Stressed by debt, but have a plan. Please help me with ideas or advise.

eLdn123

As an update, Friend 1 has agreed to payment split, so will have rent money in April. Have messaged the landlords agent, but have yet to hear back.

Bookgal88

Lover_of_Lycra said:

vickya said:

eLdn123 It's good that you've had your lightbulb moment on this and you're ready to tackle it. 
 My intention here isn't to scare you - it's just to help you make the best decisions and be prepared.  
Firstly, I agree with an earlier poster who said you need to prioritise your four walls first. Your landlord isn't under any obligation to just accept that you can't pay your rent on time - it makes your financial problem his / her financial problem.
I also suspect that non-payment / late payment of your rent would be a breach of your tenancy agreement, in which case your landlord would likely be able to ask you to leave the property with very little notice. He / she may also be able to levy a late payment charge, and charge for interest they lose between the date the payment is due and the date it is received. Obviously, neither of these scenarios are ideal and it will likely mean that your housemate will also be asked to vacate the property, which could put strain on your friendship. The last thing you need is to be made homeless right now so I really advise that you prioritise getting your rent money together on time. Do you have any savings at all (I ask because sometimes people post about their debts and then reveal that they do actually have some savings but don't want to use them for whatever reason)? If you do, use those savings to make your rent payment. 
I think you might also benefit from making yourself a spreadsheet (if you haven't already) to get your figures really clear. 

Whilst well meaning your advice surrounding the tenancy isn't correct. The landlord cannot end they tenancy as that can only be done by the tenant or a court. The landlord could issue notice for the arrears and/or a section 21 notice and then go to court to try and get a possession order but it is not "very little notice"  and the landlord would still have to wait for a court date. 

There's a sticky at the top of the House Buying, Selling and Renting board about tenancies in England and Wales. It explains how and when a tenancy can be ended. 

None of this means I would recommend repaying other debts ahead of rent though as it's a priority bill. 

But isn't notice 14 days? The tenant can then decide if they want to stay put and let a court decide if the reasons for the LL trying to seek possession are valid, but that would seem overly stressful in this situation given that the OP accepts they are overdue / will be overdue with rent payments. This was my understanding anyway, but happy to be corrected! 

eLdn123

@vickya 14 days notice ? I was not aware of that, I thought one needed to be in arrears 2 months before such a short notice can go ahead, which I would not be, as it would only be a delay, but payment will still be made. Agents have not come back to me since Monday, so tomorrow I will give them a call.

eLdn123

Another update guys, and thank you all for all your input. Landlord and agent have agreed that there is no problem for this month to be late. Regarding future months, they said we will discuss when the time comes.

Their actual reply was " yeah, no problem, no worries. ". I am so happy, yet have been so worried.

EssexHebridean

I'd suggest that you make sure that you keep your flat mate totally up to date with what is going on and what steps are in place to sort out the problem - he'd be justified in being quite unhappy if he was not aware of things like the LL's agreement to allow late payment of rent. 

eLdn123

EssexHebridean said:

I'd suggest that you make sure that you keep your flat mate totally up to date with what is going on and what steps are in place to sort out the problem - he'd be justified in being quite unhappy if he was not aware of things like the LL's agreement to allow late payment of rent. 

Yes, that is something which I have done. I've discussed with him about the issue and solutions which I have at the moment.

Onebrokelady

I cant offer any advice that's different to what you have already been given but just wanted to say well done for getting help with the gambling and coming here to sort this problem out, good luck to you 😊

eLdn123

Just an update, paid the rent, paid one of my friends and informed the creditors about the situation. Loans2Go has not even replied, while the rest have been good and apparently understanding.

I received a review letter from HSBC regarding the overdraft, they basically gave me a couple of months to have it to 0 £, which I do not believe I can do until other payments are made, like I said in my first post, so I've followed an advice I've received from several people, including the debt management team from HSBC, which is to open an account with another bank, and then start slowly chopping away on the OD. I was searching for a basic account, and the Barclays one was recommended, but surprinsingly when I tried applying, was "rejected" for the basic one and offered a Premier, maybe they don't look at credit history that much. Gave the new sort code and acc number to my employer and will start taking it slowly from here.

eLdn123

I read some horror stories looking now online, about customers of Barclays have their accounts closed after being opened. I am hoping this wouldn't happen in my case. I am assuming that they would have a ran a credit check prior to approving my account, as I already gave my employer the new account information.

SadieO

I don't have any advice to add to what the fab people on here have already given you. But I just wanted to say a huge well done for acknowledging and addressing the gambling, which mustn't be easy, and taking steps to sort things out. Wishing you all the best xx