

chugalug

It would really be a good idea for you to get your paperwork checked. I don't have any reference books here but if you had a tenancy agreement that came into force before Feb 1997 then you are in a very strong position, especially if that tenancy agreement is assured. TBH I don't know that your landlord can grant an assured tenancy after 1997 but it might be a continuation of the original agreement.

For an assured shorthold you can be asked to leave after the end of the agreement ie 6 or 12 months and there is no defence to an eviction.

For an assured tenancy there are only certain grounds on which you can be evicted ie rent arrears and the rent increases are governed by the rent service. If you have an assured tenancy you are in a very strong position and your landlord cannot just serve you notice.

Having said that, if you build up rent arrears then he is likely to serve notice on that. As has already been suggested, go to CAB, Shelter or your local authority housing dept (they should have a homelessness prevention officer) to have your paperwork checked out. Any of them can help mediate over the rent increase if you need help with this.

Above all, don't panic and don't do anything else until you know what your options are. HTH