think i am going to get evicted

msdas

I have gotten myself into a right mess,
Owe £1000 rent to housing association landlord.
They have posted through my door papers for court date for an outright/suspended possession order.
Also have received court papers from the court.

I have had agreements to pay, but have not stuck to them
Am self employed, work has totally dried up, and have had some personal/ family stuff that has knocked the wind out of me.

Have been looking for jobs, not much luck, have now sorted out housing benefit and have to pay a third of rent my rent is £110 per week. Am struggling, but am sticking to it,

Really scared now, with the though of me losing my home,
I won't be able to find the money to pay it all off

Pixie5740

If you're worried about being evicted then phone Shelter.

If you are not working, or have little work on at the moment are there any benefits you might be entitled to or have you already looked into this?

Is £110 a week a lot of rent for your area? Is the property larger than you need? Could you perhaps do a swap with someone into a smaller, less expensive property?

Have you contacted the HA recently to discuss where you are financially and to see about setting up a new arrangement to pay?

[Deleted User]

I'm wondering how it was decided you should still pay a third of your rent if your earnings are practically zero?

I'd go to the CAB and see if you can get any additional help. Would your doctor support you claiming ESA. You would get £57 a week while being assessed but may not be successful once a work capability form is assessed or you are asked to go for a face to face assessment.

If you are keeping to the payments now, and making an effort to reduce the arrears now, you might find you won't be evicted. You could ring Shelter as already advised. If you aren't making efforts to pay off the arrears already, please do so, even if its just £5 a week.

msdas

My rent is very cheap for my area,
I spoke to HA last week, i think they want rid of me, they know my financial situation,
I have kept them up to date every step of the way, the last few months,
I have to take reponsiblity for not sticking to payments, coss no money coming in,

I do get tax credits

msdas

Third of rent is, rates/water. 'Bedroom tax' and 'earnings' from being self employed

I use to pay half, but recently reduced
,

[Deleted User]

Please please go to your CAB for an assessment of what help you might be able to get. Please base any assessment they will try to make on reality. If you aren't earning anything, this is what you need to say. It sounds to me that something is going wrong with assessments you have done so far.

If you can say to the court, I wasn't receiving the money I should have been, now I am and can pay X extra towards the arrears and receiving B in housing benefit, it will show you are making every effort to sort the situation out.

The HA don't want to get rid of you.., they just want the rent paid for the property. Telling them what is going on is not enough I'm afraid. Like the court, they want to know you can cover the rent.

HA's often have advice sections for people in your situation, particularly the larger ones. Have you tried to get any help?

I'd also suggest speaking to your GP., I'm wondering if you have some depression as well. Not saying you have, but its worth looking at.

TBagpuss

you need to deal with the court papers - if you ignore it, the HA can get an eviction order.

If you respond and attend court it may be possible to agree a new arrangement to clear the debt.

Speak to Shelter.

Contact the court to see whether they have a duty advisor (some courts have a rota of local solicitors who offer support / advise at court)

Check http://www.entitledto.co.uk/ to see whether you may be eligible for any benefits or other help you are not already claiming.

Good luck.

msdas

Yes had an advice/help adviser from HA, claiming everything I am entitled too, housing benefit was increased and am paying what is a more affordable for me, sortedsorted out by housing association advice person, so i thought I was on right track....

Ideally, I want to find 'proper' work and not be self employed anymore,
Thanks, will contact shelter and court tomorrow,

[Deleted User]

You can do this, just do it one step at a time. Phone Shelter, or go to the CAB (with all the paperwork you have about rent, earnings, bills, benefits etc). If you have any issues (family issues, health, mental health, self medication, alcohol etc) its helpful to mention these as well as it will work in your favour (make you fall into a 'vulnerable' group).

dancingfairy

Hello, there was a poster on here a few weeks back in a similar situation. I believe they got help from shelter and a benefits advisee and managed to keep their house at the 11 hour.
The housing association don't want to pay out for court costs then eviction costs then have to chase you. What they want is for the rent to be paid.
You need to a)/pay the rent on time and b)/put together a sensible, realistic plan to pay the arrears.
Make sure you are getting all benefits you are entitled to and then draw up a sensible, workable budget. Shelter should be able to help.
If you have any other debts you need to get help for these as well. Shelter can probably advise or else contact stepchange. If you have any credit cards, or unsecured loans then you should put these on the back burner and pay say 1 pound per month as any 'spare' should probably be used towards your arrears as rent is one of the most important things to sort.
Do not panic, this can be sorted.
Df

msdas

Spoke to shelter, who got civil legal advice to call and then got passed on to solicitor/lawyer? Legal company...... Even more confused.

I will received paperwork in post of all discussed? Options.

When I told them about court papers and asked what to do, I was asked to take pics and email them and they will Help me fill out. Shall I still call court?