Homeless Advised Required

Justiceforme

I should point out that this advice is not for myself.

Women with 1 child has recently divorced.
House has been sold and she must vacate the property very soon.
She does not have any money and cannot borrow money due to CCJs and poor credit history. CCJs will paid off when she receives money from house sale. She may have difficulty finding a landlord who will accept a person with previous CCJs and on Universal Credit at present. Under the circumstances, will she defiantly need a guarantor because of past debt problems?
She will receive money soon and wants to rent privately.
Catch 22 situation she does not have the money for a deposit on rented property, so can't go ahead until money is received.
So she will be deemed as homeless as soon as the new vendor pays for the property.
No relatives or friends can help with the situation.
Can anyone suggest the best course of action here?
Sorry I'm asking about so many problems.

Many thanks for any advice offered.

elsien

Some councils offer a bond to pay the deposit for the tenant.
She needs to make an appointment with her local council housing department for advice. There is also the option of a cheap hotel, lodgings or short term rent while she finds a place to rent in the longer run. With her credit history she may need to offer 6 months (or whatever) rent in advance if there is no one who can be guarantor.

princeofpounds

Yes council are probably going to be the initial solution for this. As a woman with a child she is likely to get treated seriously.

They may offer temporary b&b place, but given she will have the means to rent privately but lacks the opportunity, I suspect they may well try to place her in a rental ASAP. The council often have access to rental properties that don’t have the deposit/CCJ issues (as they can provide guarantees, or sub-let).

Also, Shelter are a good charity to get further advice from.

Good luck to her. She should be fine Sandton long as she’s pro-active about seeking help.

AdrianC

Justiceforme wrote: »

Women with 1 child has recently divorced.
House has been sold and she must vacate the property very soon.
She does not have any money and cannot borrow money due to CCJs and poor credit history. CCJs will paid off when she receives money from house sale.

So she's not a tenant, she's currently an owner-occupier with her ex, and the house is being sold as part of the divorce settlement?

How much will be left over once she's paid the debts?

She may have difficulty finding a landlord who will accept a person with previous CCJs and on Universal Credit at present. Under the circumstances, will she defiantly need a guarantor because of past debt problems?

Only each individual putative landlord can tell her if she's going to need a guarantor.

TBH, her financial situation is not going to help her much even once she does have the proceeds of the sale to hand - landlords simply don't much like tenants with poor credit histories, for fairly obvious reasons.

She will receive money soon and wants to rent privately.
Catch 22 situation she does not have the money for a deposit on rented property, so can't go ahead until money is received.
So she will be deemed as homeless as soon as the new vendor pays for the property.

But the moment the sale completes and the proceeds are disbursed, she will have sufficient assets to sort her own accommodation, so the local authority are under no obligation to step in.

No relatives or friends can help with the situation.

Even the child's father...?

Can anyone suggest the best course of action here?

Is she really going to be absolutely penniless? Not even enough to hand for a few cheap nights in a B&B or other similar short-term accommodation?

theartfullodger

Yes, why must she leave? Had she been served valid notice?

She should go to local CaB for overall advice

Justiceforme

The Father in the case has been very supportive, always paid child maintenance and many other bills. He can't even afford a home of his own and lives with other family members.
She does not have any money, can't borrow money due to CCJs, therefore can't afford to pay for a cheap B&B.
I don't think the new owner has served any sort of notice period as yet. By law, do they have to do so?

Thanks

AdrianC

Justiceforme wrote: »

I don't think the new owner has served any sort of notice period as yet. By law, do they have to do so?

Because they're selling their house, rather than tenants, the boot is on the other foot.

Have they exchanged contracts yet? The contract will require them to deliver vacant possession on completion, and the date of that is set at exchange.

If they don't, then life is about to get very expensive indeed, because they will be liable for the purchaser's costs until they do.

Justiceforme

Thanks, I will pass information on.