How easy is it to rent??

debt_doctor

Originally Posted by debt doctor
Hi ,

In order to be permanently re housed under homeless legislation you need to pass all 5 tests of homelessness.

I think it all depends on where you live.

No it does not depend where you live. The legislation is in the 1996 homelessness act.

Im very pleased that all those horrid things you suffered resulted in you gaining some accomodation that you are very happy with.

As you you say the accomodation is provided by a housing association that have their own rules for providing accomodation and are not bound by the homelessness act.

DD

dodecanese

geordie joe Im really pleased that after your scary eviction you found a nice place to live. I found my local housing associations to be really pleasant but they did make it clear there are large waiting lists and Im at the bottom of it, unfortunately.
Would I be better just coming clean to the letting agent, posponing the BR and not paying the mortgage?? I thought of just handing over the bond and the first months rent and keeping quiet but Id worry about being found out, and Id rather be upfront so then I know where I stand.
My BR date is 2 weeks tomorrow and Im getting a lot of pressure from creditors. Im ( bizarrely) worried about getting a CCJ, stupid as I know BR would wipe it out.
In a way I want to just get the BR out of the way to keep the creditors off - but, maybe I should pospone it and sort out a rental first???
Sorry if Im asking the same questions over and over, Im one of those people that worries-a lot, about everything that can possibly go wrong. The thought of not paying the secured loan this month makes me feel sick.

MissMuppet

If you're not bankrupt when you take on a tenancy then you shouldn't have too much problem. I don't know whether you have any CCJ's etc... that might make a difference. I signed a new tenancy in June last year, I didn't have any CCJ's but I went bankrupt in September and so far the letting agents haven't mentioned it, I don't even know if they know!

Better to get somewhere before you go bankrupt.

empty_wallet_2

geordie_joe wrote: »

I think it all depends on where you live.

For years I have been told you can't get a council house unless you are single, female, pregnant who has been thrown out by her parents, or an immigrant. Single white males have no chance of getting council accommodation.

Then within a week of filling in the forms I get a little palace, in the perfect spot and £176 per month cheaper.

I also get a guarantee than they will provide me with a home for life, provided that I don't damage it so that it it uninhabitable, annoy the neighbours so much they get a court order to evict me or stop paying the rent when the council can prove I can afford to pay it.

I am well chuffed.

I guess it just depends on where you live!

Sorry for the long post, but I love my little council house, even if it is run by a housing association.

It must be different in Dorset then as we live just over the Border in Somerset, we applied over 18 months ago and were told we are at the bottom of a very long list and their only suggestion was to privately rent as we pretty much had no chance of getting a place. We got sent the details of part ownership properties but when you factor in the mortgage and rent on the other 50% it almost worked out cheaper to buy the whole property outright, during the last 18 months we have been sent details of one housing association property which we didnt stand a chance of getting due to the amount of other people looking at it. We were also told the HA properties up near my OH's parents were only for people with a local connection so we were hopeful to get a place there as someone moved on next door to OH's parents but we didnt even get sent the details and the woman that has it now has no local connection apart from being very good friends with a local counciler who is involved with housing :mad: . So we are stuck paying £650 a month rent were a similar size HA property would be £275 a month. I also noted that on the housing forms they only ask what your incomeis and do not take into account what your outstanding outgoings are, soon paper it looks like we are quite well off due to joint wages but not in reality.

empty_wallet_2

If i remember rightly when we did our credit reference forms it said on it that they were for normal financial circumstances and that different forms had to be filled out for people with bad credit and ccjs etc.

We thought we were going to be refused for our last place as the credit reference showed up a CCJ on my OH's credit report, which wasn't even for her, it was her mums but had been put on her credit file as it was just submitted with a mrs xxxxx and my OH was living with her parents at the time. My OH has tried to get it removed but the company that placed the CCJ has refused to co-operate.

geordie_joe

dodecanese wrote: »

geordie joe Im really pleased that after your scary eviction you found a nice place to live.

Thanks, for a while I thought I would end up living in a box, but got lucky in the end.

dodecanese wrote: »

I found my local housing associations to be really pleasant but they did make it clear there are large waiting lists and Im at the bottom of it, unfortunately.

I think it depends where you live.

dodecanese wrote: »

Would I be better just coming clean to the letting agent, posponing the BR and not paying the mortgage?? I thought of just handing over the bond and the first months rent and keeping quiet but Id worry about being found out, and Id rather be upfront so then I know where I stand.

I think it depends on the letting agent, but you won't know how they will react until you tell them, and then it might be too late.

My guess is that if you tell them about the BR they will demand 6 months in advance. If you can manage that, then save 6 months rent to pay the next time then that will be fine.

I also think that if you don't tell them, and they do find out later, they won't mind as long as you continue to pay the rent.

What you could do is ring them, without saying who you are, and pretending to be interested in a house/flat they have. Mention that you are BR, but can pay the rent, and ask if it will affect anything.

I would also try and get six months rent together, as if they don't like you being BR paying 6 months in advance may be the only way.

If the letting agent has 40 people chasing two houses then they can be choosey about who they give them too. If they are finding it hard to get tenants then their standards may drop and "can you pay" may be the only thing that concerns them.

dodecanese

Thanks for the replies- am going to mention it to the place I least like tomorrow and see how they react. one local estate agent did say theyd do the credit check now- as Im not yet BR- Ive got a couple of defaults but no CCJs yet.
Also going to ring round a couple of private landlords and "come clean" and check out the reaction. Id rather save the 6 months rent ( sounds a lot but probably quite easy when my mort/sec loan are a horrifying £1450.00 a month) and just tell them, but Im really getting a bit twitchy about the creditors. Got in tonight to a really horrible letter from Black Horse(Lloyds TSB)- default notice- saying Ive got till 18th March to pay arrears( only stopped paying in Jan- and I go BR 17th March)- and if thats not long enough I can "apply to the court" for longer- it makes it sound like a CCJ- I know its worded to scare people and I should ignore it- but its really worried me.
I feel like my like my life is totally disintegrating- at work I put up this facade of being normal and happy, and inside Im a nervous wreck- Im doing voluntary repo and then going bankrupt- how much more extreme can it get?? My work colleagues would be aghast.
I never thought this would happen to me, even in the midst of my stupid spending. I know Ill feel better in the morning but right now I just cant believe how awful ive let things get. Lloyds horrid letter obviouly got to me, even tho I know its probably a bog standard "collections " letter.

lookingforhelp_2

Hi Dodecanese,
Can't offer much advice.I just wanted to say HI.
It will get easier,ignore the letters (easier said than done)
I went BR last week when HSBC phoned i dared myself to answer lol
i told them i'd gone bankrupt and she still said "we are serving you with a default tomorrow can you make a payment:rolleyes:
The whole process is still very daunting but it's getting easier.
Take Care
Sarah x

dodecanese

Thanks Sarah/lookingforhelp- was a bit down yesterday but much better today. Day off so am devoting it to looking at rentals.