Soon to be homeless

planetred

Hi guys,

I've been in privately rented accommodation for coming up to 12 months. Unfortunately, the landlord is pricing me out and raising the rent by 15%. On top of the recent HB cuts, living there is now impossible for me.

Unfortunately I am still unfit for work. I did have an interview at my local HB office where the adviser said if I cannot find a private property locally, I will have to be considered h"homeless" before I have any chance of council accommodation.

basically, he said that I would need to squat there until a court order is issued/I am physically usurped before I'd be considered.

However, I would NOT want to do that to my landlord and would NEVER. I'd rather be homeless than shaft someone for their money.

What are my options in this case? Although verified as unfit for work and being over 45, I am apparently not a high priority as I understand it, unless I am homeless, I will not be considered for council housing.

Thanks,

Mike

BigAunty

Contact Shelter asap. It is common advice that you've been given but Shelter say this is not acceptable. I believe that local councils are given guidance from their ombudsman to cut out this gatekeeping policy where there is no realistic chance that the possession order will be denied to the landlord in court.

But on the other hand, local councils simply can't offer social housing to every tenant served notice by their landlord (which is why they cut down on demand by telling them to wait until their landlord wins the case in court and ignore the notice in the meantime).

The Shelter website also has excellent information on the homelessness process - who is considered a priority and how an application should be dealt with. Homelessness is about having no security of tenure past the next 28 days, not about just being a rough sleeper on the street.

Are you in receipt of ESA, IB or DLA? One of the priority groups is the disabled whose condition would be adversely affected by homelessness. Your age is completely irrelevant and carries no influence.

Many local councils operate rent deposit guarantee schemes for those on low incomes, in case this is a struggle for you.

If you believe the local council are not following their statutory obligations, then contact your local MP.

EDIT - I had a quick browse of your historic posts and you've been given a lot of advice on the homelessness process in them. Good luck with getting a 1 bedroom council flat in Westminster, the most expensive area in the UK, or your own place there under the new LHA limit...

Dunroamin

Have you started looking for another flat?

allen35

Recent cuts affect the under 35's so no change for yourself, have you tried applying for a discretionary housing payment, ask your local housing benefit office for a form.

planetred

Hi guys,

I am on ESA (Limited Capability), but I;m scared that I will lose this benefit once I leave my property as I would then have no fixed abode, right?

What are Shelter? Can they help re-house me, or just offer advice?

Thanks,

Mike

BigAunty

They don't just offer advice, it's a lot broader than that but while they do undertake advocacy and help out people with their housing/homelessness problems, they don't dish out properties either. They'll be able to advise you of your rights and whether Westminster Council housing/homelessness dept are fulfilling their statutory obligations.

http://england.shelter.org.uk/about_us/who_we_are

I'm not aware whether your benefit depends on a fixed abode address, I expect temporary addresses are acceptable. However, this isn't my area of expertise and hopefully someone else can confirm the position.

[Deleted User]

AFAIK a temp address is perfectly acceptable,and i agree with aunty that shelter are the best people to get advice from

Alleycat

Hi,

There are several things to consider here. Firstly, do you have a fixed term agreement and if so, when is it due to expire? I assume it is 12 months from what you have said so far but clarification would be great. Has your landlord asked you to sign a new fixed term agreement with an increased rent or served you with notice of a rent increase?

If the landlord is asking you to sign a new fixed term agreement with an increased and unaffordable rent, do not sign it as you know that you cannot afford it. The landlord will have 2 options. Either let things lie whilst arrears build up or serve you with an eviction notice.

Regardless of what path the landlord chooses to take, you should make an application to the Housing Benefit department for a Discretionary Housing Payment. This is only payable for a limited period but would hopefully allow you time to look for alternative private rented accommodation.

Secondly, when assessing a homeless application the Council have to have reason to believe that you are currently homeless or facing homelessness within 28 days. If you are still living in the accommodation but the rent has increased and you cannot afford to top it up, you can be considered to be homeless as your current accommodation is unsuitable. Alternatively, the landlord would have had to have taken steps to evict you (usually an application for a Possession Order).

You mention that you have been told to squat until the landlord gets a court order. You would not be squatting as regardless of whether the landlord has served a valid notice or not you remain a lawful tenant until a Bailiff Warrant is executed. Rent is still due and HB will still pay (not necessarily the full rent if it is capped for example).

The due process for an eviction is service of valid notice. When this expires an application by the landlord to the County Court for a Possession Order should be made. Assuming the landlord has served a valid section 21 notice, the judge will award outright possession and set a date. Once that date has expired and if you have not moved out, they would need to apply back to court for a Bailiff Warrant. The date this is due to be executed is the day you HAVE to be out.

There's a lot more advice I could give but it really depends on where you are at the moment and I fear I am waffling on. I am a Housing Advisor in the voluntary sector so my advice is trustworthy!

planetred

Alleycat wrote: »

Hi,

There are several things to consider here. Firstly, do you have a fixed term agreement and if so, when is it due to expire? I assume it is 12 months from what you have said so far but clarification would be great. Has your landlord asked you to sign a new fixed term agreement with an increased rent or served you with notice of a rent increase?

If the landlord is asking you to sign a new fixed term agreement with an increased and unaffordable rent, do not sign it as you know that you cannot afford it. The landlord will have 2 options. Either let things lie whilst arrears build up or serve you with an eviction notice.

Regardless of what path the landlord chooses to take, you should make an application to the Housing Benefit department for a Discretionary Housing Payment. This is only payable for a limited period but would hopefully allow you time to look for alternative private rented accommodation.

Secondly, when assessing a homeless application the Council have to have reason to believe that you are currently homeless or facing homelessness within 28 days. If you are still living in the accommodation but the rent has increased and you cannot afford to top it up, you can be considered to be homeless as your current accommodation is unsuitable. Alternatively, the landlord would have had to have taken steps to evict you (usually an application for a Possession Order).

You mention that you have been told to squat until the landlord gets a court order. You would not be squatting as regardless of whether the landlord has served a valid notice or not you remain a lawful tenant until a Bailiff Warrant is executed. Rent is still due and HB will still pay (not necessarily the full rent if it is capped for example).

The due process for an eviction is service of valid notice. When this expires an application by the landlord to the County Court for a Possession Order should be made. Assuming the landlord has served a valid section 21 notice, the judge will award outright possession and set a date. Once that date has expired and if you have not moved out, they would need to apply back to court for a Bailiff Warrant. The date this is due to be executed is the day you HAVE to be out.

There's a lot more advice I could give but it really depends on where you are at the moment and I fear I am waffling on. I am a Housing Advisor in the voluntary sector so my advice is trustworthy!

What a lovely response.

I am sorry for the late reply, but I wanted to thank you and answer some of the questions and ask some more of my own!

The history:
- The Government recently introduced the HB cap (scrapping the LHA scheme)
- I was awarded a Discretionary Housing Payment from when the new cap was introduced until the end of my current contract.
- The end of my current contract is 28th August
- The landlord has decided to increase the rent by approx. 15%
- I cannot afford to live there, given the expiration of the discretionary housing payment (I doubt they'd re-award it!) and the rent increase
- My condition has severely worsened. It's a chronic back disease and the pain has caused many other side effects that have all taken their toll on my health.

I've met with the housing officers and they have agreed that I am involuntarily homeless and they have said they will house me in a B&B for the foreseeable future.

I did want to know a few things:
- Is it possible the council can house me?
- Do I have the right to refuse a property if I have concerns over the location, accessibility issues etc (by no means wanting to sound fussy - just a Q)
- What sort of priority might I be given? Perhaps this is a question for the council themselves.
- Likelihood of staying in my borough?

Thanks again for all the replies everyone.

Regards,

Mike

BigAunty

Your council has published plenty of info on its website to guide the homeless which answers all of your questions. If you dispute their service or disagree with the info, then take it up with Shelter. Do you have a caseworker?

According to Westminster Council, much of the temporary accommodation is in East London because more than 2000 people are using this service.

http://www.westminster.gov.uk/services/housing/housingoptions/hphoptions/

Information for people wishing to apply for housing as a homeless person with Westminster Council.

According to this leaflet, if you have a physical disability that makes you vulnerable, you will be considered a priority for housing (and this leaflet provides a definition of vulnerable). If you are not considered vulnerable, then the leaflet provides info about the assistance they offer to help you get private housing.

http://transact.westminster.gov.uk/publications/publications_detail.cfm?ID=1365

There are hundreds of homeless people already on the register. And unless you are
over 60 and register for housing for older people (community supported housing) it
may take several years for you to successfully bid for a property, especially if you need a property with two or more bedrooms. Until then we will provide you with temporary
accommodation. At first, this is likely to be in a bed and breakfast hotel which may not be in Westminster. Later we could move you to another type of temporary home such as a self-contained flat. Again, this might be outside Westminster.

As an alternative to living in temporary accommodation for several years, we could either help you rent from a private landlord or, if you are in full-time employment, register you as a priority for one of our home ownershipschemes. Please ask your caseworker about these options.

If you refuse the temporary home we offer you without what we believe is good reason, our housing duty will end and you will have to find your own accommodation

dseventy

Hi

I also checked your post history and you seem to have had a lot of advice about housing, LHA and being homeless. Hopefully the situation you find yourself in is not that much of a surprise?

What happened with you moving into a friends house? You got some excellent advice there, is it happening? If not, why not? Have you spoke to this friend about your predicament?

I note you are in Westminster? With respect and all due to you, that arrangement cant carry on while you are claiming benefit and unable to pay the rent yourself. Have you looked at moving away? Moving to other areas of London? What keeps you there?

D70