Rent arrears and threat of eviction

AMMM

Not sure if this is the best place to post this, but looking for some advice.

My partner rents a flat from the local authority and has fallen into rent arrears. For the last few months he has been continuing to pay his normal amount of rent as well as 50-100 pound per month towards the arrears. The arrears amount to approx 6 weeks.

He received communication from the LA yesterday asking him to contact them immediately, which he did, to be told that the amount of the arrears has reached the 'limit' upon which court action to evict is automatically sought, unless the balance is paid off within 7 days. The LA are refusing to enter into an official repayment agreement with him as he has been sequestrated in the past, and say that any repayment agreement has to be put in place by the court, however the LA advised him to keep paying the extra 50-100 every month on top of his rent as obviously this will show the court he is attempting to pay back the arrears. The LA maintain however that they cannot stop the court action.

He has been told to expect a court date of approx the end of March. By this time he will have gotten the arrears down to approx £368 outstanding.

Can anyone advise how likely it is that an eviction order would be granted for this amount of rent arrears? Or is it more likely the Sheriff will instruct him to continue paying off the arrears as he has been doing?

My partner lives in Scotland.

Any advice/reassurance gratefully recieved.

marleyboy

The courts look at eviction as the very last resort, it is not something a court would automatically look into. As it can be shown the arrears are being paid off (which it can), they will try to arrange an alternative payment scheme that is best for both parties.

AMMM

The problem is when he was made bankrupt last year, rent arrears owed to the same LA were written off. Obviously due to this they are not inclined to be sympathetic this time. It is December's rent payment that has been missed as he overspent at xmas. (not trying to make excuses, just giving the reason the rent fell into arrears).

To complicate matters, myself and my son very recently moved in (and I gave up my flat), and I have only just found out about this today. So I am beside myself with worry that the court will evict. (especially given the fact he has been made bankrupt in the past,and has fallen into arrears again)

tbs624

Overspending at Xmas when you have rent arrears to clear is irresponsible: one of the things that the Court would look at would be *why* the arrears accrued, ie job loss, bereavement, illness etc. Xmas overspending won't garner any sympathy.

They also consider how likely it would be that the T would keep to any future payment plan and as you say yourself he has already had one debt written off and then failed to keep up his current commitments.

As you have moved in do you make any contribution to the household outgoings that would mean your partner could pay off a larger amount of the arrears?

His best bet is probably to seek early advice from Scotland Shelter, the housing advice charity.

DVardysShadow

AMMM wrote: »

Not sure if this is the best place to post this, but looking for some advice.

My partner rents a flat from the local authority and has fallen into rent arrears. For the last few months he has been continuing to pay his normal amount of rent as well as 50-100 pound per month towards the arrears. The arrears amount to approx 6 weeks.

He received communication from the LA yesterday asking him to contact them immediately, which he did, to be told that the amount of the arrears has reached the 'limit' upon which court action to evict is automatically sought, unless the balance is paid off within 7 days. The LA are refusing to enter into an official repayment agreement with him as he has been sequestrated in the past, and say that any repayment agreement has to be put in place by the court, however the LA advised him to keep paying the extra 50-100 every month on top of his rent as obviously this will show the court he is attempting to pay back the arrears. The LA maintain however that they cannot stop the court action.

He has been told to expect a court date of approx the end of March. By this time he will have gotten the arrears down to approx £368 outstanding.

Can anyone advise how likely it is that an eviction order would be granted for this amount of rent arrears? Or is it more likely the Sheriff will instruct him to continue paying off the arrears as he has been doing?

My partner lives in Scotland.

Any advice/reassurance gratefully recieved.

As there is no action yet, we can't be sure whether it is a straightforward recovery of civil debt or a repossession they will go for, unless the letter makes it clear. It looks like a 6 weeks arrears they may have grounds to secure an eviction [but this is SCOTLAND].

It is not clear on what basis he has been paying £50 or £100/month - whether this is off his own bat or an agreement. I suggest the right thing is for him to offer £50/month in writing and keep a copy of the letter. Whatever he offers, he should be careful only to offer what he can actually offer.

The LA maintain however that they cannot stop the court action.

That is "won't" not "can't".

And he should try hard to get his arrears below one month's rent because on English law, it becomes harder to get an eviction. Any refusal to take money should be recorded, because refused money is as good as accepted money if you can prove it was refused.

AMMM

I am trying to juggle finances at the moment to see if there is anyway I can try to help him get this paid off asap. The LA stated though that the full arrears must be cleared within 7 days to stop the court proceedings, and that is not going to be possible.

The 50-100 extra per month was a proposal he made to the LA, they accepted and he was assured as long as he continued to do this no further action would be taken. This was all verbal however.

AMMM

tbs624 wrote: »

They also consider how likely it would be that the T would keep to any future payment plan and as you say yourself he has already had one debt written off and then failed to keep up his current commitments.

This is the thing that is worrying me. Even if we do manage to get the arrears down by a substantial amount, is it likely they will push for eviction due to him being seen as an unreliable tenant?

I am far more organised than him in financial matters and I would never have let this happen in the first place, nor will it happen in the future but I don't know how much weight that would carry.

pauletruth

how old is your son. do the council know you live there.

AMMM

My son is 5. I only moved in a week ago. The council know I live here but I am not named on the tenancy.

BigAunty

You may find the Shelter Scotland site will be of help and that there may be a drop-in office local to you.

DVardysShadow

AMMM wrote: »

My son is 5. I only moved in a week ago. The council know I live here but I am not named on the tenancy.

I think you need to let the council know that you will sort this over a reasonable timescale and that if it ends up with an eviction, you will expect them to house you and your son.

I think you should be concerned about your partner moving you in under these circumstances. Only you know how genuine he is over the period you have known him. But moving a partner in with a child who gives up her flat, while arrears are in the air looks like a good cynical ploy to avoid eviction. A surprise about arrears does not look good to me. And of what you have told us,

• amount of arrears
• period over which arrears accumulated
• amount outstanding
• existence of repayment arrangement
• amount of repayment arrangement
• actual repayments

how much do you know independently of what your partner has told you?

I know, it may be a message which will inflame. But above all else put your child first - never put your responsibilities to your child second to those to your partner.