Housing association rent arrears

Tabieth

leamingtonspaceman said:

Jude57 said:

leamingtonspaceman said:

Yes, their advertised response time is seven days so there were multiple service failures.

I was under the impression that court hearings were held at the court closest to the defendent?

I'm not sure what you mean when you say "they will apply to ours"...? Who are 'ours'...?

I'm guessing you work for a housing association as you say "WE chat and email"...?

I can't do anything online chat with them as I am no longer a tenant. I always deal with them via written correspondence as communicating with them by telephone is a horrendous experience.

Yes, I made a complaint previously but heard nothing back.

Is it really the suggestion that a tenant should be the one to actively chase a housing association to settle an arrears and keep chasing even when they don't reciprocate?

A payment plan was in place but they made a clerical error regarding that which meant the debt didn't get cleared.

To be honest, I have more than enough money to pay them off multiple times, but it's still £800 that I could give to charity or something rather than an incompetent housing association.

You were living in the property and were liable for rent. You failed to pay the rent and accrued substantial arrears. When notified of an error by the Housing Association in  frequency of payment, you seem to have stopped paying the arrears altogether and the total you have paid towards the arrears seems to be £300 (about £2.30 per week) in the, say, two and a half years since they were accrued. You then left the property without giving a forwarding address. These are the facts of the matter and, frankly, while the HA could have handled it better, it's still an outstanding debt that you owe and that's likely to be how a Judge would view it.

County Courts these days often hold hearings online or by telephone (it worked pretty well during the pandemic so many Courts continued with it) so that the chances of having the case transferred to your local County Court are minimal - and if it is heard locally and you're found liable, the HA can apply for costs which could include travel and accommodation.

It's quite possible that you will be ordered to pay; after all, you pay rent in exchange for a property to live in and the HA kept their part of the contract, you did not. You might get lucky with a Judge who is swayed by the lack of response from the HA to your repeated attempts to correspond with them about the arrears. Your claim to have been adversely affected by that would be that much stronger if you had continued making payments toward the arrears but it seems you took it as an opportunity to stop paying what you owed and to then stubbornly refuse to give a forwarding address when you left, forcing the HA to expend resources tracing you to seek payment.

If you're in a position to pay, do so. Or take your chances in Court (online or by phone) and if you're unsuccessful, pay immediately to avoid a County Court judgement which will, for the next 6 years, affect your credit file so the ability to get credit, a mortgage, a new tenancy, a car loan and, in some cases, your career, the latter potentially permanently.

ETA I don't work for a HA although I'm a tenant of one. I have, though, spent the last 30+ years in one Court or another.

I have more than enough to pay them back several times over. They don't know that though, so I'll probably offer them £1 a month.

They'll probably make an error though and put it down as 1p per month.

They're a terribly incompetent bunch who really personify the word 'shambles', so we'll see.

I never gave them my forwarding address because I don't trust them with it. As part of a previous issue I had with them, they sent me a spreadsheet with all of my neighbours phone numbers, details of their communications with the HA and details of their medical conditions.

I think that's a just reason not to give a forwarding address.

If you have the funds to pay them several times over, just pay and clear your debts. 

theartfullodger

You owe the rent.  Pay it. As promptly as you can.  Will you ever need a reference from this housing association?

Best wishes to all.

leamingtonspaceman

theartfullodger said:

Will you ever need a reference from this housing association?

No.

I now live with my wife in the 5-bedroom house we bought outright using the money she inherited from her late father.

We have no mortgage 

housebuyer143

leamingtonspaceman said:

theartfullodger said:

Will you ever need a reference from this housing association?

No.

I now live with my wife in the 5-bedroom house we bought outright using the money she inherited from her late father.

We have no mortgage 

Please just pay your debts.. 

leamingtonspaceman

saajan_12 said:

leamingtonspaceman said:

I was a housing association tenant until recently.

Back in 2022 I had built up a rent arrears of around £1100. My housing association wrote to me about this. I contacted them immediately and a repayment plan was put in place.

I was contacted again in October 2023 to be told the rent arrears had gone down but not by much. I replied to this correspondence but received no reply.

I was contacted again in August 2024, and once again I responded in order to query the correspondence but received no reply.

I was then presented with a hand delivered letter later that August demanding I settle the arrears. I replied to this letter but received no response. The letter stated that they had made a clerical error in 2022 when they set up the direct debit and had requested monthly the amount that should have been taken weekly.

So, I replied again even though I hadn't received a response. I received no reply.

Finally I responded again giving them seven days to reply or the matter would be closed and no arrears due. I received no reply within that time and I wrote to them what I considered to be a final time to confirm that their lack of response had meant that they had missed my deadline. I received no immediate reply.

It wasn't until 38 days later that they wrote to me again, not mentioning any of the previous correspondence and again demanding payment. I responded to this and they didn't respond.

I left the property in March. Because of issues I'd had with them previously I did not leave a forwarding address. My housing manager never mentioned the rent arrears during the handover process.

I received a letter from them on 29th April at my new address, this being SEVEN months after I'd replied to their last letter.

The latest letter made no mention of any of my previous correspondence or any apology for not responding.

I replied and sent them screenshots of all of my previous correspondence that they had ignored including the deadline I gave them that they failed to meet.

They've replied and have said that they want to forget what has happened in the past and move forward and for me to suggest a payment plan.

I've responded again explaining that I have consistently tried to communicate with them regarding the arrears and after multiple attempts they left me no choice than to give them a deadline which they didn't even acknowledge.

I personally find it disrespectful that I would attempt to communicate with them on multiple occasions only for them to completely ignore me.

I believe that it is perfectly reasonable of me to have given them a deadline after multiple attempts to engage with them were ignored.

My feeling based on knowing how my housing association operate is that they will issue court proceedings.

The amount I owe is around £800. 

I would imagine that it would cost them more than that in costs to pursue the matter. I've moved 300 miles away so if it did go to court they would have to travel here and back and so would their solicitor.

Regardless, I did not bury my head in the sand and proactively tried numerous times to engage with my housing association only to be met with silence.

What are my options in this situation?

If this were to go to court, and I provide all the evidence I have of the multiple times I tried to engage with them, what would be the likely outcome?

I'm aware that there can be no definitive answer to this but I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience of being in a similar situation and what the outcome was?

One thing to note is that two years ago the housing association needed access to my property to perform fire safety checks. They failed to attend on three separate occasions, but took me to court for failure to allow access. Despite this, and despite them lying several times in their witness statements saying they had attended when they hadn't, the judge at the hearing was critical of me for refusing access and completely ignored my evidence.

So I am aware that even with overwhelming evidence, judges can simply favour one side over the other despite this.

Any advice is appreciated.

Thank you...

You talk about several letters to them, but what did the letters say and why is that relevant to just paying the money?

The letters were basically saying "You set up the direct debit incorrectly in 2022 and have been taking LESS money than agreed. I wish to now pay the actual amount agreed back in 2022 when you made your error setting up the direct debit."

The letters also referred to the previous letters I'd received, replied to but received no replies and stated that I wished to make a complaint.

I cancelled the direct debit as I was advised to do so by the HA as it was the incorrect amount. They asked me to send them my bank details again (I'd changed banks) and they would resubmit the direct debit for the correct amount. I did this and they didn't respond. I sent the information to them again and they didn't respond. I gave them the deadline. They didn't respond. I wrote to them to let them know the deadline had passed. They didn't reply.

That was eight months ago.

What are you supposed to do when you do the right and proper thing and respond to your HA each time they wrote to you, but you receive NOTHING back?

There seem to be a few extremely compliant people in here who are very quick to say "Do as you're told and pay your debts."

I tried to, multiple times, six times in fact but was ignored every time.

When I gave up my property, there was a process of leaving that had to be gone through called 'Leaving Well.' I was told that once that was completed, the case was closed and there would be no further obligations needed from me and that my tenancy would end. That case was closed on the 16th April 2025 with no mention at all by my HA of a rent arrears.

They have now said that my housing manager was wrong to tell me that the 'Leaving Well' case closing was an end to any further obligations.

Anyway, we've reached an agreement now whereby they have agreed to knock 50% off what is owed due to the incompetence they have displayed.

If I'd have simply followed the "just pay your debts" advice from the 'must always comply with authority' brigade on here, I'd have had to pay £800. Now it's just £400.

I saved £400. This is a money saving forum. I saved money.

Maybe there's a lesson to be learnt??? Don't always capitulate to authority. Display some gumption and stand up for yourself.

Some years ago, I wanted to return a car that I was buying on finance after I lost my job  I wrote to the finance company THREE times to ask for this. They didn't reply to any of my correspondence. So I cancelled my direct debit and sure enough, within days they were sending me letters telling me to pay. As a result the car was collected. After valuing the car there was an £8,000 shortfall that I was required to pay. However, I provided evidence that I had written to the finance company THREE times asking to return the car and that they'd received the letters. They admitted liability and wrote off the £8,000 debt, in writing.

A year later I received a huge bundle in the post from a solicitor acting on behalf of the finance company demanding payment of 8,000. I called them and sent them a copy of the letter stating the debt had been written off.

They apologised and never contacted me again.

I'm pretty sure that many of the contributors on here would have just paid the £8,000 because you must always do as you're told.

I didn't...and the £8,000 was written off.

So the advice to "just pay off your debts" isn't always the most constructive.

Jude57

leamingtonspaceman said:

Jude57 said:

leamingtonspaceman said:

Yes, their advertised response time is seven days so there were multiple service failures.

I was under the impression that court hearings were held at the court closest to the defendent?

I'm not sure what you mean when you say "they will apply to ours"...? Who are 'ours'...?

I'm guessing you work for a housing association as you say "WE chat and email"...?

I can't do anything online chat with them as I am no longer a tenant. I always deal with them via written correspondence as communicating with them by telephone is a horrendous experience.

Yes, I made a complaint previously but heard nothing back.

Is it really the suggestion that a tenant should be the one to actively chase a housing association to settle an arrears and keep chasing even when they don't reciprocate?

A payment plan was in place but they made a clerical error regarding that which meant the debt didn't get cleared.

To be honest, I have more than enough money to pay them off multiple times, but it's still £800 that I could give to charity or something rather than an incompetent housing association.

You were living in the property and were liable for rent. You failed to pay the rent and accrued substantial arrears. When notified of an error by the Housing Association in  frequency of payment, you seem to have stopped paying the arrears altogether and the total you have paid towards the arrears seems to be £300 (about £2.30 per week) in the, say, two and a half years since they were accrued. You then left the property without giving a forwarding address. These are the facts of the matter and, frankly, while the HA could have handled it better, it's still an outstanding debt that you owe and that's likely to be how a Judge would view it.

County Courts these days often hold hearings online or by telephone (it worked pretty well during the pandemic so many Courts continued with it) so that the chances of having the case transferred to your local County Court are minimal - and if it is heard locally and you're found liable, the HA can apply for costs which could include travel and accommodation.

It's quite possible that you will be ordered to pay; after all, you pay rent in exchange for a property to live in and the HA kept their part of the contract, you did not. You might get lucky with a Judge who is swayed by the lack of response from the HA to your repeated attempts to correspond with them about the arrears. Your claim to have been adversely affected by that would be that much stronger if you had continued making payments toward the arrears but it seems you took it as an opportunity to stop paying what you owed and to then stubbornly refuse to give a forwarding address when you left, forcing the HA to expend resources tracing you to seek payment.

If you're in a position to pay, do so. Or take your chances in Court (online or by phone) and if you're unsuccessful, pay immediately to avoid a County Court judgement which will, for the next 6 years, affect your credit file so the ability to get credit, a mortgage, a new tenancy, a car loan and, in some cases, your career, the latter potentially permanently.

ETA I don't work for a HA although I'm a tenant of one. I have, though, spent the last 30+ years in one Court or another.

I have more than enough to pay them back several times over. They don't know that though, so I'll probably offer them £1 a month.

They'll probably make an error though and put it down as 1p per month.

They're a terribly incompetent bunch who really personify the word 'shambles', so we'll see.

I never gave them my forwarding address because I don't trust them with it. As part of a previous issue I had with them, they sent me a spreadsheet with all of my neighbours phone numbers, details of their communications with the HA and details of their medical conditions.

I think that's a just reason not to give a forwarding address.

Don't assume that the HA know nothing about your financial situation. You should be aware that if this gets to Court you will be required to complete a means inquiry. You will be asked to provide a full statement of your income and expenditure and details of any savings. Failure to provide this could be construed by the Judge as contempt of Court and punishable accordingly. Lying when giving evidence (and that includes written evidence, by phone or by video link) is perjury and punishable accordingly. Your offer of £1 per month is extremely unlikely to be accepted by the Judge who can order payment forthwith if they believe you are trying to game the system. People in receipt of State Benefits pay more than that. The Judge could, since you've already demonstrated a reluctance to pay and made an effort to avoid being found by failing to provide a forwarding address, order that your earnings be attached and the rate of deduction is set out in legislation so you don't have any say in that. Your employers would be in contempt of Court if they failed to comply with such an Order. Judges aren't fools and have seen every trick debtors try to use to get out of paying. You seem to want to teach the HA a lesson and you may have cause to be frustrated by their unprofessionalism but the Court is not there to provide you with a route to give the HA a kicking. You've been told how to address your grievances against the HA and you'd be in a far better position to report them to the Ombudsman if your own hands were clean, i.e. you had paid them what you owe them.

leamingtonspaceman

Jude57 said:

leamingtonspaceman said:

Jude57 said:

leamingtonspaceman said:

Yes, their advertised response time is seven days so there were multiple service failures.

I was under the impression that court hearings were held at the court closest to the defendent?

I'm not sure what you mean when you say "they will apply to ours"...? Who are 'ours'...?

I'm guessing you work for a housing association as you say "WE chat and email"...?

I can't do anything online chat with them as I am no longer a tenant. I always deal with them via written correspondence as communicating with them by telephone is a horrendous experience.

Yes, I made a complaint previously but heard nothing back.

Is it really the suggestion that a tenant should be the one to actively chase a housing association to settle an arrears and keep chasing even when they don't reciprocate?

A payment plan was in place but they made a clerical error regarding that which meant the debt didn't get cleared.

To be honest, I have more than enough money to pay them off multiple times, but it's still £800 that I could give to charity or something rather than an incompetent housing association.

You were living in the property and were liable for rent. You failed to pay the rent and accrued substantial arrears. When notified of an error by the Housing Association in  frequency of payment, you seem to have stopped paying the arrears altogether and the total you have paid towards the arrears seems to be £300 (about £2.30 per week) in the, say, two and a half years since they were accrued. You then left the property without giving a forwarding address. These are the facts of the matter and, frankly, while the HA could have handled it better, it's still an outstanding debt that you owe and that's likely to be how a Judge would view it.

County Courts these days often hold hearings online or by telephone (it worked pretty well during the pandemic so many Courts continued with it) so that the chances of having the case transferred to your local County Court are minimal - and if it is heard locally and you're found liable, the HA can apply for costs which could include travel and accommodation.

It's quite possible that you will be ordered to pay; after all, you pay rent in exchange for a property to live in and the HA kept their part of the contract, you did not. You might get lucky with a Judge who is swayed by the lack of response from the HA to your repeated attempts to correspond with them about the arrears. Your claim to have been adversely affected by that would be that much stronger if you had continued making payments toward the arrears but it seems you took it as an opportunity to stop paying what you owed and to then stubbornly refuse to give a forwarding address when you left, forcing the HA to expend resources tracing you to seek payment.

If you're in a position to pay, do so. Or take your chances in Court (online or by phone) and if you're unsuccessful, pay immediately to avoid a County Court judgement which will, for the next 6 years, affect your credit file so the ability to get credit, a mortgage, a new tenancy, a car loan and, in some cases, your career, the latter potentially permanently.

ETA I don't work for a HA although I'm a tenant of one. I have, though, spent the last 30+ years in one Court or another.

I have more than enough to pay them back several times over. They don't know that though, so I'll probably offer them £1 a month.

They'll probably make an error though and put it down as 1p per month.

They're a terribly incompetent bunch who really personify the word 'shambles', so we'll see.

I never gave them my forwarding address because I don't trust them with it. As part of a previous issue I had with them, they sent me a spreadsheet with all of my neighbours phone numbers, details of their communications with the HA and details of their medical conditions.

I think that's a just reason not to give a forwarding address.

Don't assume that the HA know nothing about your financial situation. You should be aware that if this gets to Court you will be required to complete a means inquiry. You will be asked to provide a full statement of your income and expenditure and details of any savings. Failure to provide this could be construed by the Judge as contempt of Court and punishable accordingly. Lying when giving evidence (and that includes written evidence, by phone or by video link) is perjury and punishable accordingly. Your offer of £1 per month is extremely unlikely to be accepted by the Judge who can order payment forthwith if they believe you are trying to game the system. People in receipt of State Benefits pay more than that. The Judge could, since you've already demonstrated a reluctance to pay and made an effort to avoid being found by failing to provide a forwarding address, order that your earnings be attached and the rate of deduction is set out in legislation so you don't have any say in that. Your employers would be in contempt of Court if they failed to comply with such an Order. Judges aren't fools and have seen every trick debtors try to use to get out of paying. You seem to want to teach the HA a lesson and you may have cause to be frustrated by their unprofessionalism but the Court is not there to provide you with a route to give the HA a kicking. You've been told how to address your grievances against the HA and you'd be in a far better position to report them to the Ombudsman if your own hands were clean, i.e. you had paid them what you owe them.

Where is my reluctance to pay?

I tried SIX times to pay and they ignored me.

There are perfectly legitimate reasons for me not providing a forwarding address that have nothing to do with this situation. They are very personal and won't be divulged here 

I don't have an employer.

Anyway, as I've said above, they reduced the arrears by 50%. 

Result...

If I'd taken the advice of most on here I'd be £400 worse off.

You're supposed to be money SAVERS.

pinkshoes

@leamingtonspaceman

You're massively over-thinking and over-complicating this.

Just phone them up and pay the money you owe then it's all sorted. 

It's very simple - you owe the money. They made a mistake with the repayments, you made a mistake by not paying in the first place and then not checking the amount that was owed.

BungalowBel

You owe it.  You should pay it.

leamingtonspaceman

pinkshoes said:

@leamingtonspaceman

You're massively over-thinking and over-complicating this.

Just phone them up and pay the money you owe then it's all sorted. 

It's very simple - you owe the money. They made a mistake with the repayments, you made a mistake by not paying in the first place and then not checking the amount that was owed.

As I've posted above. I didn't just comply with perceived authority and simply pay what I owed. I pushed back and now the HA have reduced my arrears by 50% because of their incompetence.

So I repeat again. To all those on here who simply capitulate in such situations and blindly comply with authoritative organisations and simply advise to 'pay up', there is a lesson for you.

I didn't comply with my HA's demands and have effectively saved £400.

So I SAVED money. This is a money SAVING site, not a "just be bullied by authoritarian organisations and pay whatever they demand" site.

If I took the advice of most contributors to this thread I'd have paid £800. But my own actions have led to me paying £400.

Definitely worth the over thought...

I'm sure Martin would be proud of me...