Homelessness & Croydon Council

Dunroamin

BarbaraJ5 wrote: »

My ex doesn't contribute to anything because he's a bitter fool.

Even fools are supposed to support their 5/6 children - have you involved the CSA?

BarbaraJ5

heartbreak_star wrote: »

Glad you've managed to get something sorted with your creditors - don't let them push you into paying any more though! Really, pop over to DFW - even if you have something in place they're a lovely bunch on there and might be able to advise ways of squeezing your money more.

Terry reiterated my point - even paying the arrears might not be enough, you're going to have to play ball with whatever the council says as you are dependent on them.

I do wish you luck, it's not a nice situation.

HBS x

Thanks for your advice. I will only take care of Priority debts, which include utilities-Gas, electric and water. Everything else gets sorted after the rent. I pay as much as i can on top of the shortfall because i want to decrease the arrears as quickly as possible.

BigAunty

BarbaraJ5 wrote: »

.... Sadly, you are right i have no choice at the moment. I will not move until the procedure for the possession of the property is processed, as i know the outcome will be homeless and the loss of my children.....

Children are not taken away by social services when a household becomes homeless, not sure why you think this....

I advise you to contact Shelter about whether you are obliged to stay put until your landlord has got a court order for possession - their website makes clear that this practice should not take place.

The local council ombudsman has contacted councils in the past to demand that they stop this practice where it is clear that the landlord will get possession. Some landlords have taken their councils to court to get their court fees refunded because they've ignored this advice. You should be able to get more info on this, including the actual guidance issued, on the housing forum on MSE or on the Landlordzone website, which you can quote back to the council via your MP.

You could contact your local MP if you are not happy with the way you are being treated and you feel it is contrary to the council's obligtion. Your MP is there to serve you.

Many HB claimants wonder why landlords do not generally accept them as tenants and your post illustrates why - they are more likely to get into arrears AND they are harder to evict because a council will tell them to ignore the landlord's notice.

You should tell your local MP how the advice to stay put until the bailiffs are scheduled is one reason why finding a private tenancy is so hard for HB claimants - landlords do not want tenants who won't leave when they are served notice so it stands to reason why they are so unpopular - it's the actions of the local council.

But anyway, the info on the council website indicates that many of their homeless applicants are willing to put up with temporary accommodation because they know the council must give them social housing so they hang on in there rather than look for a private tenancy.

BarbaraJ5

BigAunty wrote: »

To the OP, contact Shelter asap for a double-check on yr rights. the local council ombudsman have advised councils not to insist that tenants must stay put until the landlord has got a court order if there is a realistic prospect that it will be granted - double-check this on the housing forum or with shelter.

That said, no council can dish out social housing to every tenant who gets notice by their landlord.

I've only skimmed this thread so apologies if already covered - are you receiving child support from the father?

Also, what did the council say about yr arrears? they don't have to help if u could have but did not pay ( tho it sounds like it's not an issue in yr case).

My understanding is that croydon council deals with hundreds of homelessness cases each year, has hardly any supply of social housing versus thousands on the list.

Thanks for replying. I will check again, but not sure it will be applicable to croydon. My ex doesn't want anything to do with his children because he can't have me, so i get no support from him. The council did ask if i had arrears, to which i said i i did. They didn't or haven't said anything further about it. I know they'll be contacting the landlord for further information and will see that i did not intend to withhold rent from my letting agents.

Dunroamin

BarbaraJ5 wrote: »

Thanks for replying. I will check again, but not sure it will be applicable to croydon. My ex doesn't want anything to do with his children because he can't have me, so i get no support from him. The council did ask if i had arrears, to which i said i i did. They didn't or haven't said anything further about it. I know they'll be contacting the landlord for further information and will see that i did not intend to withhold rent from my letting agents.

That has nothing whatsoever to do with the legal requirement for him to support his children. I have to ask again, have you involved the CSA and if not, why not?

BigAunty

Dunroamin wrote: »

That has nothing whatsoever to do with the legal requirement for him to support his children. I have to ask again, have you involved the CSA and if not, why not?

I'm with Dunroamin on this one - his feelings are separate from his obligations and it's a shame that his spiteful and stingy approach is one reason why his children are facing homelessness. See the CSA website to understand the percentage of his wage he is obliged to handover to you and sod his bloody feelings on the matter.

thorsoak

The reasons your ex gives for not supporting his children are a prime example of why he is your ex! Regardless of how he regards you, he is the one abandoning his children - he has a legal and moral requirement to support them - you shouldn't have to bear the whole burden yourself.

Please contact CSA and get whatever support for your children the law states he must pay.

BigAunty

BarbaraJ5 wrote: »

Thanks for replying. I will check again, but not sure it will be applicable to croydon. ....

Homelessness procedures are NATIONAL.

Many councils do not meet their obligations but all councils have to follow the same housing and homelessness laws.

Councils have very, very little discretion in how they operate their homelessness processes and social housing allocation. Their services may be patchy and some areas under very high demand with scarce supply, but not one council can wriggle out of how they approach their obligations on a formal basis.

I'm not saying that they are good at fulfilling their obligations, just that they can't operate differently from other areas.

BarbaraJ5

londonbabe73 wrote: »

To the op ,

Ignorance is no defence , surely you knew how much your monthly rent was?? To say you thought it was paid in full is the very reason why direct payments and uv are being brought in.

you need to remain in property until the bailiff evicts you and then present yourself as homeless to the council on the day of the eviction and they will find you interim accommodation ( hostel /b&b ) until they can find you a private rent property or put you into their temp
accommodation . But when you get the eviction notice give the homeless dept a copy so they know your coming on the day.


Arrange for your belongings to go into storage ( some councils may find you a garage if you ask ) .
Then unfortunately it's luck as to what is available on the day eviction as to where
you get put a lot of councils can't afford b&bs in their own boroughs due to inner London councils block booking hotel rooms .
But be under no illusion if they accept a duty to help you accept their help and be grateful your not out on your ear and made intentionally homeless after 5
years working in temp accommodation it amazes me how many people who claim they have no where to go make demands as to where they will and won't go yes it prob won't be down the road from your kids school yes you will prob all be in 1 room and you may have to share kitchen / bathroom with other families but if
you expect the council to house you unfortunately have to take what your given as the councils are very hard pushed now as they have shrinking budgets so are being more strict with who they will Accept a duty to house

Also why is your 18 not working ? You can go to college and work maybe even postpone college for a year and help out the family , times are changing it's time for people to have self responsibility which includes knowing how much your rent
is asking for statements etc . It can seem a bit overwhelming but at least your going to have a roof over your head.
Ps there was a ruling that families could only be in b&b for 6 weeks am guessing
that might have changed in the current climate but worth enquiring when they sign you in.

It cannot be ignorance if i wasn't aware of the fact that i had to pay a shortfall now can it? Like i said, my rent WAS paid in FULL, and i have NEVER received any letters to say that i had to pay extra on top of the rent. I ONLY learned this in January after HB wrote to me. The letting agents didn't provide any financial statements showing the amount of rent that i've paid. Their statement consisted of payments which was sent direct to them from MY account(not council) showing the payments received. I already had this, so it was stupid for them to send me something that not even the CAB could make sense of. I guess its because they themselves were clueless.

Ok, moving on...I have read and done lots of research on what the procedures are with the S.21 in mind. It is scary as i have no control over where a bunch of people will send us, but i am grateful that that help is available and out there. I have had an appointment with the council, who also said i needed to remain in the property until the bailiffs come in. I'm not sure how my landlord will take this as i'm not sure they've ever had to deal with such a situation, but i could be wrong. It makes me nervous because i dont like confrontation or agro with anyone, especially as its his house. I will look into the storage situation because that's the only part i'm stuck on at the moment and haven't dealt with.

My 18 year old is looking for pt work for the weekends as he's studying full time in college and has 1 year to go, so it doesn't seem wise for him to drop out for a year, when he could just simply finish and then look for fulltime work, until he gets into university. I am also job hunting and have been for a few months, with no success at present. I realise not working for a few number of years puts me at the bottom of the list, hence the reason why i'm studying and brushing up on skills i haven't used outside the home.

Before anyone jumps to conclusions...My now ex maintained us so we never had any benefits and paid into the system!

The homeless team(agent) told me that if we were put in B&B we could be placed outside the borough and for up to 8 months. I have never heard that, and know that the C.C is being taken to court for having single parents in a B&B for 7 weeks. If that's the case, when did this 8 month wait in B&B come into effect, or was the guy talking from his rear end as i suspect?

I'm prepared to do whatever i can to keep my family together and believe me we have been through worse than anyone can imagine. The only thing i would like is for my children to be able to continue going to school and college without moving. I also said i wouldn't have a problem moving boroughs, but the guy said as i had no affiliation (family) with any other boroughs i had to stay in croydon.

BarbaraJ5

sniggings wrote: »

Barbara, reading your letter the council seems not to be classing you are making your homeless, so that is not a worry, you do though have to make sure you keep paying your rent and wait to be evited by the courts or they will say you have made yourself homeless, they then will help you, it might be a BB or they might give you a council house or it could be them helping you find a private rental, the help can take many forms, it does not have to be a council house.

Your best bet is to start looking for a private rental, some do not do credit checks, you may be lucky and find somewhere you like, if not the only thing you can do is wait and see what form the help the council offer you when evited.

Hello, Thanks for your positive input. No they didn't say anything in their letter about the rent. I would never put myself in such a position, especially with vulnerable children. I have been looking at the private rentals in the LHA that they gave to me, but nothing suitable at all. Its mainly 2 bedrooms or they don't accept HB, want 2 mths dep plus rent in advance and want credit checks, which i know i won't pass due to the debts. Its so difficult out here right now and i know its set to be even harder next year when the cuts come in and people who don't even know about it are going to be hit like a train crash. :sad::sad: