72 days untill were homeless where do we start?

Sublime_2

There are sometimes emergency properties available, such as flats, houses for a few months, while you're bidding on properties.

I would contact the council to see just what the accomodation contains. The hotels/motels can have a basic kitchenette, cooker, fridge, microwave, kettles, toasters, cutlery, etc. Then you would have to contact the council about getting your stuff put into storage, whilst in there.

All you should need is immediate personal effects, such as clothing, toiletries, books, etc, and groceries.

balletshoes

meritaten wrote: »

Speak to them again. and again, and again! sometimes you need to become a pain in the A$$ to them before they will help! in some areas the help from charities, councils etc is superb - in others they couldnt care less and wont do anything unless nagged into it! So nag hun! and dont move out until you absolutely have to!

I agree with this - and its not a new thing! My aunt was down at the housing office every single day they were open in the 1960s until they allocated them a house. Fast forward to 2001, and I was doing exactly the same thing - if I wasn't in the office, I was on the phone to them.
Ask around at nursery, OH's work, everywhere you come into contact with people, if they know of any properties for rent. Would you possibly get some housing benefit for a private rental, based on your family income?

Also ask the local authorities to put you in touch with their hardship officers, and ask them for their lists of private landlords/housing associations, and register with them straightaway too.

BitterAndTwisted

DO NOT MOVE OUT OF THE PROPERTY! Even if the Section 21 Notice has been served properly (and this is often not the case with a lot of landlords) the notice only declares the landlord's intention to seek possession. It does not give the landlord possession: for that they will have to go to court. IF the S21 has been properly served the court will award the landlord possession but they still have to go back to court to apply for a court bailiff to be appointed. All this could take months and months. Meanwhile you just sit tight and keep on paying the rent.

For every week that you sit tight where you are now is another week that you don''t have to live in some !!!!!!-pit hostel with God-knows who.

Another possible complication if you leave the current property before the bailiffs are at the door is that the Local Authority could choose to decide that you are making yourselves voluntarily homeless and could decline to help you at all.

So please, DO NOT MOVE OUT OF THE PROPERTY!

LJM

you do have to get in there every day and if you cant get there ring so your face and voice are seen and heard often,keep on their backs politely of course, good luck. and re appliances they all have to be checked so i would ask what is already there and then ask for if your allowed any of your appliances and they will have to be checked also

elvis86

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

DO NOT MOVE OUT OF THE PROPERTY! Even if the Section 21 Notice has been served properly (and this is often not the case with a lot of landlords) the notice only declares the landlord's intention to seek possession. It does not give the landlord possession: for that they will have to go to court. IF the S21 has been properly served the court will award the landlord possession but they still have to go back to court to apply for a court bailiff to be appointed. All this could take months and months. Meanwhile you just sit tight and keep on paying the rent.

For every week that you sit tight where you are now is another week that you don''t have to live in some !!!!!!-pit hostel with God-knows who.

Another possible complication if you leave the current property before the bailiffs are at the door is that the Local Authority could choose to decide that you are making yourselves voluntarily homeless and could decline to help you at all.

So please, DO NOT MOVE OUT OF THE PROPERTY!

What disgusting advice to give!:mad: Regardless of whatever this woman's unfortunate situation is, by the sounds of it her landlord has been quite reasonable in charging her a fair rate of rent and giving plenty of notice of his/her intention to sell. Why should they suffer?

Who's to say that the LL isn't another MSE forumite who is in trouble and unfortunately needs to sell this house..?

BitterAndTwisted

Being a landlord is a business and running any business entails risk. And one of the risks is not being able to gain possession on the very day that you decide you want it. In the great scheme of things I'd rather see a family with young kids sitting it out occupying a property LEGALLY than shifting off to some vile hostel all squeezed into one room with no cooking facilities, meanwhile running the risk of not qualifying for any help from their Local Authority. So shoot me!

Sitting tight for a month or two could mean that the family might be able to save up for the deposit on their next place and may not need any help from anyone.

Emmylou_2

elvis86 wrote: »

What disgusting advice to give!:mad: Regardless of whatever this woman's unfortunate situation is, by the sounds of it her landlord has been quite reasonable in charging her a fair rate of rent and giving plenty of notice of his/her intention to sell. Why should they suffer?

Who's to say that the LL isn't another MSE forumite who is in trouble and unfortunately needs to sell this house..?

It's not "disgusting" - it's the right advice. Proper, in terms of law.

A 21 notice is not a "Notice to Quit", it is notice that after the expiry of the notice (which is two full "rental" months, not calendar months - so if your rental period runs from 10th to 9th, and notice is served on, say, 17 January, then the section 21 expires on 9 April), the Landlord intends to apply to the Court for possession of the property. The Landlord applies to Court and is given a date for a hearing, but this isn't immediate - usually a few weeks (depending on the backlog at the Court)

It is at this point, that the OP (or any person in this situation) attends Court and asks the Judge for extra time. The usual time given is 14 days, but this can be extended to 42 days if circumstances dictate (such as the tenant having a disability, or young children etc). The Judge will make an Order giving the final date that the tenant should be at the property.

However, if the s21 notice has been served incorrectly (it's a very specific form of notice, dates etc need to be correct), or the deposit held by the landlord is not in one of the approved schemes, then the landlord will not be given an Order of Possession. And has to go back to square one, do whatever necessary (ie protect deposit), re-serve the s21 (checking dates) and give two rental periods' notice. And then go to Court.

Many Councils say that people wanting to be housed by them should wait until either an Order is given with a definite date or even later - if the tenant is still there after this date, the Landlord has to apply to the Court bailiffs to evict them. Some councils won't act until there is a date for bailiff attendance, which can again be a few weeks until after the date on the Order.

OP - you need to speak to shelter to get some good advice, but also make yourself properly known at the Council. As people say - if you're a (polite) pain in their jacksy then they'll do what they can to assist you. Obviously if you're abusive or stroppy or similar, then they'll do nothing. However, turning up every day (with the kids!) can't hurt!

laurenjs88

elvis86 wrote: »

What disgusting advice to give!:mad: Regardless of whatever this woman's unfortunate situation is, by the sounds of it her landlord has been quite reasonable in charging her a fair rate of rent and giving plenty of notice of his/her intention to sell. Why should they suffer?

Who's to say that the LL isn't another MSE forumite who is in trouble and unfortunately needs to sell this house..?

My LL is a multi-million/billion pound company that buys up de-commissioned raf camps (the whole thing!) and sells off the quarters. some of the houses here are worth half a mil. So i dont think they will lose to much sleep over it.

We've applied for the housing register tonight.I will speak to my health visitor tomorrow also. Council offices are about 20 miles away so will get there when i have some petrol in the car!

I think my main worry is the because of my MH OH is meant to be comming to stay home to help me as i cant manage on my own anymore with the kids, so we wont be able to afford a private rent in the LHA rates around this area.

i'm probably making more of a massive deal about it all than it is, It's just been one of those weeks!

fatbelly

elvis86 wrote: »

What disgusting advice to give!:mad: Regardless of whatever this woman's unfortunate situation is, by the sounds of it her landlord has been quite reasonable in charging her a fair rate of rent and giving plenty of notice of his/her intention to sell. Why should they suffer?

The advice is correct and will have been echoed by op's council, Shelter and CAB. This is the way the process works.

ciderwithrosie_2

When we were about to become homeless, the council offered us temporary accomodation in a bedsit. It was one big room for me, hubby, a 17 month old and I was 2 weeks away from giving birth to my second son. My hubby worked nights so I asked the housing officer how he was supposed to get any sleep with the rest of us in the same room, he is also diabetic so needs a regular routine or his blood sugars can go haywire. The HO just shrugged and said 'well there's nothing else available, your husband doesn't have to live here, he can go somewhere else!' In other words forcing a family to live apart. I wasn't having that, so the next morning we went to our local MPs surgery. After explaining the situation they got straight on to the HO who miracurously had a one bed flat suddenly become available and we lived there for 3 months before they offered us a house. So try and get your local MP involved too.

regards CWR