Housing Association Eviction - what can we do?

PlanHappy

Hi,

I've just found out that my mother was evicted from her housing association property today. Apparently she came home and the locks had been changed. She has obviously been ignoring her post, and her rent payments, for quite some time for it to have gone that far. Apparently her property is still in the house - she has been told that she will have to remove it, but doesn't know what the deadline for that is.

I can pull together the money to pay her arrears for her. I would have done so already if she'd told anyone about it, but this is the first we've heard. She's refusing to talk to me at the moment, which makes it more difficult for me to help her (I know all of this only through my sister).

My question is: does anybody know whether there is any recourse at this point? If I phone up the HA tomorrow and offer to pay the full balance, is there a good chance of getting the house back? Is there any other way that it can be appealed now that she has actually been evicted?

She is staying with my sister tonight but that isn't viable long-term, and she has three dogs who will have to go to a rescue centre tomorrow if she can't get her old house back, so time is of the essence. She also has some longstanding mental health issues, although she is mostly functional and doesn't engage with medical help.

Any help or advice very gratefully received.

Thanks.

HB58

I'm sorry, this must be very worrying!

The only thing I can suggest is to contact Shelter urgently.

PlanHappy

Thank you for your sympathy. The HA are my first port of call tomorrow when office hours start, but if that yields no results, Shelter will be my next stop. I'm just hoping that I can get some info about what my chances are with the HA or whether there are any particular tips I can use, before I call - not least because it might help me get some sleep tonight!

ViolaLass

If she's been ignoring her rent payments will paying her arrears really solve the problem?

Marktheshark

Filing an appeal at the magistrates court may be an option.

[Deleted User]

I'd be talking to Shelter and MIND. They might know of a local charity that helps with people with housing/care problems with mental health vulnerabilities. They may be able to help your mum in a way she will accept. The problem is, if your mum doesn't want help, in these days of cost cutting, she won't get it.

I think the council will need to contact the HA and see if there is any way forward. However, the council will, initially, probably say that your mother made herself homeless and do their best to ignore the mental health issues. You will probably need to get support from Shelter or MIND to make them pay attention to the real reasons why your mum is homeless. Maybe your mum needs an advocate or someone who can take over looking after her affairs - regardless of what she wants.., but this is complicated to arrange. Its possible, but complicated.

Cheeky_Monkey

As the eviction has already taken place, I think it's highly unlikely you will have any joy with the HA. I imagine it will be a case of 'too little, too late' and they have probably already allocated it to someone else who doesn't have rent arrears.

PlanHappy

Whether it'll solve the problem: she has a good job (she's an experienced teacher) and has very little in the way of necessary outgoings so she should be easily able to afford her rent. She is very bad at money management - obviously - so a condition of the loan/gift would be that she would allow me to draw up a plan to help her manage her finances, which I have been trying to get her to agree to for years (and is also why she is now refusing to talk to me). However, if I let her lose the house, I don't see her life getting back on track in the short or medium term, particularly as she would probably lose her job. It's the least worst option right now.

In terms of an appeal: do you know whether that can be done at this stage, now the eviction has actually taken place?

[Deleted User]

I am afraid you can't 'let her lose the house' she already has. The house isn't hers anymore, she was evicted.

It sounds to me like some major change needs to take place with your mother. Making a plan with her when she won't even talk to you - not going to happen. Even if you did, she would probably break it. She needs more intervention than this. But to get it, she's got to ask for it and it doesn't sound like, at the moment, she's prepared to. Your sister could possibly ask her GP to call and talk to her mother while she's staying with her.

I think the most important thing is to get your mother to accept she needs help. But sometimes people with mental health issues can be very difficult to get to see this. She may be resistant because she's scared what will happen to her job. I wonder if she's more in control of herself than it seems as if her mental health issues were interfering with her job, she wouldn't be a teacher for too long.

Only Shelter or the CAB can say if anything can be done about the eviction..,but they will need your mother's permission to look at the situation.

PlanHappy

That's what I thought would probably be the case...

Cheeky_Monkey

Even if it were possible to appeal, which is unlikely, I don't think she would have any grounds on which to do so.

From what you say, she can't very well say that she couldn't afford the rent, it would appear that she just chose not to pay it.