served a notice to quit

Anthillmob

i got back from picking chops up to find the council had been round to sereve an eviction noticed because i owe £279.

i actually owe £79 as i paid £200 this morning.

im fuming. they have been harrassing me for months sending thrtetening letters when ive been incontact throughout my maternity leave informing them what i can pay and when it will be paid.

how come shitloads of people owe thousands in rent yet i owe a paltry £279 and i get an eviction notice.

should let them evict me actually as section 4 of the notice states:

before the court grants an order on any of the grounds 9 to 16, it must be satisfied that there will be suitable alternative accomodation for you when you leave. this means that the court will have to decide that, in its opinion, there will be other accommodation which is reasonably suitable for the needs of you and your family, taking into particular account various factors such as the nearness of your place of work, and the sort of housing that other people with similar needs are offered. your new home will have to be let to you on another secure tenancy or a private tenancy under the rent act....

so basically they have to rehome me before kicking me out. im after a 2 bed :rotfl:

on a serious note though why are they hassling me when other council tenants owe thousands? ive kept in touch throughout this difficult financial period and have only been back at work part time for 2 weeks now so cant pay any more than i already have.

i am also 95% certain that my housing officer told me if i went £400 in arrears i would be served the notice. i am £79 in arrears after this mornings payment.

ive complained once about the attitude of my housing officer and also another housing officer and asked why other tennants have thousands owing yet never get kicked out of home. they did not answer my question.

so really, should i complain again? is this harrassment?

moomin-mama_2

I agree with you - its the same as the CSA, you're an easy target.

Having said that, the case is very unlikely to get to court. What grounds have they cited?

If you have any worries about this get in touch with shelter (https://www.shelter.org.uk) as they will be able to help you with this.

BTW, if you do get evicted (not that it'll come to that) you're likely to be found 'intentionally homeless' if you reapply to the LA - you won't be rehoused.

As I say though, it won't get to court because your HA would look really silly trying to evict for £79. They've behaved appallingly considering their housing is specifically for people who have limited means. Too much power methinks! Ask for a copy of their complaints procedure - that should stir things up.

Anthillmob

thankyou. ill speak, or try to, speak to mr 'i dont care' on monday. honestly his attitude stinks.

ive already complained once about him and a colleague who basically called me a liar (im sure ive ranted about this on the vent board).

im paying what i can and am only ever a week maybe 2 weeks behind at any given time. hardly the crime of the century. we got into financial strife whilst i was off, were just over the threshold for housing benefit, and now we are trying to rectify this.

rosysparkle

before the court grants an order on any of the grounds 9 to 16, it must be satisfied that there will be suitable alternative accomodation for you when you leave. this means that the court will have to decide that, in its opinion, there will be other accommodation which is reasonably suitable for the needs of you and your family, taking into particular account various factors such as the nearness of your place of work, and the sort of housing that other people with similar needs are offered. your new home will have to be let to you on another secure tenancy or a private tenancy under the rent act....

This applies if they are using grounds 9-16, but a section 8, a NTQ for rent arrears, usually uses ground 8.

On your eviction notice, which ground is specified? Does it say it is a Section 8 Notice?

If they have only specified ground 8 and you pay the arrears before the date when proceedings can start, and don't run up any more arrears before that date, the notice will fail.

If they have also specified grounds 10 and 11, paying the arrears won't stop the notice.

Anthillmob

i cant make head nor tail of it. the letter states sections 83 of the housing act and 48 of the landlord and tenant act but they have only given me parts 1-5 of section 83.

moomin-mama_2

As rosysparkle says, if they've used ground 8 then there has to be at least 8 weeks rent arrears both at the time the notice was served and when the case is heard.

If ground 10 then I think thats persistent late payment of rent. But, if you've made regular payments and can show that you've adhered to the original order then I still think your HA doesnt have a leg to stand on. I would still go for the complaints procedure. If it does go back to court then ask for costs not to be awarded because you've kept to your side of the agreement. HTH

sultry33

contact CAB as soon as possible, take any letters reciepts you have showing payments or offers. i have been through this myself a few years ago with a council after my hb was messed up.

the court just accepted my installment payments, i was about £600 in arreas.

unfortunantly i have now just recieved notice to quit from my current address which is private landlord.
the landlord has to sell as not paid mortgage... life eh.

good luck but do see CAB as they will help you

ManAtHome

Probably just the usual LA "sausage machine" cranking out letters. The ones who owe a great deal more than you are likeley to have dozens of these in the bin...

As others have said they'd look pretty ridiculous evicting you even for nearly £300 (seeing as they then have to re-house you), for £80 I suspect they may get a very hard time from the magistrates.

clutton_2

i met a family who were being repossessed last year for a debt of £330 - yes £330 - an associate of mine managed to get it stopped.

Anthillmob

cheers guys.

my mum was telling me that a few years ago my nan was one week late with her rent to the same council as mine because she wasn't well and they served her notice to quit. how can they justify scaring a little old lady like that? (sadly she is no longer with us)