Notice to quit from housing association

Needsomesunshine

Hoping someone can help. We rent privately from a housing association. Basically they built a block of houses, couldn't sell & rented them privately. We have had a rolling tenancy for the last 2 years and have been given 2 months notice to quit. They have offered us first refusal but are being very slow about the price & i am not sure if we could afford the deposit.
I feel like we have been discriminated against because we rent from them privately. We are not allowed to ring the repairs line & do not qualify for schemes offered to other tenants such as rent to buy or shared ownership & feel that these should be offered to us. Do you think I could take them to court? I have lived here for 4 years & I am finding it hard to get another property.
Thank you

BitterAndTwisted

If you don't think you could afford the deposit to buy the property where are you going to get the money from to take them to court?

If you were offered an AST the time to query the type of tenancy you were being offered was before you signed it, surely not two years later?

Needsomesunshine

When we signed 4 years ago we were not told it was a housing association property. They marketed through a private agent.

BitterAndTwisted

That doesn't change anything. You are renting under an AST regardless of who the owner of the property might be and presumably you accepted being on an AST when you signed it.

shonzyd

on what grounds are you thinking you can take them to court? and why are you unable to find another privately rented place?

Also, why is this discrimination? HAs serve notices all the time dependant on the circs so you'll be far from the only one on their books in this position.

kingstreet

Needsomesunshine wrote: »

We are not allowed to ring the repairs line & do not qualify for schemes offered to other tenants such as rent to buy or shared ownership & feel that these should be offered to us

Why do you think you don't qualify for Homebuy or Firstbuy?

Is your rent in arrears? Do you have credit problems?

Do you have 5% deposit, plus money to cover the usual house purchase fees?

theartfullodger

What SORT of tenancy do you have - see..
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/renting_and_leasehold/housing_association_tenancies
- eviction processes are not the same for all of them...

Starter tenancies
A housing association will give you a starter tenancy as a 12-month trial period at the beginning of your tenancy.

Assured tenancies
Most housing association tenants have assured tenancies, but you should check your status if you are uncertain. If you have another type of housing association tenancy, your rights will be very different.

Assured shorthold tenancies
Housing associations often provide assured shorthold tenancies if the tenancy is temporary, or if it is a starter or demoted tenancy

Secure tenancies
Secure tenants have relatively stronger rights than other housing association tenants.

Demoted tenancies
If you behave antisocially housing associations can demote your tenancy to a less secure type for a certain period of time.

Exactly how was the notice headed?? eg "Section 21"???

Needsomesunshine

They experimented with private renting as a separate business so we are private not social tenants. When I found out it was owned by a housing association they said these houses are not under the same regulations. I qualify for homebuy/ shared ownership but they want to sell privately for full market rate.

Needsomesunshine

Rents have gone up by about £300 in my area & I have 5 children so big houses are not easy to come by. They have given my whole street notice so we are all thinking of fighting them to stay.

martinsurrey

Needsomesunshine wrote: »

Rents have gone up by about £300 in my area & I have 5 children so big houses are not easy to come by. They have given my whole street notice so we are all thinking of fighting them to stay.

You can think all you want, but will get nowhere.

If the house is not an affordable housing house (i.e. sold to an HA by a developer for a below market rate, for rent to HA tenants), its a private rental, and they can do as they please (within the law) the fact that is a housing association is irrelevant.

What sometimes happens is a developer wants to shift an entire phase early, or quickly, so they sell them to an HA with spare cash as a private deal.

kingstreet

Needsomesunshine wrote: »

They experimented with private renting as a separate business so we are private not social tenants. When I found out it was owned by a housing association they said these houses are not under the same regulations. I qualify for homebuy/ shared ownership but they want to sell privately for full market rate.

I misunderstood.

You're not saying you don't qualify, you're saying the HA doesn't want to sell you the property you currently occupy on that basis.

That's their prerogative. If you are interested in buying, I suggest you look at the homes for sale on SO/SE bases on their website if you have the deposit, money for fees and a decent credit history.