Eviction Order

Mumof2nbump

Hello guys n girls

Got a letter the other day saying we have to be out by tomorrow. I am at the moment heaverly pregant and have a 2 year old son and now really panicing (not good for me or baby atm). The council are making us homeless and now refusing to help us saying "no duty to help" as they see us as intentionally homeless from our previous property, which was in bad shape (ie broken basement stairs, cracked n broken windows and a landlord who thought he could come round at all times n scare me specially when husband was in work ) but they saw it as fit to live in .... i beg to differ with that one.

Was told to speak to social services tomorrow (we have a meeting with one of the peeps there for a house at 10-15am) baliffs due at 10am. Was told by social services to get a n 244 form which we have and hand it in tomorrow, but the thing is the counter at the court is not open til 10am, the same time the baliff is due, which is now worrying me as i can go into labour at any time and son is scared of strange people at the moment.

Shall I call the baliff in the morning, saying my husband is on his way into town to hand in a n 244 to suspend the eviction?

Really dont know what on earth to do at the moment. We never recieved court date papers the first time, so not talked to a judge and explained our side. Got no family who can have us or friends so we are really worried as the people from the council said we will just chuck our things outside.

BitterAndTwisted

Where are you being evicted from tomorrow? It's not clear when you talk about your "previous property". Why didn't you receive the court papers? Where were they supposed to have been served?

Mumof2nbump

We are being evicted from our temp accommodation flat tomorrow morning as the council see the previous property fit to live in. We dont know why we didnt receive them. They said they had been sent out and yet nothing was delievered to our address. They was suppost to be served but have never seen them and im up at the time the post man comes.

mostlycheerful

Oh no, I'm really sorry to hear that, your poor love and poor kids and hubby. Um, sorry, can't really think of much to suggest except maybe try to not open the door to bailiff. They don't normally just break in except in exceptional circumstances and mostly they don't have the right to break in. So if you're lucky he might just flap about knocking on the door for a bit and then go. Watch out he's not just lurking ready to pounce if you or hubby go in or out though. And quite often a bailiff will come back an hour or two later or later in the day when he's done one or two other jobs. But sometimes they just go away and you don't see them again. It all depends on the case and their workload.

A bit limp but maybe put a note on the outside of the front door saying "form 244 being delivered right now at 10am to court to get stay of execution, heavily pregnant woman inside with scared 2 year old child, nowhere else to go, this an emergency, please do not bother us, please phone your office, sorry if this is a nuisance to you but we only just got the notice so please have some charity in this instance, this is for real, thanks if you do". Assuming hubby's got a mobile phone then maybe add to the note "please phone my husband who is at the court right now to confirm this and or for further information about this terrible situation". Hopefully a civilised bailiff would hold off if they see this. Hopefully. Of course, if you're unlucky, maybe not.

Yes, I know, a bit sort of desperate but that's the sort of thing I might do if faced with this kind of situation.

And then if he does actually turn up then either don't even talk to the bailiff at all or if you do feel up to talking to him then only do it through the letter box or out of an upstairs window and don't open the door otherwise he/they may just come straight in.

Tomorrow, first thing, perhaps phone up Shelter and CAB Citizens Advice Bureau and run this all by them and ask for help and advice. They tend to be very busy most or all of the time so sometimes it's hard to get through but keep trying.

Can't think of anything else to suggest at the moment. If I do I'll come back and post it.

I wish you good luck and I hope you get through tomorrow ok.

tbs624

Mumof2nbump wrote: »

Hello guys n girls

Got a letter the other day saying we have to be out by tomorrow. I am at the moment heaverly pregant and have a 2 year old son and now really panicing (not good for me or baby atm). The council are making us homeless and now refusing to help us saying "no duty to help" as they see us as intentionally homeless from our previous property, which was in bad shape (ie broken basement stairs, cracked n broken windows and a landlord who thought he could come round at all times n scare me specially when husband was in work ) but they saw it as fit to live in .... i beg to differ with that one.

Was told to speak to social services tomorrow (we have a meeting with one of the peeps there for a house at 10-15am) baliffs due at 10am. Was told by social services to get a n 244 form which we have and hand it in tomorrow, but the thing is the counter at the court is not open til 10am, the same time the baliff is due, which is now worrying me as i can go into labour at any time and son is scared of strange people at the moment.

Shall I call the baliff in the morning, saying my husband is on his way into town to hand in a n 244 to suspend the eviction?

Really dont know what on earth to do at the moment. We never recieved court date papers the first time, so not talked to a judge and explained our side. Got no family who can have us or friends so we are really worried as the people from the council said we will just chuck our things outside.

You clearly are having a rough time of it.

When you received the N54 you really needed to have got on to a qualified legal adviser straight away and got that N244 form down to the court pronto. Has anyone suggested to you that there is clear evidence of service of those original papers to your current address?

Would it perhaps be better for you to take the form to the courts and let your OH deal with the bailiffs?

Shelter's helpline opens at 8 am tomorrow 0808 800 4444 - you'll need to be persistent. They and/or Community Legal Advice 0845 345 4 345 ( open 9am) can give you the support/local contacts you need.

You could also seek the advice of the duty solicitor at the county court - in some county courts there are specialist possession order solicitors who work on a rota.

It would probably be worth your while getting a legal bod to go over the details of your previous tenancy and the subsequent Council decision. Their decisions can be appealed on specific points of law.

Pookielydia

tbs624 wrote: »

Would it perhaps be better for you to take the form to the courts and let your OH deal with the bailiffs?

I agree with the above point, let your other half deal with the bailiffs and it would be better for you to take the form to the court, because a heavily pregnant woman shouldn't be put through so much stress in the 1st place and no womans husband/partner should go to the court and leave his wife/girlfriend pregnant or otherwise to deal with the bailiffs.

Hump

I'll be brief, Shelter/ CLAC is the best way forward.

However the following may help - assuming you're in England - I assume you've been through the homeless process - had your s184 decision letter, requested a s202 review and been turned down and not had grounds for a s204 county court appeal. To have the bailiffs due usually means you have been in 'temp' for a number of months or longer and you're now at the end of what is usually a very lengthy process.

If Shelter can't help then there's nothing stopping you from applying to another Council. They will have a duty to provide you with 'temp' whilst making enquiries. Now don't get me wrong - they'll arrive at exactly the same decision as your current Council - and may decide that a reasonable period in 'temp' is only 7 - 14 days and it might be a B&B or hostel and it might be miles away - however it might give you a breathing space. Expect the 'new' Council to try everything to turn you away. Whilst they'll base their decision on the first Council's decision they still have to make their own decision and provide 'temp' for a reasonable period of time - they might try to say that 'no fresh duty arises' - well that's fine for the first Council but the second will be hard pressed to make that stick if you challenge them.

Good luck with plan A - Shelter/ CLAC are best placed to assist

Pigletto

mostlycheerful wrote: »

Oh no, I'm really sorry to hear that, your poor love and poor kids and hubby. Um, sorry, can't really think of much to suggest except maybe try to not open the door to bailiff. They don't normally just break in except in exceptional circumstances and mostly they don't have the right to break in. So if you're lucky he might just flap about knocking on the door for a bit and then go. Watch out he's not just lurking ready to pounce if you or hubby go in or out though. And quite often a bailiff will come back an hour or two later or later in the day when he's done one or two other jobs. But sometimes they just go away and you don't see them again. It all depends on the case and their workload.
QUOTE]

You are thinking of bailiffs working for debt collection agencies. The bailiffs involved in evictions are Court Bailiffs and entry can and often is forced.

Here is what Shelter state:

What happens when the bailiffs arrive?

The bailiffs will remove you from the property and secure it so that you cannot get back in. If you are not there the property will be secured so that you cannot get in. Your landlord or your landlord's representative must be present at the eviction so that the bailiffs can give possession. When this has been done your landlord can change the locks to prevent you re-entering the accommodation.
The bailiffs can ask the police to be present if they think you might try to stop the bailiffs from getting in. The police are not allowed to help the bailiffs with the eviction but are there in case there is any disturbance. The police can arrest anyone who is violent.
There are no restrictions as to what time of day the bailiffs can carry out the eviction, but they must act reasonably. They are entitled to use necessary, reasonable force to enter the home. They can remove you (and anyone else living in the accommodation), and may also remove your possessions.

mostlycheerful

Pigletto wrote: »

mostlycheerful wrote: »

Oh no, I'm really sorry to hear that, your poor love and poor kids and hubby. Um, sorry, can't really think of much to suggest except maybe try to not open the door to bailiff. They don't normally just break in except in exceptional circumstances and mostly they don't have the right to break in. So if you're lucky he might just flap about knocking on the door for a bit and then go. Watch out he's not just lurking ready to pounce if you or hubby go in or out though. And quite often a bailiff will come back an hour or two later or later in the day when he's done one or two other jobs. But sometimes they just go away and you don't see them again. It all depends on the case and their workload.
QUOTE]

You are thinking of bailiffs working for debt collection agencies. The bailiffs involved in evictions are Court Bailiffs and entry can and often is forced.

Here is what Shelter state:

What happens when the bailiffs arrive?

The bailiffs will remove you from the property and secure it so that you cannot get back in. If you are not there the property will be secured so that you cannot get in. Your landlord or your landlord's representative must be present at the eviction so that the bailiffs can give possession. When this has been done your landlord can change the locks to prevent you re-entering the accommodation.
The bailiffs can ask the police to be present if they think you might try to stop the bailiffs from getting in. The police are not allowed to help the bailiffs with the eviction but are there in case there is any disturbance. The police can arrest anyone who is violent.
There are no restrictions as to what time of day the bailiffs can carry out the eviction, but they must act reasonably. They are entitled to use necessary, reasonable force to enter the home. They can remove you (and anyone else living in the accommodation), and may also remove your possessions.

Oh, right, sorry for my ignorance. Yes, don't know much about bailiffs. Right, ok, so they just steam in and get the job done. Well, yes, I learn more every day. Poor OP, hope they're ok, that's harsh in the year 2011 in UK. Still, it's a lot worse in a lot of other countries, not that that's any consolation for these poor sods. If it's true what she said that the previous place was terrible then this is an example of vulnerable people slipping through the net. Wonder what they'll do and where they'll go, can't just sit on the pavement. Terrible. Hope they can get in a hostel or squat or something doable. Makes you realise how you lucky you are not having to go through that kind of experience.

Wee_Willy_Harris

Hump wrote: »

If Shelter can't help then there's nothing stopping you from applying to another Council. They will have a duty to provide you with 'temp' whilst making enquiries.

Unless there has been a material change in circumstances since the previous application, a fresh application will be refused and no duty to provide temp will arise.

If she hasn't done so already, the OP should follow the LA appeal proceedure. This doesn't activate a "duty" to provide temp, but does infer a "power" to do so, which would be recognised as best practice.

If all appeal avenues have been exhausted, Social Services may (reluctantly) assist, but this will be a very short term measure and your efforts should be directed towards finding an alternative private rental.

ebayqueen_2

evoke wrote: »

OP: You're heavily pregnant and you want taxpayers to bail you out? Shouldn't you have thought about your financial situation before getting pregnant? It looks like you just got pregnant to try and force the council's hand to give you a nicer property and you've been sussed. Just playing devil's advocate as i'm not a tree-hugger and neither do I wear rose-tinted glasses or live in happy-clappy land.

I really think you should consider if this is the correct comment to make.
You are making judgements about someone who has asked for help.
Try and treat people how you would like to be treated yourself. Would you live in the conditions this lady did. Be kind to others.