I'm being evicted!

marycanary

I am so sorry that you are having this problem. Please do contact the council, they should be able to 

1) take enforcement action to require the owner to repair the property
2) if the owner does serve a s21,  Please do not leave it until the day of eviction. The Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 places both a prevention and a relief duty on councils. 

Did the owner protect your deposit in one of the schemes? 

Having said this it is true that many council services have been greatly reduced due to spending cuts.

Alderbank

'I can't afford anywhere else...'

If you claim the PIP you are entitled to you will be able to afford something else.

In fact this should be your wake-up to get somewhere better (it could hardly be worse!) and with a more caring landlord.

Now is probably a good time to make your move. Here in Scotland we abolished no fault evictions a few years ago. The effect has been that the number of private rentals has gone down and rents have risen faster than England as a result, so don't delay too long.

When you replaced carpets and other stuff, did you have the landlord's agreement to do so?

propertyrental

just_a_renter said:

propertyrental said:

You have no way of knowing the LLs circumstances, and in any case it does not really matter.

He may sell the lease to the flat and keep the shop, so that's not really relevant.

The law change in the kings speech may be a factor - I think many LLs will reconsider their business plans in light of the rule change, but in any case it will take considerable time to become law. It's inevitable that if/as property letting becomes increasingly expensive or difficult, fewer people will want to be LLs.

Historic defects in the property which have been fixed (albeit slowly) are irrelevant.

And as far as a S21 is concerned, your personal circumstances/health issues are also irrelevant, as is the length of time you've been there.

However there are plenty of potential reasons why a S21 may be invalid (see link above). In particular, current property defects that the LL has ignored/is ignoring, are relevant.

Yes, there are lots of issues that haven't been fixed. I have emails from years ago saying that they were going to fix them, but they never did. Big issues. Leaky roofs and and collapsed ceilings, windows falling out of their frames, etc. I've documented everything

Having emails is the first step. 

If you have

* reported an issue, and

* the LL has ignored it, and

* you have then gone to Environmental Health, and

* they have inspected and agreed there is an issue(s), and

* EH have served a 'relevant notice' on the LL to rectify the problem(s),

THEN (and only then)

any S21 will be either invalid, or if already served, become invalid.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/20/section/33/enacted

“relevant notice” means—
(a)

a notice served under section 11 of the Housing Act 2004 (improvement notices relating to category 1 hazards),
(b)

a notice served under section 12 of that Act (improvement notices relating to category 2 hazards), or
(c)

a notice served under section 40(7) of that Act (emergency remedial action);

theartfullodger

An s21 notice, even if valid (many many are not ) does not end tenancy nor compel tenant to leave.  Only a court can do that.

Further, even if valid it doesn't mean landlord will take it to court.

All as put into law by Thatcher's 1988 housing act.

When s21 arrives (if it does) check it.  If invalid don't tell landlord - that just gives landlord more time to sort it.

Good luck.  Keep us informed of progress/changes 

just_a_renter

Alderbank said:

'I can't afford anywhere else...'

If you claim the PIP you are entitled to you will be able to afford something else.

In fact this should be your wake-up to get somewhere better (it could hardly be worse!) and with a more caring landlord.

Now is probably a good time to make your move. Here in Scotland we abolished no fault evictions a few years ago. The effect has been that the number of private rentals has gone down and rents have risen faster than England as a result, so don't delay too long.

When you replaced carpets and other stuff, did you have the landlord's agreement to do so?

Not as such but I did report everything to him first and he ignored it. The carpets were paper-thin and ripped/worn in places, and they didn't quite fit the rooms so it looks like they'd been taken from another property. Same with the lino, etc. I reported everything first

just_a_renter

Alderbank said:

'I can't afford anywhere else...'

If you claim the PIP you are entitled to you will be able to afford something else.

In fact this should be your wake-up to get somewhere better (it could hardly be worse!) and with a more caring landlord.

Now is probably a good time to make your move. Here in Scotland we abolished no fault evictions a few years ago. The effect has been that the number of private rentals has gone down and rents have risen faster than England as a result, so don't delay too long.

When you replaced carpets and other stuff, did you have the landlord's agreement to do so?

And thanks for the PIP suggestion. My friends and therapist say I should claim it but it's all a bit daunting. ESA was bad enough

deannagone

If you have claimed ESA you should be able to claim PIP.  I was awarded Enhanced care and mobility pip and it increased my monthly income considerably.  It was  a long process so took some time and effort, but once done, is well worth it.

I joined the Benefits and Work forum.  The first time I applied for pip, had to go to Tribunal in the end to be awarded PIP.  Once I had the information and increased understanding provided by the forum (they even advise you on how to describe any health difficulties) I went through the process another 2 times, and was awarded PIP easily with no hassle.  It gets easier!

Not anything to do with the forum, just saying how joining it made applying for PIP quicker and far less hassle. The money has made my life far easier.

just_a_renter

deannagone said:

If you have claimed ESA you should be able to claim PIP.  I was awarded Enhanced care and mobility pip and it increased my monthly income considerably.  It was  a long process so took some time and effort, but once done, is well worth it.

I joined the Benefits and Work forum.  The first time I applied for pip, had to go to Tribunal in the end to be awarded PIP.  Once I had the information and increased understanding provided by the forum (they even advise you on how to describe any health difficulties) I went through the process another 2 times, and was awarded PIP easily with no hassle.  It gets easier!

Not anything to do with the forum, just saying how joining it made applying for PIP quicker and far less hassle. The money has made my life far easier.

Thanks, I've lurked on benefits and work forums before but never posted. Membership is super cheap so I'll check it out. Still feel a bit cheeky claiming PIP because there's nothing (serious) physically wrong with me, but the only places I can currently afford are shared and the mental toll of living in shared accommodation would probably kill me

deannagone

If the conditions you list "I have severe anxiety and depression, and I'm currently being assessed for autism and ADHD. I have no energy to do anything (executive dysfunction) and have difficulty even leaving the house (agoraphobia) exist, they are serious enough to qualify you for PIP.  I have similar and had no problems claiming PIP.  You don't just have to have physical disabilities to be able to claim PIP.  If you have problems communicating, dealing with stress, motivation going out etc and are diagnosed as having ASD or ADHD.., these affect your life, put you at a severe disadvantage and can qualify you for PIP. A hidden effect with these kind of problems is challenges processing information - which often affects my understanding of what's going on.  I'm not unintelligent by any means but do have problems processing information/what people say. I get overwhelmed very easily too.

You could try making a list of how they affect you, it might clarify your thoughts. Its a bit depressing to do as of course, you do tend to make little of problems and how they affect you.., but if they exist, its a good thing to do. 

Its a good idea to get the conditions diagnosed, its what I did when faced with homelessness as they conveyed 'special needs' on me and meant the council had to provide housing.  This is a long stressful process in itself but several years later I still have a stable council home that makes life a lot easier (rather than having to deal with private rental evictions and LL's that can be very difficult to make sure they what they should, I had a horror of a LL too). I don't know where I'd be now if I hadn't applied for council housing now that renting has become more challenging.  It means so much to have a stable home.

I am very very glad I did these things, hard as they were at the time.  I will never be evicted again (well as long as I continue to pay rent). I was placed in emergency housing initially (which was on a sink estate but better than the private rental even so) they found permanent council housing. My rent is a third of private rental costs in the area.  Council housing is not perfect, but if you can get it.., well worth the effort.

RHemmings

just_a_renter said:

Bookworm105 said:

doubtless the LL is trying to pre-empt the change in law given you say you are paying a low rent in return for a place which the LL is not spending much money on 

until the law changes, if the S21 is valid, then the process to remove you has started and eventually you will have to move, hence it is called "no fault" 
yes you can drag it out and eventually end up in court and then have bailiffs at the door, but can you cope with that stress?
do you have a support worker who can help?
we can make suggestions on how to fight it, but at the end of the day only you can actually do the fighting.

I haven't actually been served the notice yet. I just got a phonecall from the letting agent telling me that it was going to be served. Could I preemptively complain about the faults again to negate it?

I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. 

I believe that a S21 can be valid (i.e. assuming it is not invalidated by something else) if it is issued before an improvement order from the council. And, for an improvement order to invalidate the S21, it has to have been within the last six months. Hence, if the OP wants to fight this with an improvement order, I believe that it has to be done quickly. 

You might want to talk to a Citizens Advice advisor concerning this: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/eviction/getting-evicted/renting-privately/if-youre-being-evicted-because-you-asked-for-repairs-renting-privately  I've scanned the thread, and I'm not sure what country of the UK you are in. The link is for England, but there is another link for other countries in that page. 

There's more information here, which suggests that in some situations a S21 can be invalidated by an improvement notice after the S21 was issued.

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/revenge_eviction_if_you_ask_for_repairs

If you got a section 21 before the council's notice

Your landlord cannot use the section 21 notice to evict you as long as all these things have happened:

1. you complained to your landlord about your housing conditions before the section 21

2. your landlord did not properly deal with your complaint within 14 days

3. you then complained to the council's environmental health team about the problem

4. the council gave your landlord an improvement or emergency works notice

Again, this is for England. Where are you? 

While I state the above, it does sound to me that you would be better off in another place. Though, I can see that in your circumstances this is going to be very difficult. Do you have family and/or friends who can support you? And, someone who can help you access all the help that you need.