serious help-we could be out on the street!!!

missmoneybum

Hi, we have moved to a rented house recently i did an online calculator that said we would be entitled to some housing benefit. So i paid the deposit and a months rent. We have had some real problems with the benefit office, and although we are now due 2 months of housing benefit at £63 a week (our rent is £700 which is average for our area) that they dont pay a lump sum and we will get last months housing benefit which was only 3 and a bit weeks so £200. buy the online calculator i worked out i should be getting £90 a week so i had worked out that i was getting £720 for the 8 weeks which would have covered my rent. I know u cant rely on these things but i did!Now my rent was due a week ago and my landlord (private not estate agent) says they want the money today at the very latest.My partner has just changed jobs due to moving so we havnt had any money coming in for a while. he will get his wage fri which is weekly for about £200 and i get about £60 tax credits as well fri, but other than that nothing. Im sooo scared he wants the money today and i know he will just turn up here and im on my own with my baby, im sooo scared!! I havnt even told my husband any of this as im meant to sort out the money, and he is gonna be fuming at me, he dont even know the rent date!!Im just soo scared i feel like running away!!Ive tried ringing the homeless office which is open today but isnt answering the phone!!i just dont know wot to do, any advice please? ive got no 1 to turn to, and have got my family in a horrible situation, i feel sooo stupid!

boyse7en

You could try phoning your local Citizens Advice Bureau, they may be able to give you details of any agencies that may be able to help.

liz545

It may be worth going to the council homeless office in person. Even if they aren't able to pay you then and there, they may be able to give you written confirmation that the outstanding hb will be paid by a certain date that you can show the LL.

Generali

Call Shelter 0808 800 4444. They'll put you straight.

mumoftwins

See my thread under 'eviction notice served' - I have been through all this but as I was and still am very depressed due to other circumstances that is why mine went so far.

Please, please go to the council today and see a HB person and explain the situation to them, take bank statements to prove income and expenditure and any payslips.

But whatever happens use your HB to pay your rent - I didn't as haven't been coping well for some time - and above all else pay your rent. I have learnt the hard way - not good but I have had some fabulous advice and support on here.

Do not be afraid to ask for help and please talk to your husband.

Good luck xx

clutton_2

don't panic - a landlord cannot evict you without a court order - and that takes time to organise. he cannot even apply to the court until you are two months in arrears (providing your rent is due monthly). The best way that he can help you get his rent is if he writes you a letter telling you that he plans to evict you - and the HB office may well speed up your application.

Have the HB office got all the paperwork they require for your application ? this can sometimes hold things up.

if you paid a deposit 8 weeks ago - has the landlord sent you notification as to which Deposit scheme he has lodged the money with - this is now the law. you should also have received notification from the Deposit Scheme to say that they have received your deposit. if he has not lodged your deposit he cannot evict you using a Section 21 notice. But he can go to court to get you evicted on the grounds that you have not paid rent.

if he has not lodged your deposit, then, even if he evicts you - you can take him to court and claim 3 times the amount of the deposit back - this is the new law and the 2004 Housing Act forces swinging penalties on landlords who now abuse tenants deposits.

As has already been said, Shelter will be your best bet - but try not to panic, and do talk to your partner - it is NOT your fault that HB is so slow in settling claims.

Guy_Montag

1) Your LL can't get you out without a court order - if he comes round demanding that you leave call the police (don't mention it's your LL, just that someone is harrassing you).

2) You must be able to understand why your LL is worried, you've moved in & paid only one month's rent, now you're in you're expensive & time consuming to get out. Explain the situation: that you are due backdated HB, that your partner has just started a new job, that you will pay £X on Friday, £X the following Friday & so on until you are up to date.

3) I think you need to get in touch with a housing association & get on the council list. You can't afford where you currently live.

Mrs_Thrify

Hiya, you are not alone on here, keep talking to us and lots of advice given.
I was going to say the landlord has to give you an aviction letter. This letter to ask you to leave, take to the council and they will put you all in emergency accomodation. Is your name on the list for a council flat?
Best wishes...

missmoneybum

Hi everyone!!
Thank you soo much for your replys its a real relief to have some1 to talk to about all this.Yeah we cant afford this place, we cant afford anywhere private, but as we have "coped" untill now we are at the bottom of the list for a council place. I have allready rung them up and they are sending me a change of circumstance form so i can put on my application about my difficulties.But at the moment we only have 2 points, and they are only because we have been waiting 18 months. I have give in all the evidence, it took even longer than it should as almost a week after i gave in evidence i got a letter to say the photocopies, their receptionist had doen were not clear so i had to go back in, which delayed everything.They are saying i will get £200 in the next few days, as it is backdated, where as with private renting u pay at the start of the month, so although i should of paid 2 months rent i have only been here a month.So by fri i should be able to give her £400 and if we really scrimpt i should be able to get the rest to him the following week,but his not really the kind of person to agree to this, he said today is the very latest!! As for the deposit when i gave him the cheque, he said right i better get this in the bank, i still need to pay the last ppl there deposit back, ie implying he was using my deposit to pay back theirs.is this illigal? He also said as my money hadnt gone in this month, he had gone overdrawn so i had to pay the bank charges as well?I really dont know where i stand!!

Guy_Montag

Sounds like he's not protecting your deposit - you want to sue him (you should get £2100 that way). I'm going to be busy all afternoon, but I bet someone else can fill you in on the details.

Start getting in touch with local housing associations.


Good luck.

clutton_2

talk to shelter immediately - good luck - try not to dwell on the past, try to get shelter to help you stabilise your current place, or to find somewhere else.

the landlord needs to give you the "prescribed" information about the manner in which he is holding your deposit.