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catkins
Posts: 5,703 Forumite
I'll try and keep this as short as possible.
Husband is self employed but has had practically no work for several months. I work but only bring home £800 a month. We rent a house and the rent is £750 a month so obviously we cannot afford it. We are actually only £300 in arrears from last month but cannot afford to pay all of this coming months.
My husband is desperately looking for any job even if it is minimum wage or part time but there is nothing (his age is against him also as he is mid 50's). He is trying for JSA and has an interview at the end of this week but it doesn't seem to promising as I work over 30 hours a week. We are also trying for housing benefit and council tax benefit but this is going to take a while and, again, not too sure we will be eligible for either.
The obvious thing is to move to somewhere cheaper but we have no money for a deposit let alone the fees an agency would charge. We also would not pass the credit checks as we are overdrawn by £1000 (agreed overdraft). We have no savings as we have used them up trying to live for the last few months.
We have no where else to go - there are no friends or family who could take us in even for 1 night. We would not qualify for help from the council as we have no children. I am sick with worry as I just don't know what we can do.
Our landlord has been pretty good but obviously says he needs to have the full rent every month which I fully understand. He is talking about evicting us for rent arrears. If he does how long are we likely to have before we have to move out?
We have lived in the house for 6 years. We originally signed a 1 year tenancy and once that ran out have never signed another one. We have no rent book and the rent has always been paid in cash as that is what the landlord wanted so there is no proof as to what has or hasn't been paid. I know the landlord is not renting legit because loads of his post comes to the house including letters from his bank and building society.
I don't think he will want to go through the Courts because of the above and also because of the cost but if we refuse to go voluntarily (unless we somehow find somewhere else) and he has to take us to Court how will things stand when he has no proof that we are in arrears and there is no agreement?
Husband is self employed but has had practically no work for several months. I work but only bring home £800 a month. We rent a house and the rent is £750 a month so obviously we cannot afford it. We are actually only £300 in arrears from last month but cannot afford to pay all of this coming months.
My husband is desperately looking for any job even if it is minimum wage or part time but there is nothing (his age is against him also as he is mid 50's). He is trying for JSA and has an interview at the end of this week but it doesn't seem to promising as I work over 30 hours a week. We are also trying for housing benefit and council tax benefit but this is going to take a while and, again, not too sure we will be eligible for either.
The obvious thing is to move to somewhere cheaper but we have no money for a deposit let alone the fees an agency would charge. We also would not pass the credit checks as we are overdrawn by £1000 (agreed overdraft). We have no savings as we have used them up trying to live for the last few months.
We have no where else to go - there are no friends or family who could take us in even for 1 night. We would not qualify for help from the council as we have no children. I am sick with worry as I just don't know what we can do.
Our landlord has been pretty good but obviously says he needs to have the full rent every month which I fully understand. He is talking about evicting us for rent arrears. If he does how long are we likely to have before we have to move out?
We have lived in the house for 6 years. We originally signed a 1 year tenancy and once that ran out have never signed another one. We have no rent book and the rent has always been paid in cash as that is what the landlord wanted so there is no proof as to what has or hasn't been paid. I know the landlord is not renting legit because loads of his post comes to the house including letters from his bank and building society.
I don't think he will want to go through the Courts because of the above and also because of the cost but if we refuse to go voluntarily (unless we somehow find somewhere else) and he has to take us to Court how will things stand when he has no proof that we are in arrears and there is no agreement?
The world is over 4 billion years old and yet you somehow managed to exist at the same time as David Bowie
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Comments
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He would be very unwise to take you to court. Try to reach an agreement with him, perhaps point out that you are aware of his situation.
People who insist on rent in cash usually have something to hide.WHO READS SIGNATURES ANYWAY? DOES ANYONE UNDER 30YRS KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LOSE AND LOOSE?0 -
The obvious thing is to move to somewhere cheaper but we have no money for a deposit let alone the fees an agency would charge. We also would not pass the credit checks as we are overdrawn by £1000 (agreed overdraft). We have no savings as we have used them up trying to live for the last few months.
If the overdraft is within your agreed limits then there will not be any adverse reporting on your credit file. A credit check will not ring alarm bells until you default on the overdraft or exceed your agreed limit.
Once you have at least 2 months rent unpaid (not in arrears, unpaid hence if you pay no rent for 2 months then you will have 2 months rent unpaid after 1 month and a day) then the LL can start mandatory proceedings after 2 weeks notice. In total it will take at least 4 months to bailiffs at the door. However, once you go down this road you will obviously not get a reference from your current LL which will further reduce the future LL's willing to let to you (and will guarantee that you will need to go to the bottom of the market).
Our landlord has been pretty good but obviously says he needs to have the full rent every month which I fully understand. He is talking about evicting us for rent arrears. If he does how long are we likely to have before we have to move out?
It would be better for all if you can reach some sort of agreement so that you can preserve your reference - you will need it to get a nice but cheaper property. One key issue here is to communicate with your LL and to provide them with your plan for repaying any arrears as soon as possible. Good communication, explaining the steps you are taking and reassuring the LL that you are taking your obligations seriously may go some way to buy you more time. It might also help to discuss your overall budget with the LL, explaining the cutbacks you have made and offering to pay as much rent as you can in the meantime (all things that you would do with a mortgage company).
If rent is paid monthly then there is no requirement for a rent book. None of the rest of this paragraph is helpful to you as it is irrelevant to an eviction for rent arrears.
We have lived in the house for 6 years. We originally signed a 1 year tenancy and once that ran out have never signed another one. We have no rent book and the rent has always been paid in cash as that is what the landlord wanted so there is no proof as to what has or hasn't been paid. I know the landlord is not renting legit because loads of his post comes to the house including letters from his bank and building society.
As stated, nothing you have said above would count against the LL if he brings mandatory proceedings for eviction. Make no mistake, once you reach the 2 month unpaid mark, a court will evict you. You would also be liable for all the LL's costs in performing the eviction. You have an agreement (a statutory periodic tenancy). If the LL states that you have not paid then you will be asked if you have paid. What are you going to say when the court asks you if you have paid your rent? So the "lack of proof" is irrelevant.I don't think he will want to go through the Courts because of the above and also because of the cost but if we refuse to go voluntarily (unless we somehow find somewhere else) and he has to take us to Court how will things stand when he has no proof that we are in arrears and there is no agreement?
Good luck.0 -
Joseph_Bloggs wrote: »He would be very unwise to take you to court. Try to reach an agreement with him, perhaps point out that you are aware of his situation.
People who insist on rent in cash usually have something to hide.
Why? I agree that he is probably not declaring tax but none of the items stated would even be heard by a S8G8 mandatory possession proceeding. There is no reason why a LL can not go to court.0
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