Facing eviction and homelessness

Planet1309 · 18 February 2016 at 7:35PM

Hi guys, after much deliberation and after today's fiasco I've decided after all your comments that I'm going to sit this one out and follow the main procedure l, as you all say at least in the meantime it will give me a bit longer to save us some money for another deposit and rent upfront, with my current debt management plan I only have about £50 a month to work with so may have to speak to them about the current issues

Many thanks to guest, artfuldodger, pixie, deannatrois and all of the others for your helpful comments

I just have a couple of other questions if possible please, about 3 months ago she called me up about a rent increase but never sent me anything on writing, i have been paying the increased rate so do I carry on doing this or refer to the contract?

Secondly, I've been there two and a half years but after a year when it came to renewal she phoned me up and said that we could carry on as a rolling contract but won't get anything written or go to the letting agent as we would both have to pay, does this affect me
in any way? (We rented through a letting agent but they made it clear at the time that she only uses them to rent the property and after that does everything herself)

Many thanks

RAS · 18 February 2016 at 7:42PM

No problems with the rolling contract.

becaue you have paid the increased rent you need to continue doing so. There was a procedure that your LL should have used and you could have paid the old rent but by paying the increase you are deemed to have accepted it.

I do hope your DMP is with one of the debt charities not someone to whom you are paying a fee?

And have you told them about the situation, as they should be able to negotiate a month's payment holiday to help you if you need it.

theartfullodger · 18 February 2016 at 7:45PM

Planet1309 wrote: »

.....Many thanks to .... artfuldodger, ..... and all of the others for your helpful comments....

Very, very, very minor point: Lodger not dodger: I don't dodge. (And minor, minor, wording details matter in legal disputes between landlord & tenant: As and when you get a "notice" tell us what it says!)

Best wishes, hope it works out.

Pixie5740 · 18 February 2016 at 7:45PM

You've accepted the rent increase now so you'll need to keep paying it regardless of whether it's written down or not. It does sound like you have a periodic tenancy though rather than a fixed term.

A DMP is an informal arrangement to repay your creditors so if you have to cut back a bit then so be it. Keeping a roof over your head is the priority.

marksoton · 18 February 2016 at 7:48PM

There's only one !!!!! here. And that's this so called LL.

Her behaviour is at best amateur. I'd actually wager artful isn't far off the mark...

[Deleted User] · 18 February 2016 at 8:05PM

The last comment means you are on a rolling or periodic tenancy which means you have to give one month's notice, she has to give two. It doesn't affect you otherwise (except both of you saved renewal fees etc) and obviously you had no security of tenure because there wasn't a fixed period of tenancy.

As you have paid the increase in rent that will be taken as agreement for the increase in rent, there's little point in reducing what you pay now, it will show as arrears which is not what you need right now. My LL did exactly the same (increased the rent and told me informally he was going to evict me).

Remember what I said about having a S21 and showing it to the council.., have they offered you a loan for deposit and first month's rent? If not, being served with a S21 may tick a box for the council so they offer the loan, enabling you to find a private rental. Suggest to the LL (who like many seems to be feeling the law is what she wants it to be - I'm familiar with this syndrome lol), that if she wants you out, because of your circumstances she needs to help you to get you out of the house. She could even return your deposit early but don't hold out too much hope for this!

If she does the eviction process legally, it will still take 3-4 months. She has yet to serve a S21 which gives you two months. Then the possession order will probably take another month (including waiting for a court date and for time for you to send in a defense), then about two weeks (bit more for courts to process paperwork) for the bailiffs warrant. You still have a bit of time. The clock hasn't actually started ticking yet. But she may not know this.

It is a bit scary though. It was kind of like voluntarily putting your neck in the noose.., once I had the S21, then the possession order, then the bailiffs warrant.., the eviction process was started and the final day getting closer and closer. There was no turning back..,but obviously it also brought to an end over a year of being threatened with eviction, and four years of no repairs so lots of things didn't work properly in the house.

Now I'm in heaven lol. The process was awful, but it ended successfully for me and hopefully I'll get a permanent place in the end. This is what keeps you going. As long as you are not in arrears, and you can't find private housing, the council will have to house you somewhere.

With my council they didn't place people in B&B (lots do) so find out what policy your council has. They were however going to place us in standard single room (hostel type) accommodation, but because of my kids special needs I was able to produce lots of evidence to show that was unsuitable.

I know this is difficult, not everything the council tells you will be correct so check what they say. They do gatekeep and terrify, I'm afraid. I was told I'd be found voluntarily homeless because I moved out of a council place four years ago.., complete nonsense I later discovered as I'd lived in the same house ever since (not lived in unstable circumstances which is when this rule applies). But they said it and it removed the ground from my feet for a while. Shelter helps with this kind of advice.

megaginge · 18 February 2016 at 8:12PM

Cheeky_Monkey wrote: »

That was a tad rude IMO. You have been given good advice so if you choose to ignore it and carry on being hysterical, that's up to you

Guest was being a little stern. I accept he's correct, but a little bit more empathy would be reasonable. I don't think OP is being hysterical... A tad defensive at most, which given the fear of homelessness (justified or otherwise) is also a reasonable reaction.

megaginge · 18 February 2016 at 8:17PM

Could your partner get a personal loan to cover deposit? Have you actually spoken to many lettings agents about this? I feel this topic is so focused on the LL and the notice period that this hasn't really been discussed.

Mossfarr · 18 February 2016 at 8:25PM

in your post #92 you mentioned that your LL contacted you to advise you that your tenancy would become a 'rolling contract' but that you would not be receiving 'anything written'. That is ok with regards to your tenancy agreement but did you receive any documentation regarding your deposit? As there has been a change to your tenancy since your deposit was originally deposited in a protection scheme (it is now become a periodic tenancy) you should have received new prescribed information. This is possibly an indication that your deposit has not been correctly protected. If this is the case your LL could be liable for a penalty of up to 3 times your monthly rent.

[Deleted User] · 18 February 2016 at 10:16PM

I went through three different tenancy agreements, did not receive new prescribed information but on checking during the four years, the deposit was protected. I doubt it would be worth the OP pursuing this, unless his deposit is not protected. If it isn't, then its a whole different ball game.