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Help needed - nowhere to turn for housing?

Hi there,

Wondering if anyone out there can give me any advise re housing. I am currently living temporarily with my parents, with my young son and urgently need to move out. Im on the bottom of the council list as I have mortgage arrears from my last place (which were due to circumstances out of my control) I cannot rent privately as I do not have a guarantor, and this is needed when renting on the DSS. I have no idea how I am going to get housing for me and my son??

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Many Thanks
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Comments

  • evoke
    evoke Posts: 1,286 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Are you working?
    Everyone is entitled to my opinion!
  • G_M
    G_M Posts: 51,977 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    What support does the boy's father provide?
  • Jowo_2
    Jowo_2 Posts: 8,308 Forumite
    edited 23 February 2011 at 12:56PM
    jayjay09 wrote: »
    .. Im on the bottom of the council list as I have mortgage arrears from my last place (which were due to circumstances out of my control)

    Are you saying the council has found you intentionally homeless and rejected your application because you left the property of your own volition (abandonment by handing back the keys) or because you didn't pay the mortgage, or is this your assumption?

    Did you look into any of the schemes that were set up that are designed to prevent the repossession of an owner-occupier's property?

    Contact Shelter to understand your rights and how a council should process a homelessness application.
  • wrightk
    wrightk Posts: 975 Forumite
    have you approached the council and made a homelessness application.

    The council cannot refuse your homelessness application on the grounds of mortgage arrears, they can place you on a band E (or lowest possible band in your area) through a normal application if you have rental arrears of £500 or over. However if you have nowhere to stay which is suitable for your needs make a homelessness application to your local council, they will go through the process with you and use some homeless prevention tools, they can help with deposit bonds for a deposit on a rental property etc.

    However you dont have to private rent, if you believe you can't due to your reasons above the council cannot refuse your application, (most councils will try and tell you if you dont look for private rented accomodation they will class you as intentionally homeless) this is nonsense.
    Even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day, and for once I'm inclined to believe Withnail is right. We are indeed drifting into the arena of the unwell.
  • wrightk wrote: »
    have you approached the council and made a homelessness application.

    The council cannot refuse your homelessness application on the grounds of mortgage arrears, they can place you on a band E (or lowest possible band in your area) through a normal application if you have rental arrears of £500 or over. However if you have nowhere to stay which is suitable for your needs make a homelessness application to your local council, they will go through the process with you and use some homeless prevention tools, they can help with deposit bonds for a deposit on a rental property etc.

    However you dont have to private rent, if you believe you can't due to your reasons above the council cannot refuse your application, (most councils will try and tell you if you dont look for private rented accomodation they will class you as intentionally homeless) this is nonsense.

    The Council CAN refuse your homeless application if they BELIEVE you not to be homeless.

    The Council CAN find you "intentionally homeless" due to mortgage arrears.

    There is no universal level of arrears (ie £500) which may reduce priority.
  • wrightk
    wrightk Posts: 975 Forumite
    from shelter:
    "If you got into rent arrears or mortgage arrears because of genuine financial difficulties that were beyond your control, the council should not consider you to be intentionally homeless. This is especially true if you can show you did everything you could in order to save your home"

    it is up to the council to prove you are intentionally homeless not for you to prove that you aren't and if they cant you should be given the benefit of the doubt. If they BELIEVE you to be homeless intentionally they must prove it
    Even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day, and for once I'm inclined to believe Withnail is right. We are indeed drifting into the arena of the unwell.
  • silvercar
    silvercar Posts: 48,136 Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Academoney Grad Name Dropper
    The emergency accommodation often provided while they assess your claim could be B&B or hostel type.

    Could your parents act as guarantors?

    Now that you are living with parents, if they tell you to leave, won't your application be based on that rather than previous mortgage arrears?
    I'm a Forum Ambassador on the housing, mortgages, student & coronavirus Boards, money saving boards. I volunteer to help get your forum questions answered and keep the forum running smoothly. Forum Ambassadors are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an illegal or inappropriate post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com (it's not part of my role to deal with this). Any views are mine and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.com.
  • wrightk wrote: »
    from shelter:
    "If you got into rent arrears or mortgage arrears because of genuine financial difficulties that were beyond your control, the council should not consider you to be intentionally homeless. This is especially true if you can show you did everything you could in order to save your home"

    it is up to the council to prove you are intentionally homeless not for you to prove that you aren't and if they cant you should be given the benefit of the doubt. If they BELIEVE you to be homeless intentionally they must prove it

    I stand by my comments above and nothing in your shelter quote contradicts that stance.
  • silvercar wrote: »
    The emergency accommodation often provided while they assess your claim could be B&B or hostel type.

    Could your parents act as guarantors?

    Now that you are living with parents, if they tell you to leave, won't your application be based on that rather than previous mortgage arrears?

    They look at the last period of "settled accommodation". OP has already said that the current arrangement is temporary.
  • wrightk
    wrightk Posts: 975 Forumite
    The Council CAN refuse your homeless application if they BELIEVE you not to be homeless.
    The OP still has a valid claim under the homelessness legislation to make an application whilst living temporarily with 'friends and family'. It would help if the OP could give some more info on why she has to leave 'urgently' as this will probably make the difference.
    The Council CAN find you "intentionally homeless" due to mortgage arrears.

    The council CAN find you intentionally homeless due to mortgage arrears or rent arrears but the words wilful and persistent spring to mind. If the OP can prove this was because of circumstances out of their control the council can give the OP the benefit of the doubt. If the council can prove that the OP could have paid the rent or mortgage when they could have afforded to then they can class them as intentionally homeless.
    Even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day, and for once I'm inclined to believe Withnail is right. We are indeed drifting into the arena of the unwell.
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