Six months rent due, no money

ScaredCrazy

Umm, I'm not sure exactly what to write here, but I was told in my other thread (forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=4869402) to post here, and keep it condense, although I don't know what the exact issue should be.

My girlfriend and I rent a one bedroom flat for six months at a time. The contract is due for renewal now. The rent is about £3000 (it rises each time), and there is a fee to the letting agency too. I have no money, and no income, my girlfriend does not work, but has applied for housing benefit. The housing benefit will be paid bit by bit, but the landlady wants the rent for six months at a time - we have asked previously if this could be changed to monthly, she has refused. I don't know how we can pay this.

I have considered moving, but cannot see a practical solution there either. I have mental problems and trouble walking, my girlfriend also has mental problems, and tires exceedingly fast. We need to be in the same area (limited walking distance, no money for public transport, my mental help being linked to what part of the city we are in), and cannot find anywhere substantially cheaper. To cope with my mental problems, I sometimes need to be in a room on my own for a couple of hours, so a studio flat is not an option. We also need enough space to fit our washer dryer (mental issues regarding clean clothes, trouble getting to a laundromat easily and reliably, lack of money for laundromat). Since we have no guarantor, other places are also insisting on six months rent up front. We are unlikely to get much of the deposit back, and have no money for a new deposit. We are not physically able to move our furniture, and neither of us can drive, but we have no money to hire movers, or friends who can help.

I'm dumb when it comes to matters of this nature, and do not know how to proceed.

tanith

Have you approached your local council? , with the health and mental health issues you both have maybe they could help you with temporary accommodation at least. Its worth a try at least. How did you manage to find the deposit money for the rental you are in now? Could you not do the same again?

spacey2012

Divide the rent in to monthly portions at the pro-rata rate the tenancy is for now and write a cheque for the rent each month until they serve a S21 notice.
Unless you have been served a s21 and assuming this was a AST agreement you are now on a rolling contract and any rent rise has to be in-line with similar properties.
If they do not like this, they can serve a S21 notice.

daisygirlmac

You don't have to sign another 6 month tenancy, although I can appreciate you may want the security. If you don't sign another 6 month tenancy it will become a periodic tenancy. What does your original tenancy agreement say regarding rent? If you could put the exact wording it would be helpful. It will say somethink like:

For the term of 6 months at a rent of £x per calendar month, in advance by equal payments on the nth of each month.

Were you in the same situation when you originally rented the property? Where did your first 6 month's rent come from? Lots of questions I know! We need to establish if you have agreed in your tenancy agreement to pay rent by way of 2 6 monthly payments or if you have a monthly rent period. How long have you been there?

princeofpounds

Well posting here isn't a bad start.

Broadly speaking, you don't have to move out when the fixed term of a contract finishes. You automatically go onto a statutory periodic tenancy, which means the landlord needs to give you 2 months notice to begin eviction proceedings through a section 21 notice, and you need to give one month to leave. The rent stays the same unless you get a Section 13 notice, which is a topic for another time.

You might have received a section 21 notice at the beginning of the tenancy - did you? In this case, the landlord can begin the eviction process at the end of the fixed term, although it would also be very possible the section 21 notice is not valid for reasons we can discuss if relevant.

The section 21 notice is not an eviction notice. It just tells you that the landlord intends to start the process to terminate the tenancy. So apart from an issue around getting a reference from your landlord you will have time to make other plans.

Now, the main thing is not to make yourself intentionally homeless. That means you need to stay in your current place and continue paying your rent, receiving the S21 if necessary. You may find the LL never serves one, because asking you to leave would be a guaranteed void period, rather than just a potential one.

If you do get an S21, then you have a couple of major resources. One is the charity Shelter, who give excellent free advice on their website and over the phone. The other is the council, who may have an obligation to house you once it looks like you could be homeless through no fault of your own. But the S21 is kind of the entry ticket before the council will even consider helping you.

And the council may not help you in all the ways you want, so keep searching for a private solution.

G_M

Read:

Ending/Renewing an AST (what happens when the Fixed Term ends?)(What is a Periodic Tenancy?)(How can a LL remove a tenant?)(How can a tenant end a tenancy?)

£3000 pm? That's a lot! Are you sure HB will pay that much?

RAS

G_M wrote: »

£3000 pm? That's a lot! Are you sure HB will pay that much?

£3K per 6 months.

barneygumble

That sounds like a cosy arrangement as a landlord, 6 months up front?

In all the years I've let property I've never heard of that.

marking_bad

Didn't realise agencies would take 6 months up front, I think I was looking into it at some point, but was told they either don't do it, or that it's a bad idea in case the landlord loses the house.

pinkshoes

Where did you get the money for the first 6 months up front?

How much of an increase is £3000?

Could you not just pay £500 for one month, then continue to pay monthly instead of signing a new contract? You are perfectly entitled to do that, and the LL would then have to give you 2 months notice minimum with an S21.

I guess you could then stay after the S21 expires and wait for the LL to get the court to evict you and see if the council can rehome you, but that could be anywhere, and probably not a suitable option for you.

If you really want this property, you are going to have to come up with the money somehow!

silvercar

Ask the landlady if she will accept direct payments from the council. The council are allowed to pay HB direct to landlords in certain circumstances and yours may qualify.