Homelessness & Croydon Council

BarbaraJ5

Hi all,

Hope everyone's well tonight. I am in need of some advice. I was given a Sect 21 Notice on the 21st August to vacate the privated rented property i share with my 4 children(18,14,12&2). They are all in fulltime education apart from the 2 year old. I'm not working and have been studying in order to brush up on my rusty skills, so that i can find a job. My concern is this. I have acquired alot of debt including rent arrears this year, because of my limited finances and am doing my best to pay them off and also put food on the table. I wasn't aware that i needed to pay(topup) my rent, as this is my 1st time in rented accommodation and on benefits. I never received a letter from HB nor from my letting agents about that, so i ended up owing from the beginning of this year. I have made arrangements and are paying an extra 20.00 ontop of the 111.80 i need to pay per month. When i first got the Sect.21 notice i thought it was from the arrears, but as i've never had them write to me to say so, didn't know what to think. I went to the council yesterday for my appointment(homeless team) and the man who interviewed me asked me about looking for another private rented accommodation. I told him that i wasn't in a position to find a property..A. because i have rent arrears, 2. I'm on HB(benefits) and my credit isn't good because of the debts. He said that i would have to go the homeless route and gave the usual info on staying put in the property or i'll be deemed as making myself intentionally homeless...He also said we could be placed in temp accomm(B&B) outside the borough for up to 8months. I saw a documentary last week on this borough where the govt had paid 1.5mil for 17 or so families in a rundown 1* hotel, which was rat infested and overcrowded. The families were complaining that they were unlawfully being housed beyond 7 weeks and had instructed a solicitor to take the council to court. I thought as he said up to 8 months, whether or not he knew that the council were being taken to court because families were being left past the 6weeks in temp accomm???? I said nothing and allowed him to take copies of the required documents.

I received a letter from the council today, stating that the Sect.21 notice is valid, how much it will cost ME for my landlord to take me to court (200)which i can't afford already as well as this in bold:
If you are threatened with lawful eviction, we strongly urge you to look for another home in the private sector in view of the high demand and severe shortage of Council housing in croydon. The private sector offers greater choice of size, location, character and type of property. The housing advice section can provide advice and information to assist you with finding a home in the private housing market. I already explained that i cannot afford a private rented accommodation...I also have rent arrears and have bad credit, no deposit...

It continues..If you do not follow this advice of either finding alternative private rented accommodation or remaining in your current accommodation until a court order states otherwise, and you become homeless or threatened with homelessness as a result, your actions will be considered when the council has to decide what its duty is toward in you in the the future. If the council decides, that by not following our advice, you have become homeless or threatened with homelessness intentionally, its duty will end with providing temporary accommodation for a short time after which you would have to find your own accommodation privately

The advisor that i saw yesterday mentioned a rent bond scheme, but then to qualify you cannot have any arrears...I want to move out of the borough, but as i have no affiliation with Kingston or any other he said i would have to stay in Croydon...i thought why would they care if i stay in the borough or not? If they don't have the properties to rehouse us as croydon is one of the most demanded, why wouldn't i be able to move?

Secondly, if i don't find anywhere decent enough, that will take someone in my position(have tried all the local est agents, and gumtree) as i obviously will not be making myself and my children intentionally homeless, what am i supposed to do if i fall into the latter?

I'm really worried that they're trying to force me into something i cannot afford, if im struggling now without the cap, how much worse off will i be if im not able to find a job before April 13?

I dont see how forcing someone in my position into private accommodation and the worst happens, i'll end up back at square one behind the others who will be in this exact position.



Does anyone have any thoughts?

PippaGirl_2

What they've said is completely legal.
Technically the council do not have a legal duty to house you as you have made yourself intentionally homeless by not paying your rent. However I suspect given you have children that they would help you find accommodation once you have received your eviction order from court. So my advice would be to wait for the eviction order and hope the council help you.
You say you did not know you had to top up the rent, do you have a tenancy agreement stating the rent? Do you have letters stating how much your housing benefit is per week? It's very simple then to work out whether or not your housing benefit will cover the rent and whether there is a need to top up. I guess when universal credit comes in and all tenants have to pay the rent direct themselves this will never happen but I doubt you will have any redress by saying you didn't know there was a top up when in all likelihood you have details of how much the rent is and details of how much your housing benefit is.
I've been accepted as homeless twice in recent years including needed to stay beyond my notice so I know how stressful this is but my advice is to stay put, get the eviction notice from court and hope that the council choose to help you even though you have made yourself intentionally homeless.

BarbaraJ5

PippaGirl wrote: »

What they've said is completely legal.
Technically the council do not have a legal duty to house you as you have made yourself intentionally homeless by not paying your rent. However I suspect given you have children that they would help you find accommodation once you have received your eviction order from court. So my advice would be to wait for the eviction order and hope the council help you.
You say you did not know you had to top up the rent, do you have a tenancy agreement stating the rent? Do you have letters stating how much your housing benefit is per week? It's very simple then to work out whether or not your housing benefit will cover the rent and whether there is a need to top up. I guess when universal credit comes in and all tenants have to pay the rent direct themselves this will never happen but I doubt you will have any redress by saying you didn't know there was a top up when in all likelihood you have details of how much the rent is and details of how much your housing benefit is.
I've been accepted as homeless twice in recent years including needed to stay beyond my notice so I know how stressful this is but my advice is to stay put, get the eviction notice from court and hope that the council choose to help you even though you have made yourself intentionally homeless.

Hi Pippa,

Thanks for responding. I have not made myself intentionally homeless and have not said that in my post. I have said that I fell into rent arrears through no fault of my own as i was NEVER told that i had to pay rent from either council or letting agents. My tenancy agreement was given in 2010-2011. It was never renewed and i was receiving full HB at the time, so there was no shortfall. There were no letters showing there was a downfall until January this year. I started paying the topup as i had several call/advise from the HB dept in croydon. I only discovered the arrears in April of this year and have been paying towards it as well as the full shortfall of 111.80 per month. I have also had a discretionary payment towards the arrears which should see me in good stead. I still have yet to hear from this letting agent, who were never able to tell me where the arrears came from in the first place. Its important for me to clear my arrears, as it was never my intention to get into any in the first place.

I'm in a catch 22 situation because if im struggling as i am to make ends meet, pay rent, bills have enough for food before these cuts take full effect, then how does the govt expect single parents like myself to manage after these cuts? I am looking for a job, as well as studying and brushing up on my skills, i'm not sitting at home doing nothing. Yet, there is hardly any positive encouragement in helping to get someone like myself off benefits and into full independence.:mad:

BarbaraJ5

PippaGirl wrote: »

What they've said is completely legal.
Technically the council do not have a legal duty to house you as you have made yourself intentionally homeless by not paying your rent. However I suspect given you have children that they would help you find accommodation once you have received your eviction order from court. So my advice would be to wait for the eviction order and hope the council help you.
You say you did not know you had to top up the rent, do you have a tenancy agreement stating the rent? Do you have letters stating how much your housing benefit is per week? It's very simple then to work out whether or not your housing benefit will cover the rent and whether there is a need to top up. I guess when universal credit comes in and all tenants have to pay the rent direct themselves this will never happen but I doubt you will have any redress by saying you didn't know there was a top up when in all likelihood you have details of how much the rent is and details of how much your housing benefit is.
I've been accepted as homeless twice in recent years including needed to stay beyond my notice so I know how stressful this is but my advice is to stay put, get the eviction notice from court and hope that the council choose to help you even though you have made yourself intentionally homeless.

Hi Pippa,

Thanks for responding. I have not made myself intentionally homeless and have not said that in my post. I have said that I fell into rent arrears through no fault of my own as i was NEVER told that i had to pay rent from either council or letting agents. My tenancy agreement was given in 2010-2011. It was never renewed and i was receiving full HB at the time, so there was no shortfall. There were no letters showing there was a downfall until January this year. I started paying the topup as i had several call/advise from the HB dept in croydon. I only discovered the arrears in April of this year and have been paying towards it as well as the full shortfall of 111.80 per month. I have also had a discretionary payment towards the arrears which should see me in good stead. I still have yet to hear from this letting agent, who were never able to tell me where the arrears came from in the first place. Its important for me to clear my arrears, as it was never my intention to get into any in the first place.

I'm in a catch 22 situation because if im struggling as i am to make ends meet, pay rent, bills have enough for food before these cuts take full effect, then how does the govt expect single parents like myself to manage after these cuts? I am looking for a job, as well as studying and brushing up on my skills, i'm not sitting at home doing nothing. Yet, there is hardly any positive encouragement in helping to get someone like myself off benefits and into full independence.:mad:

Dunroamin

OK, I'll rise to the bait!

Even when having to pay £111 per month towards your rent, I fail to see how £348 per week tax free (JSA, CTC, CB) can be considered a limited income when it doesn't have to include housing costs.

heartbreak_star

Is your 18 year old contributing to the household?

Pippa's right though - in the Council's eyes it will be seen as "intentionally homeless" as you're expected to investigate how much rent you have to pay on top of HB. Been there with my Nana years ago...

Might be worth you popping over to the Debt-Free Wannabee board - they're really helpful

HBS x

BarbaraJ5

Dunroamin wrote: »

OK, I'll rise to the bait!

Even when having to pay £111 per month towards your rent, I fail to see how £348 per week tax free (JSA, CTC, CB) can be considered a limited income when it doesn't have to include housing costs.

When looking at it this way, it does appear to be different, but i don't get paid weekly. The only thing i get is IS 4tnightly and have debts as well as direct debits, which takes money every week from my account, so i never see the 348 as you do

BarbaraJ5

heartbreak_star wrote: »

Is your 18 year old contributing to the household?

Pippa's right though - in the Council's eyes it will be seen as "intentionally homeless" as you're expected to investigate how much rent you have to pay on top of HB. Been there with my Nana years ago...

Might be worth you popping over to the Debt-Free Wannabee board - they're really helpful

HBS x

HBS, I'm paying the rent arrears off. If i weren't paying the arrears off AFTER learning about them, then yes i would agree that i'm making myself intentionally homeless(im not homeless until the bailiffs come for the possession of the property). This obviously means that i did investigate where the debts came from, from both the Letting agents who are clueless themselves and HB. HB have helped me figure out some of it, but even they got their figures wrong. Its taken several months to get some understanding from HB and at this present moment i may or may not be in anymore arrears, but because the letting agents have not responded to my emails, i'm not certain. I'm still paying my rent on time and the extra on top, because i'm a responsible parent. I wouldn't willing not pay my rent. I have now got arrangements with all my creditors, bar EDF, so i don't really need the Debt-Free wannabee board, but thank you for your input and suggestion.

My 18 year old is in full time education, so cannot contribute financially.

krisskross

Dunroamin wrote: »

OK, I'll rise to the bait!

Even when having to pay £111 per month towards your rent, I fail to see how £348 per week tax free (JSA, CTC, CB) can be considered a limited income when it doesn't have to include housing costs.

That is a huge amount of money. Add in about £800 a month for housing costs and you are being given the equivalent of a £35K a year salary.

Will you be able to earn that much?

I didn't realise we were so poor, living on far far less than that.

Dunroamin

BarbaraJ5 wrote: »

When looking at it this way, it does appear to be different, but i don't get paid weekly. The only thing i get is IS 4tnightly and have debts as well as direct debits, which takes money every week from my account, so i never see the 348 as you do

It doesn't matter how often you get it, you still get it.

Fortunately benefits don't take into accounts debts and outgoings.

terryw

Barbara,

You must be very worried but please realize that it is not your view of "intentional homeless" that counts but the council's who are likely to view rent arrears as such.

The Section 21 Notice is a no fault notice. The Landlord now wants the property for some reason - it may not for the rent arrears. Could you not contact the Landlord direct to try to find out more?

The wannabee board has good advice even for prudent peeps. Worth a look.

The monthly/weekly thing is a bit of a red-herring - it is really down to budgeting properly.

bw