Advise please

woodess

I posted a thread about this a while ago but thought i would start afresh as things have changed.
Basically my son and partner have been renting a private property and to cut a very long story short the landlord has been sent many requests to do repairs on the house etc to no avail. My sons partner decided to contact the local council about this. The landlord sent them a text just before christmas stating that because they had involved the council he would be serving notice when there tenancy agreement was due to end which was incidentally last week, the thread i posted before was in relation to this and i got the helpful answers i required.However things have taken a dramatic turn in that when this happened they were advised by someone at the council that they didnt have to pay rent until he sorted the repairs. They took that literally and havent paid the rent that the council pays them and now owe approx £3,000!!!!The council are now paying the LL direct They previously rented a property from a housing association and when my sons partner started work she found it hard and ended up with rent arrears but was paying so much a week, when they moved out of that property they were sent a bill form the HA for a £1,000 for them having to remove carpets and cooker! they threw it in the bin!
So to sum:mad: this all up they have been refused housing by local council because:- The previous ha sent them a letter saying do not house them and also the LL has said he gave them notice because they were not paying the rent although he has only just found out about this because he has that many houses and is so slack set up he doesnt keep a check on it!
I know i am going to receive some not so nice comments about this but please remember that i am asking for help for them not me and YES i have had my say about this matter and told them exactly what i think! My concern is that there are 2 children involved here one being 6 and one being 2 and yes i have my thoughts about that too, but i cannot sleep and it is making me ill as a parent it does affect me and i would just like some advise please.

steve1980

Can they move in with you?

They need to phone Shelter.

theartfullodger

Pay off the arrears owed to HA & current landlord.

Then ask current landlord if they can stay.

seven-day-weekend

It seems to me that all they can do is get another private rental. You may have to help them to pay six month's rent up front. Or help them pay off the money they owe to this landlord.

It was bad advice they were given, they should NOT have stopped paying the rent, maybe they will know next time.

They certainly should NOT have kept the rent money from the Council! But I'm sure they know that now too. They will need to pay it back.

As a parent, I understand how you feel and hope that all is sorted out soon.

woodess

steve1980 wrote: »

Can they move in with you?

They need to phone Shelter.

I have told them if all else prevails they will have to do this short term but there really isnt room. I will tell them to phone shelter, thankyou

woodess

theartfullodger wrote: »

Pay off the arrears owed to HA & current landlord.

Then ask current landlord if they can stay.

Yeah i understand that they will have to pay off arrears etc but in all honesty i wouldnt want them to stay there! plus the LL already has someone lined up.
thankyou

woodess

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

It seems to me that all they can do is get another private rental. You may have to help them to pay six month's rent up front. Or help them pay off the money they owe to this landlord.

It was bad advice they were given, they should NOT have stopped paying the rent, maybe they will know next time.

They certainly should NOT have kept the rent money from the Council! But I'm sure they know that now too. They will need to pay it back.

As a parent, I understand how you feel and hope that all is sorted out soon.

It would be virtually impossible for them to do this as no LL would take them on, they are unemployed and need refs etc i have already looked into this.
If we could help pay 6 months rent up front we would but this is just impossible and plus they would need a guarantor and my husband is medically retired, but thankyou for your kind thoughts

manda1205

TBH I think they really need to move in with you and be taught how to manage money better. Show them to this website, show them how to prioritise their money, where they can save and how to spend wisely. It can be done, we have been on benefits and contributing to rent, yet I still managed to maintain our money and not get in debt, even having a little for us to go out with, its not a brilliant life to lead, but once you're used to living on the least possible things can only get better.

dancingfairy

Can they not use the 3,000 that they owe (that presumably they have been putting aside) to pay 6 months up front on another property and then come to some sort of arrangement with the what would be ex landlord to pay him off monthly?
Also they don't have to move. The landlord may or may not have served notice correctly so the tenancy may have rolled on to a periodic tenancy. The landlord would have to serve the correct notice, wait for the tenants to not move out, then go to court, then apply for bailiffs, then wait for the bailiffs to turn up, etc etc. Basically the process can be quite drawn out. This would then give them several months to sort themselves out - work out what they are going to do about the arrears and find themselves a new place.
They really do need to phone Shelter though for advice.
df

ognum

As a parent I can understand this is a real problem for you. It is hard for us to watch our children struggle but sometimes that is what we have to do to get them to understand their responsibilities in life.

If the family become homeless it could be that the mother and children will be house separately, they could be given bed and breakfast accomodation or they could need to come to live with you.

As a parent I would do anything for my children but you have to learn to stand back, let them solve their problems and let them be adult.

As a landlord I am afraid I would not house them without a gaurantor and a few months rent in advance so maybe they need to look around to where t his may come from. You don't say where they are based and whether they (not you) have explored all the charitable organisations in the area.

sorry but tough love starts here!

woodess

I have been in touch with shelter thanks to all who advised, they put me in touch with a legal community centre and they have advised that the notice is not valid as it has not been signed and dated. They also helped with the other issues too. They have said basically the LL would have to apply for a S8? to evict them for rent arrears so it is just a waiting game now, they have also advised that if all else fails social services have a duty to house the children (although no way would i let this happen they would come to me first) but having said that part of the human rights act advises that families stay together,
thankyou all for time and advise lets hope i dont have to add to this