pending eviction 1st Feb, council rent arrears

bashful_lass

I have been advised to post this here for advice.

I have been a complete fool. I am 20 and was in care from 14 to 18. I was then allocated my own studio flat by the council, which I paid the rent on for 18-months. I had a little part time job but I was stupid and thought I was in love.

Eventually my boyfriend moved in and he suggested that he would pay the rent and I would pay the other bills and food.

After 4-months he then suggested that we move to his mums as he had a new job there (its about 300 miles away). We stayed there 2-months at the same time he said he would pay the rent on my flat and I continued to pay our food bills and contributed to the household bills.

Just before we were due to return, we broken up. I have moved back to my flat this week and I have now found out that he wasn't paying the rent all that time.

In fact, he was hiding my letters to cover himself. I trusted him and feel really let down. I came home this week to a pile of letters waiting.

I went to see my social worker today and she said the arrears are £1800 (6-months) and the council will evict me unless I pay in full by 1st Feb. She said its too late to offer payment by instalments. I want to pay it off, even though I get only £60 a week to live off.

I wasnt claiming any benefits before this week and he wasnt officially living with me. I know its a mess and its all my fault. If I was to start again, I would do it differently.

I am really confused and stressed and dont know where to turn.

Its all I have and I have no where else to go

betmunch

This isnt my area, but I want to help. If any of what I say here is wrong I'm sure it will be picked up by the experts when they come along.

First thing to do is start paying as much as you can towards the rent. You have a little over a month to show a judge you will be able to pay back the rent arrears even if it is slowly.

Apply for any housing benefit you are due.

When you get to court I would say all the stuff you have said here and ask for lenincy from the judge. If you have a month worth of paying the arrears down you could as that any possession order be suspended on the condition you continue with the payments.

I used to work for Basildon Council and had to take tenants to court, I found the Judges to be nice enough people, just be polite and well presented and offer to do your best to pay back the arrears. Its up to the Judge what happens

pmlindyloo

As others have advised on the DebtFree Wannabe board your social worker has given you the wrong information.

Go and speak to the council's housing office, tell them your story and set up an arrangement to pay your arrears - it is not too late.

If you are nervous about doing this yourself then maybe someone from CAB can help you liaise with the council.

BitterAndTwisted

Eviction of vulnerable people is a very last resort. If you have a social worker allocated to you this suggests very strongly that you are a vulnerable person.

You say that you haven't been claiming any benefits before this week: have you started a claim for Housing Benefit and Council Tax benefit? These are not always paid retrospectively but there might be some discretion, so you should contact both sections at your local council right away.

As you have been advised you must start making payments towards your arrears from whatever income you have right away, even if it's only a fiver a week. When you get to court they may look favourably at your circumstances if you explain everything as you have here and may agree for you to continue to pay off the arrears at a rate you can afford from what income you have.

pmlindyloo

What letters have you received?

Is there a court date set or a threat to take you to court?

Edited.
Sorry, didn't take any notice of the heading! Is the court date the 1st of February?

Councils have to follow a pre-action protocol before they can evict anyone - see here:

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/debt_and_arrears/rent_arrears/rent_arrears_in_social_housing

I still think you have a chance of resolving this without going to court.

BigAunty

I thought that the local council has a duty of care towards those in the care system until they reached the age of 21 but do check with an organisation like Shelter or CAB. This would mean that it would be extremely difficult to regain possession of a social housing tenancy through the courts.

In fact, a local council lost eviction proceedings against a tenant in London who had significant arrears (albeit caused by her failure to apply correctly for housing benefit) and this has set the bar even higher for social housing landlords to evict their tenants who owe rent. She is paying back her £3500 arrears at a fiver a week which will take her more than 13 years to do.

http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/legal/human-rights-ruling-halts-eviction/6513846.article

Hump

First is the 1st February the court date or the date the bailiff is due to come and evict? This is fairly easy to sort out, if it's the court date then you will have a substantial bundle of papers from the court including the 'particulars' of claim and a 'defence' form - if it's a warrant of eviction then you will have one piece of paper with a time and date when the bailiff will come.

Either way you need to attend court - either on the 1st February if that's the possession hearing or before the 1st February if it's at the warrant stage.

You are either going to ask for any possession order to be suspended on terms OR if it's at the warrant stage you will be asking for the warrant to be suspended on terms - the terms in both cases being that you will pay your rent plus a 'bit off the arrears'. The bit needs to be affordable - so ....

As others have said you need ensure you are claiming all the benefits to which you are entitled, work out a budget and make the council an offer of current rent (which should be paid by Housing Benefit if you are receiving JSA, ESA or otherwise on a low income) plus a 'bit' off the arrears - which might be as low as £3-£4 per week, which you will need to pay out of your disposable income. Put this offer in writing to the council and keep a copy (makes sense to give them a copy of your income/ expenditure calculations).

As you are under 21 years of age and a 'care leaver' the council will have to treat you as a priority if you become homeless - hence if you can't get Shelter or a legal aid solicitor to act on your behalf you could try getting help from the council's homelessness/ housing advice or housing options centre - it is easier for them to stop this from happening than to accommodate you for a couple of weeks as an 'intentionally homeless priority applicant' sometime after 1st Feb.

If you can get help then actually 'eviction' is about the least likely outcome (remember social workers are pretty hopeless when it comes to understanding housing matters - it's never too late for instalments!).

Good luck

myhouse_2

Are you working? If not, get a job - anything that gives you more income than you currently get. In the grand scheme of things, if you have a job, £1500 is not a huge amount and you will be able to pay it back over time (even if it seems a huge amount now). Get a second job on a Saturday. Sell a few possessions that you don't need in order to offer the council some money back.
Good luck!

BitterAndTwisted

All very helpful advice but I suspect this poster is already doing all of that. They only came back home a week ago.

Now, if the OP could secure some paying work before the 1st of February and can undertake to pay off the arrears by more than a fiver a week, all well and good.

paddygirl

You abandoned your council flat for 2 months.

What would have happened if you hadnt broken up with your partner?

Sorry, but you and you alone are responsible for your rental payments.Its easy to blame someone else. My suggestion is to apply to have the warrant suspended and start making payments towards the arrears reagrdless.

You may still be a priority but you could also be deemed as intentionally homeless for leaving your secure tenancy and not paying the rent for 6 months.

clutton_2

From January, benefits for those aged less than 35 are going to change.... if OP is evicted from this tenancy, she will then only be eligible for a house benefit Shared Room Rate - ie a rate which will enable her to get a bedsit.

In my area, any one under 35 will now only qualify for £45 per week - whereas now they are getting £109 per week.. so do whatever it takes to keep this tenancy going, otherwise you will end up in a one bed bedsit somewhere not very nice.......