Help with Council Tenancy and unexpected Arrears

Bailey101

Evening all

I'm in Scotland, in case it makes a difference.

I need a bit of advice about my council tenancy and some arrears that I've only just found out about. I had a letter today saying that I was 2 weeks in arrears and if I didn't pay the outstanding amount by 17th of June then the council are going to begin eviction proceedings (I can't come up with the money they want in 2 days). I had no idea about these arrears - I pay my rent monthly every pay day without fail, so the only thing i can think of is that last May I received housing benefit for approx 6 weeks so when I started paying rent again I must have been paying a month behind. So my queries are -

1. Can the council begin eviction proceedings when I owe less then 1 months rent?
2. Can I use the fact that this is the first I have ever heard of the rent being behind (for over a year) as leverage to get an extended repayment period?

I've read the shelter and CAB websites and all they really say is to speak to the council and come up with a repayment plan - I've been trying all day and haven't been able to get through and my email sent this morning is still unanswered.

Thanks on advance for any advice you can give me.

Bailey

xxx

Bailey101

Bump......

Wee_Willy_Harris

1. Yes
2. Yes

Madjock

Bailey, even though you are in Scotland, I imagine the legal process is very similar. The council don't want to evict you, they want you to get your rent up-to-date. You should go and see them or phone them and make an arrangement to catch up on what is outstanding. If the local authority you live in is anything like Leicester, they pay Housing Benefit 4 weeks in arrears, so it may very well have been during this period that the arrears occured when you started paying your own rent again. Our rent officers are always happy to make an arrangement at a rate that is realistic and that people can stick to (I work for a HA, not a Local Authorrity). The worst that can happen (again, not knowing Scottish Law) is that the Council will serve you notice that they intend to seek possession, but this is not a short process. I bet as soon as you speak to them, an arrangement will be agreed and you will be fine.

Your email will probably have a 48 hour response time on it, so don't panic.

Bailey101

Madjock wrote: »

Bailey, even though you are in Scotland, I imagine the legal process is very similar. The council don't want to evict you, they want you to get your rent up-to-date. You should go and see them or phone them and make an arrangement to catch up on what is outstanding. If the local authority you live in is anything like Leicester, they pay Housing Benefit 4 weeks in arrears, so it may very well have been during this period that the arrears occured when you started paying your own rent again. Our rent officers are always happy to make an arrangement at a rate that is realistic and that people can stick to (I work for a HA, not a Local Authorrity). The worst that can happen (again, not knowing Scottish Law) is that the Council will serve you notice that they intend to seek possession, but this is not a short process. I bet as soon as you speak to them, an arrangement will be agreed and you will be fine.

Your email will probably have a 48 hour response time on it, so don't panic.

Thanks for your reply - it's set my mind at rest somewhat. This couldn't have come at a worse time money wise, so hopefully they'll agree to a couple of months of token payments and then a lump sum. Fingers crossed

xxx

boo1

I don't see why they shouldn't agree to that, I would so long as you kept to it (I work for an HA too). However, depending on the amount you owe you may find that they serve you with a Notice of Seeking Possession (with us it's 4 weeks rent). It's not as scarey as it sounds. It means they can apply to the Court for a Possession hearing 4 clear weeks after the notice has been served, but they won't providing you make an arrangement and keep to it. They are served as a safety net for the landlord incase an arrangement is made and then not kept to (I'd be a millionaire if I had a £ for every arrangement that had not been kept - not I hasten to add that you will not keep to yours ). They are valid until the arrears are cleared or for 12 months, whichever comes sooner. A Judge would laugh if they took you to court for 2 weeks rent!!!!

RuthnJasper

OP, sweetie, please don't panic. It is FAR less hassle for the council to help you get the arrears sorted out at this (relatively) early stage, than for them to go through the court/eviction process - although they may do this in any case for "repeat offenders".

They may be prepared to accept the normal rent, which you say you're already paying, plus a little extra each month to pay-off the arrears.

Don't be alarmed at the lack of instant response - I'd imagine that the council are overwhelmed with 1000's of similar queries at the moment, at the same time as their frontline staff are being made redundant due to budget cuts. As long as you can demonstrate that you have ATTEMPTED to resolve the situation - e.g. keep copies of the emails that you've sent, plus a record of the dates and times you've tried to reach them by telephone. Armed with that, the fact that you've tried to resolve the situation and received no response will help you and not them if it comes down to a court situation.

I suspect that you will receive a response from the council in the next day or two though.

Hope all is sorted out soon. Keep us posted with how you get on. Best wishes. xx

DVardysShadow

Bailey, you should ask for a full statement of account to understand how the alleged arrears arise. This might not be the first time that a council has made a mess of allocating monies to an account - especially as housing benefit is involved - and gone down the path of taking someone to court rather than see their errors for what they are.