Serious Rent Arrears- threatened with eviction- what next?

baggybick

Please don't flame me...I am enough of a state about this as it is.

We first starting renting this place 4 years ago, at the time I was working for a German company and my wages covered the rent and council tax. My husband is self-employed and his wages covered everything else.
We were told we could not claim Housing Benefit.

After 4 months, the german company went bankrupt. I also found out I was pregnant and had to be signed off sick as I had such bad SPD that I was unable to walk and was on crutches.

My husband kept trying to cover all the bills but we were short. we spoke to the landlord and they were very relaxed and said don't panic too much, we're sure it wil be alrite.
We paid something every month but not enough to cover the rent. WE ended up owing 3,000 when they came to visit us.

This was 3 years ago. They said we actually could claim HB and I asked for the HB to be backdated as this would cover all the arrears and then some. The council refused as I had not been in prison or hospital for that time.

MY husband lost his main contract 2 months later and both our cars died (gearbox and head gasket respectively) We decided to go down to one car even though we live 3 miles from the nearest shop, the nearest bus stop is 1.5miles away and that runs only on a Tuesday.

I found out I was pregnant again, despite being on the pill. I was even more ill this time, on crutches by 4 months and in a chair by the end of the pregnancy. I suffered very bad Post natal depression.

My husband has since then been taking any work possible, no matter how low paid, in order to cover our bills. Even so, for the last 2 winters, we have had 2 months where we were unable to pay any rent.

We have storage heaters that cost £60 per week to run. The only one we put on is in the children's room after my youngest developed asthma due to the damp. The house is a state. the heating in 4 rooms does not work. there is ice on the inside of the kitchen and bathrrom windows from Nov to FEb. the damp is unbearable. the only warm, dry room is the childrens' room.

We buy value foods. we do not have take-aways, or smoke. my husband has two beers per week on a friday as a treat. most of our furniture is from freecycle and we don't even have a TV license.

My eldest was diagnosed as autistic in November and is gluten-intolerant. we attened 3-4 appointments a week for him so have had to get another car (paid for by a tax rebate from HMRC as our earnings last year were so low)

My husband is working in the city and has finally got some decent contracts. he leaves at 5am , six days per week, and gets home at 7pm.

We are finally in a financial position to pay our rent in full every month and keep our repayment plan going ( we had a repayment plan for the arrears of £50 per week but had to drop oit to £20 per week when the winter started due to the heating costs)

Our landlord came yesterday adn has said he will not be renewing our tenancy on 31st March and we need to be out by then. I don't blaim him but it is hard none the less. I can't get the money together to pay for a deposit and agency fees for a new place.

What do we do now?

CH27

baggybick wrote: »

Please don't flame me...I am enough of a state about this as it is.

We first starting renting this place 4 years ago, at the time I was working for a German company and my wages covered the rent and council tax. My husband is self-employed and his wages covered everything else.
We were told we could not claim Housing Benefit.

After 4 months, the german company went bankrupt. I also found out I was pregnant and had to be signed off sick as I had such bad SPD that I was unable to walk and was on crutches.

My husband kept trying to cover all the bills but we were short. we spoke to the landlord and they were very relaxed and said don't panic too much, we're sure it wil be alrite.
We paid something every month but not enough to cover the rent. WE ended up owing 3,000 when they came to visit us.

This was 3 years ago. They said we actually could claim HB and I asked for the HB to be backdated as this would cover all the arrears and then some. The council refused as I had not been in prison or hospital for that time.

MY husband lost his main contract 2 months later and both our cars died (gearbox and head gasket respectively) We decided to go down to one car even though we live 3 miles from the nearest shop, the nearest bus stop is 1.5miles away and that runs only on a Tuesday.

I found out I was pregnant again, despite being on the pill. I was even more ill this time, on crutches by 4 months and in a chair by the end of the pregnancy. I suffered very bad Post natal depression.

My husband has since then been taking any work possible, no matter how low paid, in order to cover our bills. Even so, for the last 2 winters, we have had 2 months where we were unable to pay any rent.

We have storage heaters that cost £60 per week to run. The only one we put on is in the children's room after my youngest developed asthma due to the damp. The house is a state. the heating in 4 rooms does not work. there is ice on the inside of the kitchen and bathrrom windows from Nov to FEb. the damp is unbearable. the only warm, dry room is the childrens' room.

We buy value foods. we do not have take-aways, or smoke. my husband has two beers per week on a friday as a treat. most of our furniture is from freecycle and we don't even have a TV license.

My eldest was diagnosed as autistic in November and is gluten-intolerant. we attened 3-4 appointments a week for him so have had to get another car (paid for by a tax rebate from HMRC as our earnings last year were so low)

My husband is working in the city and has finally got some decent contracts. he leaves at 5am , six days per week, and gets home at 7pm.

We are finally in a financial position to pay our rent in full every month and keep our repayment plan going ( we had a repayment plan for the arrears of £50 per week but had to drop oit to £20 per week when the winter started due to the heating costs)

Our landlord came yesterday adn has said he will not be renewing our tenancy on 31st March and we need to be out by then. I don't blaim him but it is hard none the less. I can't get the money together to pay for a deposit and agency fees for a new place.

What do we do now?

Do you still get Housing & Council Tax benefits?
Are you claiming all the Child Benefit & Child/working tax credits you are entitled to?

You need to go to your local Council and/or Housing association & tell them you will be homeless on the 31st March.

baggybick

We are still getting hb & CTB. also our wtc & ctc, although these will both be going down soon as my husband's earnings will be going up due to his new work.

I will contact the council, we are already on the register but I'm not sure if they will help us at all as we are technically 'intentionally homeless' due to the rent arrears.

ceejaydee23

with your son being autistic do yopu get DLA for him? if you do is it possible to get a car through the mobility scheme? Therefore would be alot cheaper to run!

theoretica

Have you contacted Shelter? They are probably the best charity to help you through this.

RecoveringAlcoholic

As above.

All landlords have to follow special legal procedures in order to evict tenants. There are laws to protect you. Whether or not your landlord can evict you and how the process works will depend on the type of tenancy you have. If your landlord doesn't follow the right procedure, s/he may be committing a criminal offence.

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/eviction

onadebtfreemission

From what you are saying you are not being evicted, but have been given notice to quit which if you are on an assured shorthold tenancy, your landlord is entitled to do by giving you the notice set out in the agreement. Im not sure if you'd be classed as intentionally homeless but you will be in priority need as a family. Speak to your local council as it is their duty to provide advice. If you are accepted as homeless they will have a duty to provide temp accommodation. If not they may be able to help if they have an approved landlord scheme and maybe even a rent deposit scheme to help you meet the deposit cost with a private landlord. Depending on where you live, local housing associations may have homes available and again, your council can advise. Good luck but definitely talk to the experts and get this advice asap.

molerat

When did your tenancy start, exact date. Are you on a fixed or rolling contract ? Is your deposit protected in one of the schemes ? Have you been issued with a S21 notice ?

Your landlord cannot kick you out on the street so the absolute earliest you will have to leave is at the end of April and that is only if the notice has been served correctly. Possibly worth posting in the house buying & renting forum for some good advice.

DVardysShadow

baggybick wrote: »

Our landlord came yesterday adn has said he will not be renewing our tenancy on 31st March and we need to be out by then. I don't blaim him but it is hard none the less. I can't get the money together to pay for a deposit and agency fees for a new place.

Land lord must give 2 clear months notice, to end at the end of a rental period. This is statute law, which overrides anything in the contract.

Assuming that the 31st March is the end of a rental period, his notice is invalid because it is not long enough. If you don't tell him until next month, the earliest he can give you notice for is 31st May.