help please.

kebab29

hello, last year in august i struggled financially, i have been renting this property from a private landlord since may 09. I get housing benefit so last august and september he just recieved housing benefit, which was £330 HB and my rent £520. so it worked out at £380 i owed and he served me a notice to leave, which ended the end of november last year. Now in the october last year i was granted DHP off housing benefit so they paid him full housing benefit to cover the rent for the october, november and december. In that space i paid back £150, so that would leave £230. since then i agreed with him to pay £50 per week so i was paying £10 per month off the arrears so i reckon i owe about £200.
Now he put interest on so he told housing benefit i owed £550.
We agreed to pay £50 per week, for us to stay in property till i got a council house as im waiting on the list. however at the end of march on 29th my landlord was taken to court by his mortgage company for repossession of this property. A guy came round the other day on behalf of the mortgage company and told us it went through, and the property is being repossessed, and 28 days after the court date thats when they will start proceedings. so on the 26th april this will start. He also stated that the landlord didnt say anyone was living here.
I have no contact off my landlord since january.

Now i have a few questions the council say i need to continue to pay my landlord until i leave the property. But he no longer owes the property, is this right?
plus the council are not helping at all as they keep going on about rent arrears, now i have made efforts on clearing the arrears, they said to me i had to continue to pay him for 13 weeks and then i will get a council house, i did that and have continued to pay him, but yet i get no help from them what can i say to make them help. i dont want to go in a bed and breakfast with my partner and children.
i dont know whether to move in with family but its no good as no matter where i go i will only have a double bedroom, to fit me, my partner, and my two daughters.
also i have read somewhere i should of been two months in arrears, but i only got £380 in arrears when my monthly amount is £520 to pay, should he of served me notice?
regardless of the notice this would of happened anyway.
please any advise please help. sorry if its made no sense as it very confusing.

N79

kebab29 wrote: »

Now i have a few questions the council say i need to continue to pay my landlord until i leave the property. But he no longer owes the property, is this right?

You continue to pay your rent to the LL up to the day that the house is repossessed. From that day onwards you pay the mortgage company (or whoever they designate as the new owner).

kebab29 wrote: »

also i have read somewhere i should of been two months in arrears, but i only got £380 in arrears when my monthly amount is £520 to pay, should he of served me notice?

That is a common misunderstanding on MSE. Notice can be served with any level of arrears.

It requires two months rent unpaid to serve a notice which requires the court to award possession, as opposed to simply requiring the court to consider awarding possession.

kebab29

thanks, if i continue to pay his till the 26th april, but i havent cleared arrears will the council want me to continue to pay him? would you know

cheers

BitterAndTwisted

Once the property has been repossessed you should not and cannot pay any rent to your former landlord. When he no longer owns the property he will not be entitled to receive any monies from you whatsoever. In the meantime I would not pay him another penny any way.

Take all of the repossession documentation once you receive it down to your local housing department immediately upon receipt. If they cannot offer you one of their properties immediately and you are not willing to go into a B&B there might be a possibility that they will help you to find alternative privately-rented accommodation.

N79

If you owe arrears to your LL from a date before the repossession, then you still owe this money to the LL after repossession. The house is being repossessed, your debts to your LL remain until you pay them (or, extremely unlikely, the become statute barred).

kebab29

thank you for the advise, really helps to get it off my chest as this is really confusing and it doesnt feel like i have a leg to stand on, as the council as stating till arrears are cleared they basically not helping and the mortgage company going for repossession and they are gonna make me homeless, so its hard to know where i stand legally.

thanks again.