Eviction letter - very long post!

GhostHunter_3

Hi

I am looking for advice, in advance sorry for the very long post!

My mother in law remortgaged her house as wanted to invest / protect her future inheritance in property (she owned her home outright with no mortgage on it for many years before) has used the money to buy a bungalow on behalf of her son and myself her daughter in law. We are now (obviously) living in the property at the moment, we moved in on 16th June 2007. We pay the mother in law rent each month which goes towards her repaying the mortgage, she pays half at the moment also. The mortgage is £800 so we pay £400 and she pays £400 (obviously but simply put).

We have applied to the council back on 16th June for housing & council tax benefit. However we are still waiting for a decision on our claim!

Previous to moving in we worked part time in a cleaning job in the evenings but the companies contract was not renewed so we were made redundant. We also lived in a static caravan which we sold back in May this year.

We submitted as much information with our council claim initially as we could and informed the council we no longer worked for a company but remain self employed on a low income (to cut a long calculation short the self employments makes enough to bank and keep itself afloat for another month, so we rely mainly on Working Tax Credits to make ends meet).

The council asked us to supply prof of income with our old wage slips even though the employment ceased prior to our claim. I contacted our old wages department from the cleaning job who promised to send them out. After a week nothing arrived so I chased them and they said theyd fogotten to do it and would send them urgently that day. Again after another week nothing turned up so again I chased them and they eventually sent them and they arrived two days later. Throught this 4 week period I regularly (twice weekly) called the council to keep them updated with progress and apologise for the delays.

Eventually I submitted these old wage slips and the council replied asking me to submit our P45's to prove change of circumstances. It then dawned on me we had still not received these ourselves, so again I chased the wages department who were unaware we had even left the employment!! They could not issue them until the end of July as they were processed with wages. Again I kept the council informed regularly as to the proceedings.

Eventually I managed to submit the P45's and again second copies of original info they requested as they re-requested them (suspecting they got mislaid). These included bank statements for the previous 2 months for us both personally and for our self employment (business).

The council then sent me a load of forms to complete about our business which I did. These included income and expenditure which I completed truthfully showing the business was making a loss and with this combined with us having a 'regular' income of just the Working Tax Credits each week we are extreamly poor! The business is Vehicle valeting (car cleaning) which is purely mobile as we cannot afford a workshop. Thus the income fluctuates, especially in the rain and winter months where it is often non existent.

I completed these forms and submitted them again with yet more bank statements to keep them up to date with our finances. I heared nothing and called them a week later they told me my claim was waiting for assesment and to call in another week. Which I did they said the same, so agin the following week (week 3 since submitting again) I did and they said it was being processed and a letter was on its way.

When I received this letter it informed me they required yet more info and bank statements,more in depth about our business finances. Informing me directly that if they were not received within 7 days that they may decide I am unintitled to help!

Immediately I gathered together the info (more than they asked for but I assumed if they had more they could work out what they needed to know themselves) sent them altogether there were around 165 pages of information sent 1st class (costing me 90p in postage). Then called them at the end of that week to confirm they had recived the package, they said they had and were waiting to assess the claim.

I called again last week to chase up progress and they told me another letter was on its way.

I received this last Saturday and it informs me that as of 19 June 06 (3 days after we submitted our initial application) they cancelled our entire claim due to information not supplied!

The letter states we may qualify for some benefit based on our new circumstances and if I would like to make a claim I was to complete the enclosed housing/council tax benefit application form together with all the information needed to support the claim (basically everyhting I have already submitted yet again, looking like a fresh claim request). Providing they receive this within 4 WEEKS of the benefit end date (eg 19 June 06) any new benefit can start from the day after that date.

So what they are basically telling us is they will NOT be backdating our claim to 16th June!

However over-riding this benefit decision information was also an attatched letter thanking me for my fowarded information to support my claim received on 6th September 06, however this is not sufficient information for benefit to be assessed. They are unable toaccept the accounts for 2004 and have enclosed (yet another) further business income shet for my completion to show a true reflection of our income for a period of at least the past 13 weeks. I mus provide this together with evidence to support our income and expenditure.

Please reply by 3rd October 06 as NO ADDITIONAL time can be given!

Our accountant has said there is no chance of him processing new accounts within the week allowed!

All this delay in the council reaching a decision has meant we have spent the whole profit we made from the sale of our caravan, yes ALL £4,650 worth, some to furnish the bungalow, some to redecorate it, some to pay off my credit card which we have been using to live on monthly since June 06, and the rest to pay our rent each month. We now have nothing left except surviving on the working tax credits and odd cash payment from the business side.

Obviously the benefits of living in a bungalow as oposed to a static caravan are much better, especially when faced with anual 'site fees' to the value of £6,000 + however it has also brought many additional bills on a monthly basis and not (as per the caravan life) 4 monthly or annually. Mother in law simply couldnt see us surviving another winter in a tin shed (it was a summer season holiday caravan so had no luxuries of heating or doulbe glazing and galoshers were worn to peg out the washing to dry in winter as we were surrounded by a boggy 'moat') we lived in the caravan for 2 1/2 years!

Anyhow we have reached this situation and got no where with the council, have no more money to pay rent from November. Cant comply with the deadline of 3rd October (from the accountants accounts side of things) and as we have an official contract with mother in law we are facing an eviction notice from November if we cant scrape together the £400 somehow or the council have still not got anywhere. I have informed the council of this but alas it falls on deaf ears they dont care attitude. We would become homeless and live on the streets if we were eveicted, have no kids so not very high up on points for a council house!

Mother in law has asked me to compose an eviction notice and submit a copy to the council if necessary thinking this may help, can anyone advise on how to compose one?

We are again looking for Part Time Employment but this would be to the disadvantage of (dare I say) or claim and our self employments, even though we do not clearly earn much money from either at present.

I know many of you will give me a lecture of what I should be ding to improve this but I am asking for advice as to what rights I have reguarding the councils lack of help?

Thanks

and sorry again its such a very long post but best put you in the whole picture I thought??

susieb

Sorry I cant help, but wish you all the best of luck. Sounds like the council hasnt got a clue what its doing

lynzpower

I really really hate to tell you this, but as I understand it there is some problem with your mother renting you a property if housing benefit will be covering it.

Does anyone know more about this for the OP

regularsaver1

I hope you get things sorted. Can your mother in-law not help you in the next few months. I would have thought she would have applied for the mortgage based on her income? or would it have been a buy to let mortgage instead?

I think the council may have an issue about who you are renting it from though

BobProperty

lynzpower wrote:

I really really hate to tell you this, but as I understand it there is some problem with your mother renting you a property if housing benefit will be covering it.

Does anyone know more about this for the OP

This has been discussed in the past and the conclusion was that it is possible but it is dependant on showing that the property was intended to be used as a BTL and the deal is commercial IIRC. This set up may not meet that requirement.
Secondly, I have sympathy with the OP over the HB/Council Tax claim. The LA has a set of rules to comply with and if you don't provide everthing by a certain date the claim lapses, you have to start again and they won't backdate it. The fact that it's them (the LA) who keep coming back with the "need further information" because their systems are designed for people in full time jobs who have left them or don't get paid much. Anything else confuses them and they don't know what to do to fit it into "the system".

clutton_2

many councils will only accept that a tenant legitimately rents from a close member of his/her family, provided that proof can be shown that the property was bought as a BTL prior to being used by the family member - they suspect collusion to defraud HB otherwise.

RE the councils massive paperwork cockup - get in touch with your local councillor immediately, let him fight your corner for you - what they have done is totally unjust and un reasonable - i suspect that because you sent so much stuff, that someone has simply not bothered to read it.

BobProperty

clutton wrote:

many councils will only accept that a tenant legitimately rents from a close member of his/her family, provided that proof can be shown that the property was bought as a BTL prior to being used by the family member - they suspect collusion to defraud HB otherwise.

Surely it has to be at a commercial rate also. If they are paying part rent or a reduced rent which looks remarkably close to what HB would pay, then they (HB) will get very suspicious.

clutton wrote:

RE the councils massive paperwork cockup - get in touch with your local councillor immediately, let him fight your corner for you - what they have done is totally unjust and un reasonable - i suspect that because you sent so much stuff, that someone has simply not bothered to read it.

As I said, more likely they can't understand what they have to do with it or how to make it fit the system. Do you think the average admin assistant could read a set of company accounts? Do you think that the system was designed to cope with variable SE earnings or being employed full time but with 0 salary? I suspect it wasn't and/or whoever tested it didn't cover all the possibilities.

clutton_2

i gave up on claiming council tax benefit when i first went self employed and was earning very little, whoever had produced the forms clearly had never been self employed, and they made no sense - the inland revenue may agree that you make a loss at first, but the blinking council wont !!!!

silvercar

Agree that you are in a very difficult situation. Your mother-in-law will have to decide:
a) whether to evict you for non-payment of rent and find reliable tenants.
b) whether to subsidise your rent further and pay the mortgage herself.

If she evicts you, you then go to the council as homeless and they provide emergency (hostel or B&B I guess) accom.
If she doesn't evict you then she risks the home being repossessed if she has no savings.

GhostHunter_3

Hi and thanks to everyone advising so far.

The property was bought as a buy to let. It was originally meant for other lodgers, however the timing was right for us to move ourselves. We had not thought that things would still be dragging on so far, therefore we would still have had 'savings' from the profit of the caravans sale to pay any shortfalls.

The council has been told (assumes) that the rental figure is £800 per month, which is what the mortgage is, we had said we could afford to pay half (£400) per month again with any shortfalls being taken from the savings. But again thats now out of the question.

Mother in law says she is not going to 'kick us out' and is happy for us to stay as long as we pay as much towards our £400 as we can afford each month, she can just about manage to clear the shortfall (this was made sure of in the first instance before we moved in as she was aware we struggle on throught the winter). Plus I keep up the payments on the household bills etc.

As I have told the council we have already recived verbal warnings about eviction Mum in law thinks something in writing may back it up. She may even call them to 'have a go' as a landlord because were not paying our rent on time. Anything she can do to get the claim settled quicker and help us. She is a :A mum in law really, just wants whats best thankfully. All these stories of the ogre in laws I just dont get the jokes

I did some research prior to applying for ct/hb as I thought it would be impossible to claim if related in any way to the landlord due to it being fraudulent and was re-assured by the council themselves that the claim may be scruitinised a little more closely but so long as we can prove its legitamate and where the money is going / a rent book etc it should be granted ok. We have made sure we followed this advice, and was prepared for a battle but not to this length.

Consequently I forgot to add that the Council Tax department have recently sent me a final demand notice.

I called up the Council tax department on moving in on 16th June and informed them of our new occupancy and said we were applying for benefit help, I was told to wait before I set up a payment account as then they could re-adjust the council tax bill to include the benefits calculation.

On receiving the recent demand letter I called the council tax dept again to say I am still waiting on a decision, only to be told that they cannot hold it open any more as I have already missed 4 months payments (the new yearly bill was issued coincidentally in June).

:eek: If I didnt set up a payment plan then my right to pay in monthly instalments would be removed and I would then fall foul to having pay it all in one go (almost £1,000). So trapped I have set up a Direct Debit and with the leeway of the payment date being 25th it was too late to have it set up for first payment 25th September, so it was advised it would be set up first instalment taken 25th October, hopefully, they said, giving my claim enough time to have been processed.

On asking how much the Direct Debit will be I was told there are 5 installments left (last in Feb 07) and divided by 5 it will be £185 :eek: taken per month! Thats a huge chunk from what I should pay on the rent as my husband and I try to pay £200 each (thus making the £400).

Again I feel this is with no thanks to the council taking so long. :mad:

(By the way what do the letters OP and LA etc stand for?)

Thanks

littlejaffa

I seem to be thinking differently from everyone else in that i see different problems,

1/ if your mortgage is £800m, buy a (much) cheaper house, this is a huge mortgage and if your approach was to have something better than a caravan i see no reason to spend so much.


2/ if the business isn't working, and you can't find p/t jobs, wouldn't you consider getting a f/t job? at least then you wouldn't have the loss of the buiness to pay for as well as the lack of income.

These to me, seem better solutions than waiting on someone else (the council) giving you money to solve your problems.