Tenant questions to landords, please?

silvercar

I also have to contact my landlady about giving me a good reference and not mentioning the rent arrears to the council as they will say I have made myself intentionally homeless and I possibly won't even get housing benefit then!

You get housing benefit because your financial situation entitles you to it.

Being classified as "intentionally homeless" means that the council has no obligation to find you a new home. It won't effect your entitlement to housing benefit.

In calculating your HB, the council look at your income, including any student loans you are entitled to, and the size of property you need. Then there is a maximum LHA based on number of bedrooms you need. This will give the max rent they will pay. You can top it up with your money if you can't find anything cheaper.

Upsidedown_Bear

Bassibabes wrote: »

She has no need to lie, because no-one has got as far as requesting a reference!

And when they do?

BigAunty

Bassibabes wrote: »

Yep spoke to the housing officer at Uni - they don't deal with anything bigger than a one bed and "certainly not anyone with children"! I need to speak to the council, she told me.

Contact your senior student rep and demand that they get the Uni accommodation service to change their policies to more family friendly ones.

Upsidedown_Bear

Not trolling at all, just concerned that you appeared to imply that you were going to get your current landlord to lie in the form of a favorable reference. If a future landlord experiences problems with you or a local authority finds out and can prove they have falsely provided a good reference then they could take legal action against them. I'm trying to stop you getting yourself, and more importantly someone else, in serious trouble.

BigAunty

Bassibabes wrote: »

This is different information as to what I was told by the housing officer who said that that I might not be entitled to housing benefit if I have made myself "intentionally homeless" by not paying my rent...

No, the housing officer is wrong. The Shelter website has good information on how councils assess homelessness applications by tenants to check whether they made themselves intentionally homeless - for example, not paying rent when they could have.

Housing benefit, as indicated previously, is based on income so a low income will attract HB even if the tenant has spent their rent on things other than the rent in the past - it has no relevance to future HB entitlement.

I came across a post on here the other day that claimed that a HB receiving tenant has had their future HB modestly reduced through a historic overpayment but that's the first time I've heard of this practice and its not relevant to your situation.

Shelter should be able to confirm that the HO is wrong.

BigAunty

Bassibabes wrote: »

...

The only help the council have done is to advise me to stay in the property until the landlady gets an eviction notice through the courts. The landlady has told me that if I stay beyond the date on the section 21 notice then her son will change the locks and cut off the water and electricity supply. The council have told me this is illegal- I rang the police who said that unless there was a assault or other violent action against me then it was a civil matter and they wouldn't get involved or come out if he did go through with that threat (and I think he will). In that instance, the council would take him to court and the landlady would probably be issued with a fine - and I would still be homeless!

x

If you are in England, I thought the law was changed in November that meant that councils are supposed to be able to act on receipt of the S21, not just wait until a court order for possession has been received. If you are in England, do verify if this is the case with Shelter and then involve your MP if the council are not acting within their statutory obligations.

The Shelter website has good info on how to deal with landlord harassment and illegal eviction. This is actually a serious criminal offence that can also carry huge civil penalties, like big fines and compensation to the tenant.

If your landlady is making these threats over the phone, ensure you have a device to record it, such as putting a landline or mobile phone call onto speaker and recording it on a separate device, or checking if your answer phone/mobile has a device that records calls, or if you can download an app for a mobile.

BigAunty

You write "the rest of the settlement is tied up in the marital home and won't be seen for years.".

Are you a joint owner of this property and how much is this capital?

The reason I ask is that some means tested benefits like housing benefit and council tax benefit are affected by capital tied up in a property that is owned but not occupied. An owner of a property can get HB elsewhere in certain circumstances.

Bassibabes

Hi everyone - thank you again for your replies. I'll answer the queries as best I can.

Bear - I see what you're saying and appreciate the concern. I only wish you would have stated that from the start before trying to "catch me out" as if I was lying on this thread. I understand what you are saying with regards to the reference and I have not thought how I am going to sort this out. However, again, I am welcome to any other suggestions as to how to home myself and my family around this?

Big Aunty - I am still receiving full HB at the moment and I have had no indication that this is going to change at any time. I spoke to the lady who dealt with my loan (she was the one who said my HB may change) and she certainly didn't mention it. The other housing office I spoke with about my current rent was very kind and also told me I would be entitled to full HB in the future, so presumably this is not something to worry about atm. With regards to being homeless, the same housing office who didn't approve my loan is the one who has clearly stated on more than one occasion that the council will not take any emergency action until I am literally homeless. I'm not entirely sure what they will even do at that stage as they don't have any houses and don't offer any help to find a privately let property anyway. My HomeChoice band has not even been changed after a month of them having my eviction notice so I don't think they're going to do anything to help anyway.

I did contact Shelter and they have (in a nutshell) told me to harrass the council to sort it out but I'm really not sure what else to do. I feel like time is going too quick and I don't know what is best to spend my time doing - harrassing the council and getting upset or looking for a privately rented home and getting upset. I'm not really getting anywhere anyway. The last time I spoke to the housing officer, she said not to bother contacting them until I was homeless?!

It doesn't really matter about the LL's son coming round. The police have said they won't do anything unless a criminal act i.e. assault takes place. I had his threat in a text but my phone broke and is in for repair so I don't have that anymore. I am absolutely certain that he will be round here changing the locks etc on the day I'm due to move out and I really don't want to be here with my children when he comes round.

The house is in my ex-husband's name and I would LOVE to get my hands on the cash, believe me! However, there is no legal way to do it, even the housing office have said so, as had my solicitor. Especially as my two youngest children live there when they are not with me and it's their only stable home at the moment.

silvercar

It would have been helpful if you had said the reason why you were quoting posts before doing so.

The theory is that people delete or change their posts when they don't like the advice received, so quoting prevents that. If the end result is to frighten people away then it is not helpful. The downside is that sometimes the whole thread gets pulled.

I am very surprised that the uni accommodation officer can't help. Lots of universities have a few flats available to families.

Given that your children have a home with your ex, you may find the council not that helpful in offering you a home.

I would start by finding out what housing benefit will give you. A landlord may be more willing to take you if he can see that HB will cover your rent. Offering to set up a new bank account to keep your rent money separate may help.

Bassibabes

Ok I have been on the phone to Uni this morning and neither them or the Student Union can help. Uni own property and flats but none are suitable for children or are rentable as a whole house. They also cannot help me find a private landlord or help with a guarantor. Same situation with Student Union.

In terms of HB - I am entitled to FULL housing benefit of £625 for a 2 bed house or £725 for a 3 bed (if my daughter moves in). However, I can pay for the rent up front when I get my loans in April, September and January. I already have a separate bank account for the rent and bills setup and ready for me to start again in a new house.

The council have clearly stated that they are not able to help me until I am homeless - I want to prevent getting to the point where we are homeless (albeit that the children do have somewhere to live)