Urgent housing association advice

soulmate19 · 8 August at 5:26PM

asking on behalf of a family member - they have a HA property and had planned to move to a private rented house. Handed in notice on HA house and now private one has fallen through. Does anyone know if they can revoke their termination of tenancy ? They are now panicking they will be homeless. Can anyone advise?

elsien · 8 August at 8:33PM

They need to contact the housing Association as a priority - it may be possible if it hasn’t already been reallocated to someone else but I don’t think there’s some automatic get out clause. It will depend on individual circumstances and the housing association policies.

brown_crow · 8 August at 9:34PM

A notice to quit or termination of a secure tenancy can be withdrawn before it takes effect if the landlord agrees, but there is no statutory right to revoke it once the possession date arrives. The critical step is to contact the housing association immediately and ask for the termination to be set aside in writing, explaining that the private let has fallen through. If the HA refuses, the family member should contact the local authority housing options team the same day, because the council has a duty to prevent homelessness under the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017.

GDB2222 · 9 August at 9:06AM

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82096686#Comment_82096686

Does the LA duty extend to a situation where the person has made themselves homeless through their own actions? It’s worth reading the Shelter guide

https://england.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/legal/homelessness_applications/intentional_homelessness/deliberate_act_or_omission_definition_for_intentional_homelessness

This may well come under:

voluntary surrendered adequate accommodation in the UK or abroad which it would have been reasonable to continue to occupy

Alex_thompson · 10 August at 10:52AM

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6679208/urgent-housing-association-advice

That sounds like a really stressful situation, especially when they thought they had the private rental lined up.

I’d contact the housing association straight away and explain exactly what’s happened. If the tenancy hasn’t ended yet, it’s definitely worth asking whether they can withdraw the termination or allow them to remain, although that will depend on the circumstances and what the HA is able to do.

I wouldn’t leave it until the last minute though. If there’s any real risk of them becoming homeless, I’d also contact the council’s housing/homelessness team now and explain the situation. Hopefully the HA can sort something out, but it’s better to have a couple of options in motion rather than panic when the deadline arrives.