Facing eviction and homelessness

Planet1309

Pixie5740 wrote: »

OP, you're making a mountain out of a molehill. You're landlady would like you to move out and you want to move out regardless of the legalities of it...fair enough. Rather than trying to get the council to re-home you and therefore taking away accommodation from someone who genuinely needs it find somewhere yourself to rent privately. Simple.

I can't believe you and your OH have become hysterical over your housing situation based on one single piece of tosh from a letting agency. Nobody except for you and the credit reference agency who made up the number can actually see those credit scores. They are meaningless as many other posters have pointed out to you. Pull yourself together and start searching for a new home asap.

Edit: How does the current letting agency even know you have a default? £5 says it's because you told them.

I couldn't possibly say what I'd like to say to you on a public forum;)

Pixie5740

Planet1309 wrote: »

I couldn't possibly say what I'd like to say to you on a public forum;)

That's ok, save your words for arranging viewings of potential new homes tomorrow.

As for the £5, I only take cash. :beer:

Planet1309

Pixie5740 wrote: »

That's ok, save your words for arranging viewings of potential new homes tomorrow.

As for the £5, I only take cash. :beer:

Fair play, I have to laugh:p

And yes, you're £5 up!

Pixie5740

I tell you what, you keep the £5 and put it towards your referencing fees.

What you need remember about letting agents is that any twit can and does set themselves up as a letting agent. They require no specific qualifications or training. Yes there are some decent ones out there but some are also pig ignorant and some are just fibbers. (The same applies to landlords) I doubt many letting agencies would even know there's a default on your credit file because it's probably just a basic search that's done (public records) which costs them £7 and you £100.

Planet1309

Pixie5740 wrote: »

I tell you what, you keep the £5 and put it towards your referencing fees.

What you need remember about letting agents is that any twit can and does set themselves up as a letting agent. They require no specific qualifications or training. Yes there are some decent ones out there but some are also pig ignorant and some are just fibbers. (The same applies to landlords) I doubt many letting agencies would even know there's a default on your credit file because it's probably just a basic search that's done (public records) which costs them £7 and you £100.

Thanks Pixie, never thought that they would do a public record search, I always assumed that they did a full credit report check, the reason I said about the default to the letting agent was because I was enquiringly about other properties on their books and they asked whether there was anything credit wise that could affect me so I felt it was best to be honest

Thanks

Red_Spider

OP - have you asked your LL if she knows any other LLs who may let to you?
If you explain the situation to her, then she may decide it's easier to find someone else to take you on, rather than have to go through the eviction and possession procedures.

As regards being in business and behaving professionally; yes, you're right, reputation is important. But business reputation is about being honest. All types of business run into difficulties and that often leads to debts with other businesses and suppliers.

(Strictly speaking your landlady's property is probably a personal investment, rather than a business, but the principals are similar)

Act now, keep speaking to your landlady, before your relationship deteriorates. Go and speak to her in person.

P.S. I think it highly unlikely that the social services will be taking your children "into care".
They are focussed on supporting families and helping them stay together as much as possible.
If you were all literally on the streets, they would place your wife and children in a B&B. Worst case scenario that B&B doesn't take men and you'd end up in a separate hostel / B&B nearby, but you'd only be sleeping there, so you'd be with them all day anyway.

[Deleted User]

I'm afraid the present system of dealing with homeless families 'screws over' both the tenant and the LL.

However, your LL is renting her property as a business. She has not given you a S21, she has just given you a letter asking you to leave. This is not the same thing. And I'm sorry, but who do you 'look after'.., if you can only look after one group.., your family or your LL?

Now, you are beginning to realise that you may be able to rent a property. The only things that a LA will take notice of in a credit check is actual CCJ's. If you don't have any of them, you won't have a problem. Go to some LA's and look at properties and see what the realities are. What formula do they have as far as affordability is concerned (often you need to earn 30 times the monthly rental). At the moment your assumptions (I'm not trying to be rude, just trying to make you see the reality) are your worst enemy. You may have to consider a different area, find a LL directly rather than go through a LA (but be careful, there are some cons out there).

If your LL issues a proper S21, your council may offer you a loan for first month's rent and deposit. This will help.

Your LL lives in the real world surely? If she wants you out, surely she can see that she needs to do things properly. Whatever your contract says, the law is of higher standing.., the law says she has to give two month's notice. Honestly, she was not bending over backwards doing you any favours. This belief is doing you a disservice. She wants to sell the place so she can release funds., she is not doing it to do you any favours. You really do have to look after yourself, just as she is.

As has been said, I too was in this situation. It wasn't pleasant and yes, the way things work to avoid being on the streets does maximise the stress. But the reality is you have to deal with it, not just refuse to engage. I had my son upstairs and the other child was in school when the bailiffs came round. The LL was there and it was all quite civilised. Obviously it wasn't the best day of my life, but it was dealable. The bailif did not turn up with a mask on and gun, threatening to disembowel me if I wasn't out the door in ten minutes. The children weren't frightened. I'd warned them what was going to happen. I'm sure if I'd been 'out of control' and crying, it would have been far more frightening for them than anything the bailiffs did. I kept things together and would have done whatever was said, for my children. That's what determines how upsetting the situation was for the kids. They knew there was a plan, that we were going to the council and they knew that although we didn't have a place to live even on the day of eviction, the council did have to provide us with somewhere to live. That was the important thing, that whatever happened, our family would be together.

When I posted on here, stressed, it was a different story, at times I had problems seeing a future.., but people on here really helped and I never let my kids see that side of things.

Yes it was all wrong.., my health was severely affected by all the stress.., we'd had eviction hanging over our heads for over a year by the time it happened, the council did NOT make things easier. They would not give us a place to live until we were actually evicted (and it turned out the place they gave me had been empty for at least a month before we moved in, roaches and all lol, with no repairs carried out so they could have done).., but I have to concentrate on the fact that we DO now have a place to live, that is more than comfortable for all of us (and everything works which is a nice change). I even gained permission to have the dog here! Concentrate on what you can do.
First things first. 1)Get your LL to issue you a S21 so you are on the first official rung of being evicted as far as the council are concerned (so ping, they will offer you the loan if you need it) and 2) Start approaching LA's to see what properties are available, don't explain too much. If you tell them 'I've had credit problems' they of course will show you the door immediately (think of the LA's motivations, be realistic, they don't want a problem tenant.., so don't make yourself out to be one).., be aware of what credit problems actually matter when renting a property.

Then I am very sorry, but if you can't find a private rental, unpleasant though it is, for the sake of your partner and child, you will HAVE to deal with the council's systems. For them. Nothing else. It might not be right, it won't be pleasant but it is what you have to do. Its not like you are being asked to disembowel a dog in front of your family. You are being asked to engage with the council's system. And its all there is if you can't get a private rental, unless you have family members you can stay with. View it as a system that you won't let defeat you rather than something that is simply wrong. It is wrong but it exists because the shortage of social housing means the councils will do everything they can to avoid putting people on their homeless list. If it was easy, there'd be ten times the number on there. As it is, its so difficult that people will find anything else rather than engage. So I guess, in a sick way, it works.

sniggings

Planet1309 wrote: »

Thanks Pixie, never thought that they would do a public record search, I always assumed that they did a full credit report check, the reason I said about the default to the letting agent was because I was enquiringly about other properties on their books and they asked whether there was anything credit wise that could affect me so I felt it was best to be honest

Thanks

They can only look at the public record, it's not like they have a choice.

If you feel the need, tell your LL you will pay any fees the LL pays taking you to court...remember tho, she is doing what she needs to sell the house (and not giving you the correct notice either) to make money, you do what you need for your family.

There needed be a big scene at the door, bailiffs know the score, the house can even be empty on the day, no furniture, kids etc the bailiff hands you the form and you walk away.

[Deleted User]

No this is not what happens exactly. Bailiff turns up, there are no forms (you've already got the warrant from the court). I did ask the bailiff who came round to my place if he had a form to give me and he said no. He could see we were more or less packed up, the LL said he was happy for him to go and so he did. Because my ex's Rottweiller was there (my ex was helping remove the mattresses etc, there was only the final night stuff left in the house), the Bailiff wouldn't even come in at first lol! Everyone was aware that this was purely a formality, including the bailiff. The place was almost empty, I wasn't refusing to leave. The bailiff was the tiniest man I've ever seen lol.., if I had of been awkward I doubt he could have done much (except call the police of course).

The LL took the court costs for the possession order and bailiffs warrant (£390 in total) out of my deposit, I agreed to this. It annoyed me intensely I had to pay to be evicted purely to comply with council requirements but there was no other way.

Pixie5740

Planet1309 wrote: »

Thanks Pixie, never thought that they would do a public record search, I always assumed that they did a full credit report check, the reason I said about the default to the letting agent was because I was enquiringly about other properties on their books and they asked whether there was anything credit wise that could affect me so I felt it was best to be honest

Thanks

You're welcome. People on debt management plans and even those who are bankrupt manage to rent privately so one wee default is unlikely to be a barrier. With a bit of luck you'll have found somewhere by the end of the month and you can sleep easy again.