Bankruptcy:Homeless?

out_of_cash

Hi all,

had a lengthy interview with my local council last week and was told if my debts in bankruptcy were visa card loan debts etc i would have made myself intantionaly homeless ?

Has anyone had any experience with this? is this correct? or just a load of c--- as half of england will be heading for tent city.:D

regards

ooc

Ineedaname

Never heard that before, not quite sure what to say except maybe speak to another member of staff...

debt_doctor

out_of_cash wrote: »

Hi all,

had a lengthy interview with my local council last week and was told if my debts in bankruptcy were visa card loan debts etc i would have made myself intantionaly homeless ?

Has anyone had any experience with this? is this correct? or just a load of c--- as half of england will be heading for tent city.:D

regards

ooc

That is absolute rubbish.

Intentionality;" Did the applicant do or fail to do something that led to them being homeless and was it reasonable to occupy the property." (Test four, homelessness Act)

A council must take in to account 'exceptional financial pressures'. Did you have the money to pay the mortgage but didnt do so? Thats intentionality. Even then, if you paid others in favour of the mortgage prior to receiving advice then exceptional financial pressure would have paid a part in that decision.

Try to seek local specialist housing advice.

DD

HOLIDAYMAD_2

i would agree with debt info , total utter rubbish ,and before i pass advise we need to see if you have had a formal decision letter on your application, if so you can PM me as im a appeals officer for this area of work.

i would say at the worst you have been given what is known as a"gate keeping " service. ie no help or real advise. And there is a gtreat piece of caselaw on that. Conway council.

But there is caselaw that can deterime recklessnes for a housing team to have no duty to you as homeless, but this takes time, a lot of investigation , is challenagble and not done on spec , and does not have to reflect the the OR determination- but hard not to argue against the OR.

counting4christmas

Hi Out of Cash

I was told that I had made myself intentionally homeless when I had my home repossessed and was advised that I needed to wait until an eviction notice had been served and bailiffs removed me from the property until I would be unintentionally homeless, always a good thing to hear when youre single and pregnant

I've never heard anything about credit card or loan debt making you intentionally homeless though..

C4c

Ineedaname

That sounds about standard C4C, you literally have to be on the street surrounded by your belongings before any action is taken to find you a dingy, mouldy B&B room miles away from where you need to be for work, family support etc.

out_of_cash

hi all,

many thanks for all the help and advice,its a real depressing situation to be in and a 2 and a half yr one of which has been hanging over my head,its been this situation with housing in my area since 1988 and they still have a 7year waiting list for single people,been told i am super low priority and to get on the list,mean while just rent privately where i will then be taken off the list ,the system is totaly nuts,you need to be living in a field for 7yrs b4 they will help you.


i chose to stay in my home as long as i could due to me being unemployed and br, also my ex lost her job around the same time its been a total nightmare stressful time.

Think i have between 4-6 wks before i am out of here,more sad days ahead.

regards to all

out of cash

out_of_cash

apoligies i forgot to add it was just an initial interview but had all the forms filled in but they didnt want to look at these until i provided some more info ,they seemed so concerned with my br it really took me back a little,it seemed all about what they could not do for me.lol.

HOLIDAYMAD_2

To be considered as statutory homeless under part 7 of the housing act 1996 ,you have to meet a priority need group, ie dependant children, pregnant, vulnerable due to age or health or severe mental health illness etc. there are others but they are the main groups.

If your considered stat homeless and meet the criteria for eligibiliy , priority need, non IH and local connection rules they should give full preference on their housing register.

But with someone who is deemed a non priority applicant a preference on the housing register may be given , (never normally the top band for a non - priority but maybe higher than they have been in previously) if they are made homeless,

some though test it with intentionally, so if found IH no further preference is given.

Councils can make up the allocations process to suit themselves as to whether they test are you IH , they only have to show they are transparent in there decision making.

When they test intentionally they will look at how you lost the property, so the classic is they see there were funds to pay the mortage regardless if there is negative or equity in the property, if they can see you had funds to support those housing costs and chose not to then they will make that decision, they will also argue that paying anything over the mortage is not acceptable, so that is when the financial pressure is ruled out as they will argue advise should have been sought, they will openly use the argument you came to us for advise so no reason not to have gone to someone else for advise.

The days have gone when you can build time on the register its about your current housing need, so someone for example is a home owner will be bottom of the list against some one who is homeless with a full duty, but that person with a full duty may find somewhere to rent privately and then in turn get put back down the list .

There is such a shortage of social housing, that many councils as a result are testing IH on every application to go on the list,
i would demand a full assessment under part 7 of the housing act 1996 and see how that places you on the register.

Council should also help in assistance with bonds/deposits etc, but again dependant on where you are in the UK it can be greatly different due to a pressure on there lists and funds availalbe.

cvt1

HOLIDAYMAD wrote: »

To be considered as statutory homeless under part 7 of the housing act 1996 ,you have to meet a priority need group, ie dependant children, pregnant, vulnerable due to age or health or severe mental health illness etc. there are others but they are the main groups.

In order for you to be considered as homeless under part VII, the Local Authority has to believe or have reason to believe that you are homeless, or will be homeless within 28 days. It cannot make a blanket decision about your priority need or the other criteria within the part VII requirements; it must fully investigate. If the LA will not accept an application from you because it states at the outset that you have no priority need and you are indeed homeless or will be homeless within 28 days, you can obtain help from a homeless adviser and possibly seek a judicial review of this blanket decision.

You do not have to have a priority need for a part VII application to be taken. The LA must go on to investigate your homelessness and make sufficient inquiries. It will then issue a letter under s184 Housing Act 1996, with its decision and whether you are homeless, eligible for assistance, have a priority need for accommodation and it may also consider your local connection to the LA area.

You can request a review of this decision, within 21 days of receiving the decision letter. If you are of no fixed abode, the LA must place the letter on your file, for you to peruse, at reasonable hours at the LA homelessness office.

[Deleted User]

out_of_cash wrote: »

it seemed all about what they could not do for me.lol.

Don't give up hope as you never know what might happen next - we had a horrible situation with housing last year (private rented) and we also got the impression that while the council were as helpful as they could be, that the pressure was on so they were looking for as many reasons to minimise the 'waiting list' (was told by someone it's around 10 yrs in this area!)

We got another affordable private rental in a nearby area that we can afford and that was a turning point, since then things have really looked up and many more positive things are falling into place for us.

lbm