paying council house rent arrears

Peaceofmind

Hello,

I am hoping to file for bankruptcy before February and will probably have lots of questions. I am very pleased to find such a supportive forum.

My first question is about the rent arrears on my council property. I have been paying back these arrears (£25 a month) as per the agreement with the council. I have never been to court although they have threatened in the past.

I was hoping to have the arrears written off in the BR but having done some research it is possible the council will try and evict me if I do this which I obviously need to avoid.

I am happy to keep paying off the arrears after BR if that is the best way to go but if the debt is listed (which I understand it has to be) will I be allowed to legally do this? Would I include the payment on the outgoings - would the OR allow this?

Many thanks for any advice.

Peace x

tigerfeet2006

Yes the OR would allow this as it is an essential expense Just list it as the full amount you are paying on the outgoings SoA and make a note in Section 13 of the forms that you have a debt to them that you are paying off. The OR will not want to see you without a roof over your head.

Out of interest how much do you owe in arrears? Have you spoken to any of the debt charities?

Oh! and welcome to the board. Read everything you can and if you are not sure of anything just ask and read some more.

PippaGirl_2

Benefits overpayments are indeed rarely written off in BR, the rare circumstances where they sometimes can be is where the over payment was due to no fault of yours. If you failed to notify a change of circumstances or claimed incorrectly and that caused the over payment then it won't be written off.

If you have been paying the overpayment off and have not just refused to pay, it is unlikely you would be evicted.

As above, paying back this debt is an allowable expense on your SOA and you will be allowed to pay it. You might even be allowed to pay a larger amount than £25 if you are able to as you won't be paying any other debt back. That will keep the council happy!

Peaceofmind

Many thanks to both for the replies, that's very helpful.

Tigerfeet: The arrears are approx. £700.

Pippagirl: It is not a benefit overpayment. But I think everything you said is probably the same for rent arrears too.

Peace x

tigerfeet2006

The OR won't have a problem with that at all then, so now what you need to is to make a list of all your creditors, debts and assets. Secondly and most important is contact one of the following debt charities. Please try these they don't charge and are impartial. They will go through all your options with you and if they suggest bankruptcy then come back to this board and we will help you all we can. Also if your not ‘clicking’ with one of the Debt charities do try another. We advise you to try at least two others for your own piece of mind. Your BR could be refused if you have not sought advice.

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Main recommended sources of help:

• National Debtline - Website: National Debtline Telephone: 0808 808 4000
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• StepChange (formerly CCCS) - Website: StepChange Telephone: 0800 138 1111

Others:

• Business Debtline
  - Website: Business Debtline Telephone: 0800 197 6026
• Christians Against Poverty
• PayPlan
• TaxAid - Help with tax debts.

Please don’t do anything rash take your time and weigh up your options and read everything you can.

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BR friendly home insurance thread.

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Best wishes TFx

Tumbledown_Tammy

With reference to Post 1 re rent arrears.

My friend owes quite a bit in rent arrears, would these not be included in BR as an unsecured debt....if not as she is a Housing Association tenant could they try to evict her after BR date?

Are rent arrears not allowed to be included in BR anymore.

PippaGirl_2

Tammy, the answers are in this thread already. Technically a Landlord would have the right to evict someone for rent arrears not paid and the court would grant the landlord the right to evict on that basis despite BR.

tigerfeet2006

Tammy, it entirely depends on the HA. Some will quite happily let you include the arrears in the BR and let you start from scratch, so to speak, but can still look at evicting you if you default again at a later date.

Some like the OP's HA would evict if the debts are put into the BR, which is their right SO if an agreement is made and it is resonable then the OR will let you carry on with that agreement because they are not in the business of seeing you without a roof over your head.