Truly terrified

yved33

My husband moved out 4 months ago , we were living in a private rent house with our 13 year old daughter. Unfortunately, partly due to us not knowing HB was paid in arrears, the rent has been a month behind since he moved out. I have been trying since then to rectify the situation, liasing with my local council, getting legal aid etc but we are now at the point where we have used up our two months notice and are being taken to court for eviction. My husband is still on the tenancy but maintains he cannot afford to pay and my brother is guarantor, but he is in financial difficulties too. We have a dog too and the council are now saying that i have to find a two bedroom private rent property, that will take the dog, accept no guarantor and a council bond in place of a deposit. If i can't find one, then they will provide emergency housing but will not take the dog. All this is starting to affect my daughter's school work and home life I am truly terrified at the prospect of my daughter and i in some bed and breakfast somewhere and my lovely rescue dog being confused and depressed with someone he doesn't know. It all seems so stupid over a relatively small amount (£775) . I have been advised to contact my local MP, which is my next course of action. Any ideas or suggestions would be gratefully received as i really don't know what to do next x

sonastin

yved33 wrote: »

It all seems so stupid over a relatively small amount (£775) .

If you consider it to be a small amount, just pay it...

If it is a significant sum of money for you to find, it might just as easily be significant sum of money for the landlord to be living without as well so it might not be such a stupid thing for him to be doing.

How did you end up being 2 months behind if this came about because you didn't know HB was paid in arrears? Is there a shortfall in the HB which doesn't cover the rent?

The best thing to do would be to spend every spare minute that you have looking for a place that will take you and your daughter with a council bond for a rent that you can afford. By all means work really really hard to find one that will take the dog as well - I know that it is also part of your family - but a flat without your dog will be better for your daughter than a B&B without your dog and your daughter should really be your focus right now.

MaggotAJ

If you do end up going to some temporary housing dont you have someone who could take the dog for a while?

poppysarah

Local CAB or ring shelter.

Are you claiming benefits? Are you claiming CSA from him?

joerugby

We had to re-home our dog when we moved abroad. We were sad about it but she wasn't, she lived a long and happy life with her new owners.

poppyjay

Are you still talking to your landlord ?
Is there anyway of sorting a payment plan out with them being totally honest this should have been done months ago .
Do you work are you able to get a job fast to get another tenancy eBay and carboots are another idea.
Would your daughter be able to move in with your husband while you sort yourself out ?
Sorry can't really help much

RAS

Please contact Shelter urgently.

Is your ex paying you any CSa towards your daughter?

Have you made a single person's claim rather than a joint claim for LHA?

How much is the LHA allowance for a 2 bed house/flat in your area and how much are you paying in rent?

Benji

If you are being evicted under section 8 then you have a chance of keeping your home if you can get the owed rent to less than 2 months worth at he time of the hearing.

With section 21 it's not so likely, but a payment may persuade the landlord to keep the eviction on hold for a while.

Apply to the housing benefit people for a discretionary housing payment.

This page explains the eviction process, if the LL has done anything wrong then you can probably de-rail his plans for a while. http://tenancyanswers.ucoz.com/index/being_evicted/0-21

Hump

(Assuming you're in England)

You're facing homelessness - don't panic - there are agencies out there that may be able to help i.e. Shelter. The following advice is in NO WAY a substitute for proper representation

However it sounds as if you've been on the receiving end of a Council 'gatekeeper' aka 'make it sound really bad and maybe you'll go away'

If you're a UK citizen and facing court action by a landlord to obtain possession of the property you are entitled to assistance under the Housing Act 1996 (part 7). You have a 13 year old daughter so you are in priority need. The question the Council must ask and answer is whether you are 'intentionally homeless' - this is where you need the assistance of an advice or advocacy agency - 2 or 3 preliminary questions are:

Does the HB cover the whole rent or do you have to 'top up' the rent? Are you in receipt of JSA, ESA or IS?

If the answer to the 1st question is no - meaning you have to 'top up' and if you're in receipt of one of these means tested benefits i.e. JSA/IS/ESA then your local council should be making you a better offer.

The reasoning in summary is something like this (and this is likely to receive a few comments - sorry!)- IF you and your partner could afford the house before your partner left AND you've only accrued arrears AFTER he has left AND if you had no control over him leaving AND if you cannot now afford the rent (because your HB doesn't cover the full rent and you no longer have your ex-partner's income to top the rent up) - then you cannot be 'intentionally homeless' - and as such the Council will have to accept a main homelessness duty to you

Now this is important - a 'main' homelessness duty means something more than a 'council bond' - you would expect them to prioritise you on their choice based lettings scheme AND offer significant assistance in securing an alternative (and cheaper) privately rented property.

Finally onto the 2 emotive issues which clearly have caused you worry and concern

s211 & s212 of the Housing Act 1996 relate to the Protection of property of homeless persons and persons threatened with homelessness. This means that the local authority will have to arrange for your furniture and possessions to be stored at their expense initially (though they can subsequently make a reasonable charge) in many areas this will include kennelling the dog. However these 2 sections are the Council's biggest secret - they are unlikely to offer this to you, you're likely to have to demand it!

Further directions and regulations from government mean that the Council cannot place you and your child in a B&B hotel EXCEPT in an emergency AND then for no more than 6 weeks (The Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) Order 2003). Many Council's use a combination of supported accommodation (i.e. family hostels) or private sector leasing schemes - to fulfil their duties without resorting to B&Bs (B&Bs sound scary - bet they said that social services and probation use the same hotels - see 'gatekeeping' above).

Finally (finally) - get help/ support