Council Rent Arrears & Court Help ASAP

SUGARSPICE

Hi.

I need some advice asap!

I'm going to court over council tent arrears in which I have been in arrears twice now, my daughter is now working and adult but the information didn't get in on time.

I've asked her a number of times for help but she has not paid her way.

The council landlord is going for eviction.

Im single Mum
3 children 8, 15 & 20
In 2 bedroom flat
No moneyhelp from the dads
Diagnosed with depression & stress
Miscarrage


Can I stop myself from being evicted?

Any advice would be great.

DomRavioli

Its unlikely - you need to get proper legal advice, the CAB should be able to help you.

Your HB will have a non-dependent charge on it; this isn't a large amount, so you will have to have been in significant arrears for quite some time for them to take you to court; is there a reason you haven't either evicted your daughter (if she won't pay rent/is refusing to co-operate with HB and yourself with regards to providing information) or you haven't called your housing provider to arrange some kind of payment scheme, as it literally takes weeks, usually months, to get yourself into this kind of mess.

Where I used to work, arrears would be around 8 weeks of rent before we would approach court, and before then there would be calls, visits and letters to try and resolve the situation.

You will have also incurred court fees on top of what you owe.

With regards to getting no maintenance from your children's father/fathers, you need to speak to the CSA - it is part of their remit to assess and collect this if it applies.

There isn't much there what would stop an eviction; it is your responsibility as the tenant to ensure the rent is paid - you haven't done that.

bengal-stripe

SUGARSPICE wrote: »

I'm going to court over council tent arrear.......The council landlord is going for eviction......Can I stop myself from being evicted?

It is highly unlikely, the judge will grant an eviction order, but s/he might grant a suspended one. That means you will have to pay the current rent plus a certain amount of your arrears (which might be a few pound per week). You will not be evicted as long as to comply with the terms set by the court. But if you fail to stick to that agreement, then the council might go to court again and ask for the eviction to be carried out.

Go to court, preferably with a solicitor and have a prepared statement of your financial situation to show the judge. Your daughter is not likely to be a tenant, so what she pays or does not pay is of no concern to either landlord or court.

Get legal advice and good luck

pmlindyloo

You need urgent help. CAB is probably your best port of call.

It is possible that the judge will issue a suspended possession order but since this is not the first time that you have been in rent arrears you need some expert advice to prevent eviction.

The CAB will help you prepare an income and expenditure sheet to show in court. They will also check your benefits and ways that you can maximise your income. Are you working? Have you any other debts? What about council tax - did you inform them about your daughter's earnings? You need to sit down with someone and have them look at your budgeting. Otherwise you will keep getting into debt.

It is vital that you have a straight talk with your daughter. She is now an adult and should be paying her way. Point out to her that you are all in danger of losing your home. If she doesn't play ball then she must find her own place to live. If she agrees to give you some money each week then you could use this to pay off the arrears.

Shelldean

DomRavioli wrote: »

Its unlikely - you need to get proper legal advice, the CAB should be able to help you.

Your HB will have a non-dependent charge on it; this isn't a large amount, so you will have to have been in significant arrears for quite some time for them to take you to court; is there a reason you haven't either evicted your daughter (if she won't pay rent/is refusing to co-operate with HB and yourself with regards to providing information) or you haven't called your housing provider to arrange some kind of payment scheme, as it literally takes weeks, usually months, to get yourself into this kind of mess.

Where I used to work, arrears would be around 8 weeks of rent before we would approach court, and before then there would be calls, visits and letters to try and resolve the situation.

You will have also incurred court fees on top of what you owe.

With regards to getting no maintenance from your children's father/fathers, you need to speak to the CSA - it is part of their remit to assess and collect this if it applies.

There isn't much there what would stop an eviction; it is your responsibility as the tenant to ensure the rent is paid - you haven't done that.

The non dependants charge can actually be quite high, it varies on the wage earnt by the non dependants. The higher the wage the higher the non dependants deductions.

Shelldean

Dom

This is the link to the page covering my council non dependants deductions, click on the links on the right to see them https://www.sutton.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=7212

Ranges from just under £15 -£91 per week deduction, also the OP will have council tax deduction too.

It soon adds up. I only received partial HB and my son starting work wiped it out in one go.




OP you need to get your DD to pay her share. You won't manage otherwise.