neighbour being evicted, HELP!

jenhug

G_M wrote: »

Much more information needed.

Where are you? Eng?Wales or Scotland?
What type of contract is involved? Fixed Term tenancy? Started when? For how long?
What arrears if any remain?
What Notice has been received Wording? S21?
Has there been a court hearing? When? What did the court say?

We are in England.
Was an 18 month contract, expired in Jan. went on to a rolling contract I think am unsure.
Currently £200 in credit.
this is as much as i know, neighbour has paperwork, i've asked her to pop on and answer what I cannot.

Thankyou.

jenhug

RuthnJasper wrote: »

The LAs sound like a nightmare! I hope this story has a happy conclusion for you and your neighbour (plus kids), Jenhug. I live in a rented HA property and my nice neighbours more than make up for anything else that I have to go without.

Good luck. x

Wish I could thank you twice! She's an angel, love her to bits!

G_M

jenhug wrote: »

We are in England.
Was an 18 month contract, expired in Jan. went on to a rolling contract I think am unsure.
Currently £200 in credit.
this is as much as i know, neighbour has paperwork, i've asked her to pop on and answer what I cannot.

Thankyou.

So it is a periodic tenancy. I assume they pay monthly.

No reason is needed to end the tenancy but the correct process must be followed:

2 months notice by the LL (aligned with rent periods).
Then application by LL to the court. Tenant should have received court hearing date.
Court awards possession.
Tenant receives court documents.
If tenant doesn't leave, LL returns to court to request bailiff eviction.

So how much of this has happened.

jenhug

Tenancy expired on Jan 4 2011 i believe.
was given notice to quit in nov. neighbour went to council housing dept, they phoned LA who advised for the first time there were arrears. Housing benefit had been paying but had some arrears from the beginning of the tenancy when it was first set up. HB dept sorted this and neighbour made weekly payments to clear arrears. LA said eviction order had been dropped and neighbour could stay on a rolling contract (i believe) without restriction. Fast forward to Mon 18th April and she receives the paper work they hand delivered, which is a notice of eviction from the court, it says a warrant has been issued on 1st April, however they only posted it to her on the 18th. She has had no paperwork from the court directly.

LA said that housing dept at council knew but they didn't bother to tell neighbour.

jemsturner

ok so i have my tenancy agreement in from of me, it was an assured shorthold tenancy agreement with TDSL. I was told my agreement was up in January 2011 but looking at my tenancy agreement it was for 12 months so the LA wrongly informed me of this over the phone. I am in credit to the LL so no arrears there. I have had numerous inspections that no arrears were mentioned in. When i spoke to the LA in January they said that if i paid a sum of £200 and then following £50 per week the LL was happy with this and he would let me stay providing i kept to the agreement, which i have hence the credit on the account. I was informed that as i have stuck to the agreement made with LL and LA it would be taken out of court. I went into hospital and a few days ago i received a hand delivered letter, which was posted through the door not given to me in person stating a claim number, warrent number, a date that the eviction will take place. It has a code on the bottom of the letter of N54. As i only received this document a few days ago that is not giving 2 months notice to me.

G_M

You may have been issued a S21 Notice (2 months) at any time since your tenancy started. Some LLs/agents issue them automatically when a tenancy is first set up (as it saves time later). Check your old paperwork.

No court would issue a possession order unless the LL showed them they'd served you a S21, but since you did not attend the hearing (in hospital?) indeed did not apparantly know of the hearing, they may have convinced the court you'd been given a S21.

You need to go to court. Speak to the officials, and get the court to review the matter. Explain that
1) you never received a S21 or 2 months notice (unless you did!)
2) you were not advised of the court date so could not attend
3) you were in hospital so could not attend

Whether you had/have arrears is irrelevant I'm afraid as the LL does not need to give a reason for possession, just needs to follow the process.

jemsturner

the only paperwork i was issued was when he said that he had cancelled the proceedings which was a section 8 not a section 21 it says on the top of the paperwork:

'Do not use this form if possession is sought on the "shorthold" ground under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 from an assured shorthold tenant where the fixed term has come to an end or for assured shorthold tenancies with no fixed term which started on or after 28th February 1997, after 6 months has elapsed. There is no prescribed form for these cases, but you must give notice in writing'

This is the only paperwork i have received regarding 'sections'.

jenhug

i just found this online.
If a court is satisfied that a landlord is entitled to possession on one of the grounds, (2, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 14A, 15 or 17) or because the tenancy has come to an end and a 2 month written notice has been served, then the court must grant a possession order to take effect within 14 days. This can be extended to 6 weeks in the case of exceptional hardship.
The court also has a discretion once it has made a possession order to "stay" or "suspend" the possession order, or postpone the date for possession until such time as it thinks fit, or adjourn (postpone) the court proceedings. If an order is suspended or stayed, or proceedings are adjourned the court will usually make an order that the arrears are paid in the meantime. The court will usually look at the tenant's income and expenses and the level of the arrears, as well as other factors.
If a possession order is made then a tenant may have the following options open to them;
1) Apply to set aside the possession order. Good reasons may include that the tenant was not present at court when the order was made and has a defence. Or new evidence has come to light since the possession order was made. The application is usually made in the County Court using an "Application Notice" form together with a witness statement explaining why the order should be set aside.
2) Appeal.
An appeal should be made on a "Notice of Appeal" form within 14 days of the date the possession order was made, if the order was made by a "district judge". Permission to appeal to a circuit judge is first required. If permission is refused by the district judge then a further application for appeal can be made to the circuit judge. If the possession order was made by a "circuit judge" then it is necessary to apply for permission to make an appeal to the High Court.
3) Suspend or stay any warrant taken out to enforce a possession order. This is usually done to buy more time in order to pay the arrears or to buy more time to apply to set aside the order.
(see Warrants of Execution).
If you want to stop an eviction by a bailiff then you must act quickly. You should go to the court and pick up an "Application Form Notice" and apply for what is called a "Stay of Execution", (as long as your landlord is not relying on grounds 9, 10, 10A or 11).
Even if you have been evicted by a bailiff you can still apply to "Set Aside" the possession order but you must have good reasons. A good reason may be for example, that the warrant was obtained by fraud or their was oppression in its execution.
You should apply using a County Court form N245 or N244 with a supporting witness statement.

Brb

The majority of that is in cases where the LL has served a Section 8 and then sited a ground for eviction. These are used to get a possession order during a fixed term. In the case of a S21 it's also known as a no fault notice, the only defense against a S21 is that the S21 itself is invalid (wrong dates for example).

That you have no arrears will not reverse a possession order if it was sought using the S21 due process. The best you can ask for is for the full six week extension.

penguin83

As others have said you can apply to the court to suspend the eviction using Form N244 and there is a £40.00 court fee. You can apply for remission if you are in receipt of certain benefits or on a low income. Link to the form to complete and further info on remission here. If you think you will qualify for fee remission but do not have time to get the proof that the court requires then you will need to pay the court fee, keep the receipt and you will then have 6 months to apply for a refund.

The application will get you a hearing date before a Judge before your eviction date and it is ultimately their decision. If the Landlord wants you out though all the judge will be able to do is allow you up to 42 more days to find alternative accommodation.

The court will also be able to provide you with a list of local solicitiors that provide free advice and representation in court on housing matters.

xxxx