86 year old dad facing eviction

Londonsu

He has a HA house which he has lived in for 30 years and has been falsely accused of subletting it, he had a letter (which I haven't seen yet) saying that he has breached the terms of his tenancy and the HA is seeking a possession order, we don't know why they think this they wont speak to the family about it, however we did find out from the tenants association chairman who has contact with the HA that they seem to think they have proof that from October last year to May this year he wasn't living in his house and was renting it out, the HA sent him a letter in June asking him to confirm that he still lived at the address which he responded to saying yes he did and then the letter telling him they were seeking a PO


This is completely untrue, my sister lives two doors down and cooks his dinner for him everyday and he hasn't gone anywhere in that time, of course we don't expect the HA or the court to take the word of a family member so these are the people who have had regular contact with him at his home address at the time the HA said he had moved out.


The Cinnamon Trust who have been walking his dog every day for over a year, picking the dog up and dropping him off and even in April this year helped him to rescue a new dog and helped him repair the fence in his garden to he could have one.


The cleaning company who come round three times a week and have been doing so during the relevant time.


The Salvation Army who have been picking him up from his address twice a week to take him to a day centre and the Officers who come and see him every 2 or 3 weeks to chat to him again this has been happening during the time the HA say he wasn't living at his address.


And in January this year he cut his leg which became infected so he had District Nurses coming in every day for 3 weeks to dress his wound.


We have contacted the CT and the cleaning company who will be happy to confirm he has been at his address, we phoned the Sally who are sending someone to see him to see if they can help and put in a letter to his GP to get confirmation of the Nurses visits.


We have a solicitors appointment on Tuesday and the idea was not to make a fuss but show all the evidence that will prove the HA has made some sort of mistake and to get it resolved calmly, however events today have made the situation intolerable.


At 7 this morning Dads neighbour knocked at my sisters door telling her to go and see Dad urgently, when she got there he was in the garden in his PJs trying to dig a hole , he collapsed sobbing, he had been trying to dig up Mums ashes because he was afraid he would be thrown out of his home and wouldn't be able to take her with him - the whole family is angry and distressed at this situation and it needs resolving.


I feel that its best to see the Solicitor as planned put all the information we have in front of him and get his advice, everyone else wants to storm the HA and demand they apologise and rescind the possession order.


If anyone has any information or advice they can give me I would be very grateful


Thank you for reading this

Marktheshark

Firstly inform the housing that under the data protection act you are now his "third party" as he is a vulnerable person
All communication must be now sent through you.
Inform them you are hiring a solicitor with a view to defending the ridiculous accusation and also about seeking damages for harassment from the housing.
Inform them that their actions are causing alarm and distress to a vulnerable person.
A signed document to from dad giving you third party authorisation to intervene should be sent as well.

dippy3103

You need a letter signed by your Dad giving you permission to discuss with the HA.
A possession order is granted by the court, so I am wondering if what he has is a notice seeking possession. If they are going to apply for a possession order they will need to supply the evidence on which they are making this application.
I'd be inclined to involve your MP as well as a solicitor.

Londonsu

dippy3103 wrote: »

You need a letter signed by your Dad giving you permission to discuss with the HA.
A possession order is granted by the court, so I am wondering if what he has is a notice seeking possession. If they are going to apply for a possession order they will need to supply the evidence on which they are making this application.
I'd be inclined to involve your MP as well as a solicitor.

I am on the IOW so haven't actually seen the letter but I think they are saying they are seeking a possession order, going up on Sunday for big family conference to see what we do next but I think we need to ensure the HA deals with us or the solicitor and not dad thank you

Red-Squirrel_2

dippy3103 wrote: »

You need a letter signed by your Dad giving you permission to discuss with the HA.
A possession order is granted by the court, so I am wondering if what he has is a notice seeking possession. If they are going to apply for a possession order they will need to supply the evidence on which they are making this application.
I'd be inclined to involve your MP as well as a solicitor.

If his other daughter lives two doors down it might make more sense for her to take the lead in this.

I'd advise you not to panic, and to focus on reassuring your dad from now until the solicitor meeting, as it sounds like there is more than sufficient evidence that there has been no wrongdoing. Shelter will also be able to give good advice on how to proceed and might save you some money.

Jenniefour

Sorry your father is in this dreadful situation. Letter writing as Marktheshark suggests is the way to deal with this rather than someone/the family going down to the HA. A well worded letter as suggested will fire a big shot over their bows, and that might be enough to make them question the evidence they believe they have. When you post it make sure they have to sign for it. I hope the person who opens it is more competent than the person(s) who has investigated this, and the person(s) who made the decision.

I would also be tempted to copy in the chief exec (or equivalent person) if it's a big HA rather than a small one, as well as your father's local MP.

Addition. Um. So we now find out this is possibly about fraud, and there's a much bigger story behind this.

Spidernick

If I was a betting man, I'd put money on the Housing Association having him muddled up with someone else in a similar address. The incompetence of seemingly a significant minority of people never ceases to amaze me (including solicitors, who you'd expect to be professional).

GDB2222

If what you have said here is the whole story, your father will not be evicted. It sounds like you have ample evidence that the HA is mistaken. So, you should concentrate for the time being on reassuring your father.

It's a serious matter, so you are right to involve a solicitor, who can hopefully head this off before it gets to court.

PasturesNew

The trouble with modern life is there's nobody that can listen, realise, sort it out ..... it's all screens and button pressing and not being able to get to people.

Your dad will not be evicted. He has not done it; he was at home all the time; you have a gazillion independent witnesses of very high standing who can verify he was there.

A mistake has been made. Somebody pressed the wrong button, chose the wrong postcode, chose the wrong address.

Get in touch with his local MP - this is an easy one for them to sort out. You've got it all: Your dad .... list of all the independent witnesses that could be called ... anybody listening/looking will instantly see some idiot's pressed the wrong button and that the system then has no ability to "listen".

Geoff1963

"They are seeking a possession order", is typical underhand language ; implying that there is some kind of probability, combined with authority.
"My neighbour is seeking a million pound payment from Camelot" = they have bought a lottery ticket.

everyone else wants to storm the HA

The problem with large organisations, is that they feel protected against the individuals they harm. They forget there is a human being on the end of the paper trail ; and when mistakes happen, as they do, the personal consequences can be catastrophic.

they have proof that from October last year to May this year he wasn't living in his house and was renting it out

If he doesn't leave the house very often, the HA snoopers will instead see all the visitors coming and going. Perhaps they should be asked how many times they have called to see him, and someone else has answered the door.

When you get this resolved, the HA will doubtless say they were just following procedure, and "apologise for any inconvenience caused". I would be wanting to see a change of those procedures, which they will say are confidential and hence cannot be shared. Therefore "thirded" on the advice to involve your Dad's MP, copy to the HA ( direct contact and CEO ).

I'd suggest giving the HA a deadline, say a week, to formally declare that they were mistaken, and are not seeking possession ; or even give them a letter to sign ( with an e-mail address they can send it to you quickly ).

Civil Procedure Rules require the parties to avoid litigation, so I'd be asking to see all of the proof. Proof that : a) he wasn't living there ( was he living somewhere else ? ), b) someone else was living there ( who ? ), c) he was renting it out ( making payment how ? )
The technical method is a Part 18 Claim, but that might be valid only once they apply to a court.

You probably need written authority to act on your Dad's behalf, but a simple letter should suffice.
I like this, from, The Eagle Has Landed :
Col. Max Radl: [reading mission orders from Hitler] "Herr Oberst Radl is acting under my direct and personal orders in a matter of the utmost importance to the Reich. All personnel, military and civil, without distinction of rank, will assist him in any way that Oberst Radl sees fit to demand... Adolf Hitler."

Addition - All is not quite as it seems.

moneyistooshorttomention

Your poor father. My sympathies to him for being put through this - because of someone's incompetence.

When you have all your evidence - had you thought about doing an expose of HA incompetence in suitable local newspaper?

A photo of him, surrounded by his enraged family, waving a sheaf of letters from all relevant organisations showing proof they've been seeing him in his home all this time.

A bit of bad publicity (or the threat of) can sometimes have a salutary effect on an organisation.