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We are being evicted, some advice please...... the date has arrived......

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Hi everyone,

Sorry, this is long winded.

I know MOT has a thread running that is kind of the same but it is so long I did not know where to start, I read the first 60 pages and my brain got a bit addled but you have given her some great information so I thought I would ask, I hope no-one minds. Our situation is a little different to hers and I just wanted some points on what to do and where I go from here to get some housing from the council. Let me explain my situation.

My husband and I along with our 2 children DS of 3 (almost 4) and DD of 5, was served a section 21 notice on 3rd December, it expires on 2nd Feb. My mum is my landlady and she has decided to sell the house so we have to leave (she asked us to leave before this and we said no as we had nowhere to go and it was almost Xmas) we don;t owe her any money or anything she just wants to sell the house all of a sudden (despite her signing a 10 yr fixed rate in June!!).

I went to the council as soon as mum told us to leave as we have already been on the list for at least 5 years (I forget how long exactly) and they told me how she had to do it by evicting us rather than us just leaving and we went down that route. She is applying to the court on 3rd Feb I believe to have us Fast Tracked out (Whatever that means?!?) so I guess we will then get notice by the court to leave. She has had the Estate Agent round so the house is ready to go on the market, it will go on next week I believe.

Because we have debts (my husband got Industrial Asthma and had to take a substantial pay decrease in a different field and job, so we are now on repayments - everyone is happy with these, creditors and us alike :) ) but it means we cannot get private accomodation. Estate and Letting Agents will not touch us as I call and am honest and ask if they will accept us, they tell me not to waste money on the credit checks which we will fail (no point in lying about it to lose money IMO). There is nothing 'private' available in this area.

My son has a Teaching Assistant at Nursery School (the same school he will go to FT in Sept) my daughter is in the same school in reception. The school picked up some behavioural problems they had with him and he is on an Individual Education Plan at the school which is reviewed in March and because of the issues the school picked up (they are ones I have always known about but knowing nothing else thought these must have been normal but that he was just difficult :confused: ) He has now been referred to the paeditrictians at the local hospital by the doc to see if he has ADHD but I am still waiting for an appointment.

So, we are coming close to 2nd Feb, the council has all the notes from the school about the problems we have had with him and that he has 1:1 learning now, ideally the children both need their own room but the council says otherwise, we have not yet had our appointment from the paediatrician but I have outlined all of the problems we have with him in a letter and the things that we need for him if possible - these are the things we would look for in private accomodation too and they are what we have at our current dwelling, they are things that we have adapted I guess because of his behaviour but just assumed it was normal to do so - such as an enclosed garden as we can't go out and socialise places that other kids might be (he is aggressive with them so I have to have an eye on him all the time) but at the same time he cannot get out of it as he will be off, a front garden so he can't do a runner into the road the minute the door opens and a bedroom for each of them as my son wakes in the night screaming a lot and also because he will wake up in the early hours, decide my DD needs to be awake and will launch himself on her and wake her by hitting, punching, etc... So, she needs respite from him (as do we all LOL!!) as this is the only place she gets away from him. So, this is what I have asked to be considered in my letter, I have not been pushy but I have explained why we need it. We do however have no diagnosis though, just a letter from the doc saying he has been referred and the IEP from the school. do you think this is the right thing to do?

The council has not allocated us the correct number of points as per the notes on their website so we still have a silly amount nowhere near getting housed, I asked them on the phone about this and they told me they are correct, I guess I am not strong enough to argue about it but I have pointed out in the letter that their website states we should have x and they have only given us x so I trust it will be amended and that they will confirm this in writing.

Whenever I call they try to shove me off and just tell me I have to rent private but they will not hear that we cannot get anything because the E/LA won't touch us. I have now had to give up my business (website will close tomorrow) so lose the small amount of income I bought in, I have to put that into storage for the foreseeable future as I probably will not have the storage facilities and with my son being as he is, can only work when he is not there which is just 2 hours a day weekdays, it is not going to be enough to run a business effectively.

So, I am asking if there is anything else that I need to do - the letter is being sent Special Delivery on Saturday. I have spoken to shelter but they have only told me that Councils will often do things other than the law states so to keep on top of it. I am not sure what other help they will be as right at this minute we do have somewhere to live.

So can anyone please advise on what I should be doing and if I have done the right things so far. I know I have to keep on top of this, at the end of the day if it was just me I would go into Lodgings but I cannot do that with having the children, I have also asked to be kept in this area as do not have many friends because of how my son is and the only support network I have is them and they are here. I feel bad for wanting stuff but also feel if I do not ask then I won't get and the pushy people get put in front of us. We do not have any other options and we have no deposits (I am reluctant to use my overdraft as I'll never get out of it) and no guarentors. It is OK for people to say to hassle them but I have never been this way inclined so it is hard to know what to do and how far to go.

Thank you for any advice you can give me.

PS. I am a bit gutted right this minute as today I saw a stunning house which had the facitilites to store my business so I could have still worked but the LA told us they would nto touch us and I guess it has sunk in that we can't ignore it any longer and in 6 weeks time we will probably be homeless. Scary.
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Comments

  • kj*daisy
    kj*daisy Posts: 490 Forumite
    HI
    You really need proper legal advice but if you are evicted by your mum because she is selling the house it's not your fault, then you need to apply as homeless to the Council. As this is totally beyond your control I would think they'd find you unintentionally homeless, so you would be entitled to temp accomodation and that usually gives you more priority points/. The temp housing can however be hotel/hostel depending on what your LA have available.
    Grocery challenge July £250

    45 asd*/
  • blue_monkey_2
    blue_monkey_2 Posts: 11,435 Forumite
    Hiya,

    Yes, it looks like hostel really if no housing comes up and have been in touch with the council since she told us. they told us how she has to get us out and that we should not just leave (not that we had anywhere to go). All of the housing stock in this area is passed to council, my friend works for one of the HA and the only stock they keep is out of the area, everything goes to council for their list but the HA maintain it and you pay them.

    I wanted to make sure there was nothing I had missed really when requesting what I need as I am sending the letter on Saturday and I know the people on the other thread had been so helpful. I think the legal stuff we are going to need will be if they refuse us completely - we don't know how many points we will have for definate until they give my son his medical points on 16th Jan. i do know they have not given us the points we are due and I have asked for them, if my son gets 25 points that will push us over the limit to be housed and we will be considered - this is why we outlined all the problems we have with him and why he has been referred, but if there was anything else I needed to do I need to make sure it is done as it looks like we'll have to be out in around 6-7 weeks before the bailiffs come in.
  • silvercar
    silvercar Posts: 49,577 Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Academoney Grad Name Dropper
    I think you will end up having to follow what sadly has become the standard procedure.

    You remain in your place until you are evicted, then you go to the council with the notice of eviction and they provide you with emergency housing. (Which could be B&B but will hopefully be some sort of housing that the councils keep for emergencies like yours. MoT was given a 1-bed flat with twins of opposite sexes.) Some councils insist that you wait until the day of possession!

    Once in the emergency housing the council will assess you, hopefully accept that you were not making yourself intentionally homeless and move you to the top of the list. This could take weeks or even months. It may be that they give you a house that they are renting off a private landlord, but at least it provides you with a home.

    Not sure that I would tell the council that your Mum is the landlady in case it raises suspician. There is always the hope that the council find a place near school but this is never guaranteed. You council housing department may not cover a wide area??

    The other option is to keep looking in newsagents windows, gumtree.com and put a note up in school /library/ Tesco to find a private landlord.
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  • mummytofour
    mummytofour Posts: 2,636 Forumite
    Hi,
    Sounds like a very complicated situation, have you tried the local small ads or putting an ad in shop windows for a house wanted?
    Do you have a social worker who can put pressure on the council?
    Debt free and plan on staying that way!!!!
  • I really feel for your situation and wish you all the best in getting your situation sorted out. I have a hunch that it will be a long and frustrating journey (these things always are) but stick with it.

    It might feel a bit odd but it could be worth getting in touch with Shelter - they should be able to help guide you through getting accomodation sorted, they will have loads of experience of dealing with this type of situation.

    http://england.shelter.org.uk/home/index.cfm

    Good luck getting a house sorted out and also good luck getting a diagnosis for your son, once that happens you should hopefully start to get a lot more support and will also be better able to demonstrate your housing needs.

    Fingers crossed for you.
    £34,547 (Dec 07); Current debt: £zilch (Debt free December 2010)
    Sealed Pot #389 (2010=£133)
  • blue_monkey_2
    blue_monkey_2 Posts: 11,435 Forumite
    Hi all,

    Yes, the council already know it is my mums, they have a letter from her, the section 21 and the house is on the market, they will see on the EA website from next week so there is nothing suspicious about it at all, I promise.

    We've tried all the local small ads, papers every week when they come out, we are in a village so on Gumtree there is nothing local for here - the nearest means moving totally out of the area. The nearest biggest town is an Airport town so the majority of houses are leased to sharers, even if it was possible to take the house as a whole the rents are much higher than usual (around £400-600 a month per room, this does include all bills, but is still way out of our price league).

    I have not put an ad in the shop windows purely because anything we find will mean that we are going to need some form of Deposit Help/Housing Benefits but I don;t want to have people ringing me with rents that are too expensive (last 2 hours that went in this villge were £1200 a month but they were 4 beds, the norm for the rentals around here) there has been one for £800 but the front door opens onto a small path (no garden) on a corner and right into the main road through the village that the buses and lorries use, it would not be safe for me to live there, I appreciate I should be keeping an eye on my son but it is not always possible for every single minute, it would only take for my back to be turned to pick something up or lock the door and
    he could be in the road. Because of where we are now I've never had to be more aware of these things. My son has a tendancy to take off and the people in the village who see us each day know this and will keep an eye on him if they find him before I get's there. i'll use the word 'luckily' on the way to school there is only 3 roads and one he is usually intercepted someone who is there at that time going to school, the other there are no cars at all and the other there is a lollipop lady so it's not something I have had an issue with before - it is only now we have to think about what would hapen if it was busy/there were strangers/fast cars on the roads that we have had to think about just what moving would mean for us. I've tried reins but he is almost 4 and he just throws himself as a dead weight on the floor and I cannot carry him for long, the buggy he gets out of and has hurt his head too many times now by launching himself out so we just deal with it and don;t go anywhere other than school and back unless I have someone else who can help me (not very often sadly).

    I have contacted Shelter already and they told me to go back to them if I have any problems, as of yet I have not because we are still housed and have not been told by the court to leave. just wanted to make sure I have included all I need to in regard to contacting the council. I have had a thought that all of these things I have mentioned about my son, the doctor does have notes on as does the school. Everything came about in the same 2 weeks, Friday I was calling into school to see the head and she told me that DS was being given additional help due to his behaviour towards the other kids and teachers, Monday mum called up and told us she was selling, called the council made an appointment for Weds, Weds night we had Teacher Evening where I was given the IEP due to his problems and it has gone from there really. The school stuff happened before my mum approached us about being evicted, i worry they think I might be making it up, but they would see from the school that he had a problem before this and this would have been noted with the LEA which is in the same disctrict as housing. So if they contact the GP/School he will have the same information I have given them. I am just a worrier and want to make sure I do all I can.

    I did call the council and ask them if they needed a doctors letter and I said to her that I was sorry for sounding so needy because I was not used to being in situations such as this, but she said 'but it is not being needy, you have to get what you need for your families needs'. Having spoken to another woman (when i called for some advice) I realise the one I have is really nice and she is helping me with the advice she is giving me, last week i had to call in and she was not there and I spoke to another woman who totally jeapordised my claim for any housing by telling me 'just to make an agreement with my mum to remain in the house until it sells as that could be 6 months or so and then leave'. But this then means that we have made ourselves homeless and the council have no obligation to house us, even if we was on the streets!! I was shocked, and she knew we had 2 young children.

    I do not have a social worker but I have been seeing the Health Visitor so maybe speaking to her would be an option, or maybe I can just explain to SS and see if they can be of more help. I don't like to feel I am being a burden on everyone, they are my kids, I should be able to cope with them but it is more as my son gets bigger he is getting harder to fight with, you tend to be able to strap babies down, you can't kids. he is a little so and so, I have these booster chairs strapped to my dining chairs that have a harness, if I strap him in then he will tip the chair over onto it's side (with him still in it) and then get out of the harness that way. But I never really asked for help before, I just assumed I had a little boy who was just naughty and would not do anything I said or asked (there is much more, makes me feel like a bad mum if I go into it really but my brother was the same so I guess it was just kind of 'accepted' if you've grown up with a kid being like that). I don't like to feel a burden on people and tend to chin up and get on with stuff myself without a fuss. But this is not about only me, it's about the kdis as well.

    I hate more the way that some of them make me feel like lowlife as I dare to ask for help because we have no other options. *sigh*. I feel embarrased that I have to call them and am to almost begging for help for the first time ever in mine and my husbands life purely because of hand life has given us right at this moment. Aren't there always so many 'what if's' when you look back.

    Thank you.
  • rayday2
    rayday2 Posts: 3,960 Forumite
    When I was a child my mum had a council house when she split from my dad we had to go to a hostel while they did the eviction process. As a child we found it OK quite exciting really and never damaged us. The good side of being in a hostel is that the council take action when it ends up like that they will know for sure then you can't rent etc because you wouldn't let yourself get that way!

    As for your son with ADHD possibly at his age sharing a room is not bad, if you don't like it get a bed sofa so they have their own rooms. When he gets to a certain age if the children are different sexes they will be entitled by law to separate rooms.

    Guess what I am saying is keep at it, whatever life throws at us is not as bad as the thinking about it. Keep speaking with the council, if the worst happens B&B or hostel then you become a priority and your points change.

    Its a lousy system but its the only one we have!

    Also having worked in an estate agents you can depending on individual landlord rent with bad credit its not unheard of! I have a feeling you are probably going for "higher" class properties or agencies and that is why you are being turned down. You need to make compromises if you want to keep a roof over your head. Look for rentals in the paper that will take DHSS and houses in less desirable areas or smaller houses and you will have more success afterall if the council give you a house you won't be able to choose and the area could be worse!
  • Could you rent privately but claim housing benefit/council tax benefit? Apply to every council/housing association/housing scheme in your area and whatever you do don't be picky... you need a roof over your head and if you start getting picky about exactly what you're looking for then the council may feel that your circumstances aren't genuine... 'ie homeless but refusing a roof over your head'....
    Total 'Failed Business' Debt £29,043
    Que sera, sera. <3
  • dubsey
    dubsey Posts: 357 Forumite
    I think a lot of it will come down to procedures in your area. When my aunt and uncle were repossessed last year they had to stay right up until the bailiff came and then go to the council office. The council told them to come back at 3pm (this was 10.30am) and they would be told where they were being placed. Luckily we all sat at a neighbours house with cars full of their things outside until then. The council paid for their things to be placed in storage while they were being assessed, but I didn't want sentimental things going there (photos etc) so we loaded the cars with those things and I stored them at my house.

    They were placed in a B&B which really wasn't as awful as they were expecting, but a family of four had one room. They were told it could take up to three months for the council to decide if they had made themselves intentionally homeless, but it actually only took five weeks. The council decided that the mortgage company had made it impossible to keep up with the payments (£980 interest on top of normal payments per month) and gave them temporary accommadation consisting of a three bed house. That was August last year, they are still in that house and would love to stay-but they have to 'bid' on properties at the local council until they are given a permanent property.

    So don't feel that there isn't any hope, my aunt and uncle-although in a temporary property (and both now bankrupt) feel happier than they have in years. They have met the owner of the property they are currently in (he has a lease contract with the council) and he said if they do ever need to rent privately he'd happily take them on in another of his houses. So there is always hope.

    Best of luck with everything.
  • blue_monkey_2
    blue_monkey_2 Posts: 11,435 Forumite
    Yes, we have tried everything. There are loads of other things, it is not about being picky on where we live but what I need for my family.

    We need to keep the children at this school for now (rather than move then ever few moths anyhow because my DD has severe issues with settling, I am prepared to travel but if we live 20 miles away that is 120 miles a day on the school runs, it is not practical financially) because my son is on this IEP and has a teaching assistant we need to keep this, it not something they give easily and usually you have to fight to get it, he has been given it without me asking. He is violent with the other kids so rather than have him chucked out of other less understanding schools I want to keep him there. Learning support is hard to get at any age let alone at this level so even if it means travelling to get them to school then I will, the house I looked at yesterday on the web was 9 miles away so it is not about being picky at all, it is about the availablilty.

    No, I have tried everywhere and they all tell me the same and it is not just the presitige agents - more the credit for them doing so rather than fob me off just to take my money for the credit searches so I'd rather them be honest from the start. No, not going for higher class properties at all but the area we live in is one that is generally has families of London workers so the properties are big, expensive or council - there is no inbetween but those that are available we cannot get as they are under LA. The one I found yesterday is an 18 miles round trip to and from school which I do have to do 3 times a day, it was cheap, it was prefect, no, we cannot get it, I found another a few weeks ago, it was cheap, no fence (but I would have put one up as it was on a big main road tbh) but no, we can't get that either the other properties are with the same agents so it is not worth asking. A lot of the agents around here are linked to Estate Agents we have found so they'll be in the paper as small agents but when we go to their sites they are on the bigger agents sites and so are the properties and no, we can't pass the checks. While we could move out of the area it will mean we are not entitled to anything from that council then so we want to stay in this area (it is where my support network is as well).

    I appreciate what you are saying, I am steeled for going into a hostel and already have half my stuff packed in my van as I am waiting to hear about a conctainer coming up - as soon as it is free we are starting to move the stuff we have but don't use on a daily basis as I do know a hostel is inevitable. However, at the same time the council need to know what our needs are and I wanted to address these. My son physically attacks my daughter, a few weeks ago she had bruises on her back where he has bitten her and drawn blood and bruised her, she has a permanant scar from where he has attacked her too - they cannot share the same room unless I sleep in there to. He does not do it to be aggressive, he just does not understand emotions, he dpoes not understand he is hurting her and causing her pain. He has a mental disability that we have not yet had diagnosed, but if it means sitting it out in a hostel until I get what I need for both of them then I do appreciate I will have to do that. The thing is, if it was my that was biting my daughter until she bled she would be taken from me for her won saftey so this is why she NEEDS respite from her brothers physical attacks -and this is by having her own room so she can shut the door and get away from him. That is all I am asking (and I have used the words to be considered, not I want) as it is part of our needs for day to day life, so that they both have their own spaces for a time out if they need it, that is why I have asked for it to be taken into consideration. In the same way if he was in a wheelchair I would ask for this to be taken into consideration, the difference between a physical and mental health disability is that you can't see the mental health ones but it does affect our life in every way so this is why I asked for it.

    Yes, we can rent privately and claim but we have to get the house first and the Estate and Letting Agents won't let us have one. It's a vicious circle really and no, I am not being picky but I have to bear in mind I have children, the other one I saw yesterday had a huge woodburning stove in the front room - totally unsuitable for us with my son how he is (he does not really understand pain and danger either) so this was not acceptable, trust me, it really is not about being picky it is about finding something available that will mean my family can live in a safe manner. because this is my mums house we have adapted the house around his needs, when walking into another house we needs to find if the same applies. It is something we have lived with since birth and not something I have given subconcious thought to until we have to. If I gave you my postcode you'll find out 4 properties in a 6 miles surrounding area under £1000 a month, I will still have to pay for school runs 3 times a day on top of this so we do have to bear this in mind, we are low income earners, my husband does not even earn enough money for us to be eligable for their rent requirements of £750 a month and that is very cheap for around here and that is before the credit checks. it is exhausting thinking about it, I have not slept properly for weeks as I have so many things on my mind. Even if get a house and apply for HB then it does not mean we will get it to cover the full rent (although we are eligable as hubby on low wage) because they might say the house is too big, you don't need that room, that living room size and will cap the rent you pay (if you are paying £1000 a month they might say actually the rent on this should be around £750 and then we will have to find the shortfall of £250 out of the money thay allow us to live on) the thing is, they will not tell you whether the house is too big until AFTER you have signed to take it - not that we can get it because we can' get past the credit checks. ARGH!!

    you see, it is not being picky, I've been looking for 2 months now and it is the same houses available. i could have cried yesterday when I saw this gorgeous perfect house which was £900 but it has a big double garage so I may have been able to carry on my business too which would have bought in the extra to cover the rent being a little higher than we could afford.

    At the end of the day, if it was me I'd be in lodgings but I have a family, one of those children has Mental health disabilities (ADHD/Aspergers/ASD/we are not sure) and we want to protect our children and give them the best we can. I just feel I am runnnig out of fight, I want to say though, I have never used the words 'I want' I use the words 'please can you consider us for' as I do realise beggars can't be choosers and you'll find I have mentioned this for the last 2 months whenver it has been mentioned but I have asked for my families needs to be taken into consideration.
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