Being made homeless, council advice seems dodgy

chucknorris

billjohnson1986 wrote: »

Just a heads up, If the Land Lord takes this to the High Court then you can be evicted a lot quicker.

A lot of councils don't inform people of this and people get evicted a lot quicker then if following the usual route. You see this a lot on "Cant pay, we'll take it away."

I'm not sure what criteria the Landlord requires to take this to the High Court and i don't want to alarm you, I'm just trying to give you a heads up.

Yes it did feature a lot on that tv programme, the tenants were always very shocked when the bailiffs arrived and said that the tenants had to leave that day. You could see their desperation when they told the bailiffs that the council that told them that they had a few months, only to be informed that the High Court eviction process is faster than the County Court.

tea-bag

High court route is becoming more popular as it is quick my agent only does it this way now however it is more expensive.

Being a landlord is a business 90% of evictions I would say is non payment so it makes sense to do it quick.

fishpond

billjohnson1986 wrote: »

Just a heads up, If the Land Lord takes this to the High Court then you can be evicted a lot quicker.

A lot of councils don't inform people of this and people get evicted a lot quicker then if following the usual route. You see this a lot on "Cant pay, we'll take it away."

I'm not sure what criteria the Landlord requires to take this to the High Court and i don't want to alarm you, I'm just trying to give you a heads up.

Same criteria as getting bailiffs, but whereas the tenant would be given date of eviction by the bailiffs, not so with sheriffs who just turn up to evict with no warning.
Really depends on how much money or desperation is involved though, as a result is usually forthcoming on the day, but at a higher cost than bailiffs.

seven-day-weekend

My husband's tenants were told this twelve years ago by our Council, and yes, we did have to go to court to evict them, despite giving them a legal eviction notice twelve months in advance so that they could have plenty of time to find somewhere else.

So it seems as though it is a long-standing practice.

Rollinghills

I think people are getting ahead of themselves here a bit. This is a landlady who has not issued a correct section 21 and tenants who have not been late on their rent, I think it's a very long shot to talk about High Court! I would also hope that if correct notice wasn't issued the High Court or any other court would respect tenants' rights to correct due process and reject the possession order although of course there is always some risk in that.

Pixie5740

Rollinghills wrote: »

I think people are getting ahead of themselves here a bit. This is a landlady who has not issued a correct section 21 and tenants who have not been late on their rent, I think it's a very long shot to talk about High Court! I would also hope that if correct notice wasn't issued the High Court or any other court would respect tenants' rights to correct due process and reject the possession order although of course there is always some risk in that.

Yes, I agree that this is snowballing. For the OP's LL to get a warrant of possession from the county court bailiff or writ of possession from the high court sheriff, the LL would first have to apply to court for an eviction order and if the Section 21 has not been issued correctly then eviction order will not be granted.

This should buy the OP enough time to scrape together a deposit, find somewhere else to live, and serve their own notice. Probably the least painful outcome for all involved.

bebewoo

For goodness sake speak to your landlady. This has all gotten way out of control and is spiralling towards ill will, court fees, evictions and all kinds of stress for all involved.
This could all be nipped in the bud if you contact her now. You might be able to come to some arrangement.
She may be a reasonable person, but you will never find out if you p her off by getting the council involved and forcing her to evict you.

Horseygirl123

Why not speak to your landlord and see if they can return your deposit early for the next tenancy. I would never let to tenants who had had to be evicted for whatever reason.

lighting_up_the_chalice

There seems to be some confusion, and misinformation, here.

The council, quite rightly, have determined that there is currently no threat of eviction and/or homelessness as a valid S21 has not been served. This is NOT gate-keeping.

On the subject of gate-keeping, the council should accept that there is a threat of homelessness as soon as a valid S21 is served. They must also treat you as homeless from the date the notice expires rather than insist on further court action.

See sections 38 and 39.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/270376/130108_Supplementary_Guidance_on_the_Homelessness_changes_in_the_Localism_Act_2011_and_on_the_Homelessness_Order_2012.pdf

Pondering

I fully appreciate that everyone will have a different set of circumstances so I will be brief and spare you my story except to point out that myself and my wife were advised by the Council to sit tight and not leave. This was to prevent us from unintentionally making ourselves homeless, we could not afford to continue paying rent after living there for over 2 years. We did not have to pay anyones costs though the landlord not having a gas safety certificate might have been instrumental in this? Becoming a squatter is only a state of mind unless it is your intention to put up notices and lean out of upstairs windows shouting abuse while playing loud music day and night nobody else need ever know unless there is a sensational local trial.