eviction

[mumofboysxo]

Hi all, am new to this so please bare with.

im a mum of 3 boys, 7,3 and 7 months and we have been handed our section 21 for our current private rented flat.
my eviction is due to take place on 25th march, i have tried to find private rented housing but have failed due to no deposit, guarantor and I'm unemployed so i receive housing benefits.

i've just started to try and get help from my local council but i feel they don't help at all really.

my 7 year old boy is partically blind and is VERY particular about the placement of his things and he needs space to avoid bumps and bruises on bad day. so currently where i am living now i have myself, my 3 year old and my 7 month old in one room to give my eldest the space he needs.
the council have told me i am only entitled to 2 bedrooms, but how can this be right?
you are only allowed 2 children in one room, and by the time im evicted my son will be 8 months, which means in 3 months time he will be eligible for a room of his own?
yet my sons aunt has one 7 month old and is also entitled to 2 bedrooms?
i just dont understand how this make sense as i have 2 more children.
before anyone judges i am not ASKING for a council house, i am asking for help to help find a home for myself and my children as i have no friends or family near.
i also suffer from panic attacks and anxiety since we've been threatened with homelessness and feel the situation is only going to get worse.
yes of course i will be grateful for a home over my head and my children safe, but i cant understand how the system works and how people that CHEAT the system are better off??

if anyone has been through something similar and managed to get a property big enough please please help me with some advice!

i'd just like to apologise in advance for the spelling mistakes etc i have a baby attached to me constantly!

Same sex children can share until they are 16 unless you can get paediatrics and occupational therapy to agree that one of your children needs there own room

I don't have any answers but it might be a good idea to report your post and ask MNHQ to move it to a more suitable section where you will get more responses. Good luck OP.

Please report your post and ask it to be moved to a more appropriate topic. I don't have much advice but there will be people in relevant topics that can help you.

You need to get as much medical support as possible to highlight your sons disability... this will give you priority on medical grounds ask your doctor or contact children with disabilities team asking for support and a care assessment \ occupational therapy report ( they hold the key a lot of the time ) ... is he on DLA if not start the ball rolling on that too .. some councils are better then others I'm afraid.. but if they accept your child has needs and your about to become homeless they have a duty of care .. good luck

Hi OP

We're just moving this thread to our chat topic.

Hi OP,
Call your local children's services and explain what you have said here.
They should help you find appropriate accommodation and also support you with your son. They will then also contact the children with disabilities team who will look to see you you need an OT assessment for housing.

Are you definitely being evicted because of a court order?

Or did your landlord issue a Section 21 or Section 8? (I assume that you know that because of the Coronavirus, all landlords now must give six months notice and not 2 months).

Quite often the LL issues the notice to quit incorrectly, so in many cases the courts throw cases out and a new Section 21 or Section 8 has to be reissued, which gives you more breathing space to find somewhere. If this is the case, then you do not have to move out on March 25th - it is the date your LL would like the property back - but only a court order definitively means that you have to vacate on that date, and the court may send bailiffs round. However, if you don’t move out on 25th March it is just delaying the inevitable.

Are you in rent arrears? Is your children’s father paying maintenance - in fact could he be a guarantor or help with a deposit for your next place?

I think you should look at the website for the charity Shelter and give them a call over the weekend; they will provide advice and try and help you come to an amicable solution;

www.shelter.org.uk

Also the ‘Residential Letting Advice’ Forum on www.landlordzone.co.uk as there are knowledgeable landlords on there who help tenants who have been the victims of unreputable letting agents and landlords, which may be your situation.

Good Luck!

@Pinotpleasure thank you for your message but yes the eviction was given in October so he has given the 6 months but the time of eviction.
Also the court order will come once our eviction date has passed if we have not found accommodation.
I am not in rent arrears and have lived here for 3 years but unfortunately my landlord needs his property back to live in himself. Times are hard for everybody.

My children’s dad has lost his job due to Covid and is not a homeowner of so he cannot act as a guarantor for me as estate agents near me have homeowners as a requirement. Otherwise he has always been good to us and is helping anyway he can.

I did call shelter but unfortunately they have no other advice then I have already been told!

Helping anyway he can? So you'll be moving in with him then?

@Happyd

I have gone down that route but unfortunately as he can still see from how other eye with glasses (his sight is bad in that eye too) he isn’t classed as having a disability until the ‘good’ eye looses more of its sight.
Obviously it still affects his daily life as he only started to loose the sight when he was 4 it completely went last year. But the council unfortunately are dismissing it!

@Theunamedcat
In our area only 2 children of the same sex can share the third child makes you eligible for a 3rd room but unfortunately only when they’re 1.
But when you have 1 baby only living with you you’re still entitled to a 2 bedroom property?

@Tempusfudgeit
No. We live separate and he has his children every night after work for dinner and homework.
But he has always helped money wise and support wise but with this he can’t

Op, you can contact the council housing department, however they won’t house you until you are evicted, and they will likely only offer temporary housing (likely a room in a hostel for families), while they assess your needs. That can be for a year or more.

If you can you are expected to find your family another home to rent.

There are hundreds of thousands on the waiting list, most with kids, many with disabilities, all stuck in temporary housing.

Obviously it depends where in the uk you are (assuming you are in UK), some areas have more availability than other.

Sorry it’s not better, eviction rules are still in place so check with specialist advice re that.

Good luck, I know it’s tough.

(With sympathy for your landlord) by the time your landlord has the court order and is allowed to instruct a bailiff to evict you, your baby will be 1. Can you string it out and then go back to the council when you should be entitled to 3 beds?

@mumofboysxo

For your replied I take it your son is blind in one eye and has got limited sight in the other ? when you next see your sons eye consultant ask if he meets the Criteria for a CV1 ( certificate of visual impairment) ... you may have to push for it as they like gold dust .. plus do try to get DLA .. it will open you up to so much more help ..

Unfortunately,councils usually wait until the day of the eviction until you are classed homeless so only from that date they have a duty to find you suitable accommodation.
They say you are entitled to 2 bedrooms as currently you have 2 same-sex children under 16 although (1 bedroom) and you and a baby (2nd bedroom).
They will only consider your most current need and they do not look at the fact that little one will turn 1 soon (it's temporary solution).

Does your council have a housing advice or housing options service? They will check the legality of your Section 21 notice. They should be able to advice on housing options and may also run a rent deposit scheme. If you don’t find anywhere to rent most councils insist landlords apply for a court order after expiry of the notice which takes several weeks. I’m not sure if courts are currently awarding court orders for evictions in covid.
You already have a priority need for housing once homeless because you have children. If you feel you need specific accommodation because your child is partially sighted then you need evidence from professionals detailing his requirements and housing should assess this. Regarding bedroom allocation your council should have a allocations policy. I know in my borough single parents with a baby get a 1 bed not like your relative. Children under 10 count as half a person

Without sounding cruel you don't have many options. If the council offer you a two bedroom home take it! The alternative is being homeless with your children. Take this option and make it work! If worst comes to the worst you can sleep on a sofa bed the kids can have the bedrooms.

3Js - the new homelessness act means they need to help before hand now. They have a duty to try and help prevent eople becoming homeless.
There's a ban on eviction enforcement at themomt as well though so could take a while for LL to get a court order then evict you which might make you eligible for a larger property by then
The council can find you another private rent though which would meet their homeless duty - they are not required to fi d you a council property and the liklihood of them doing that depend on where yiu live.

@Littlepaws18 I never said I wouldn’t take it, I was asking about the options as my son needs his own space. Also that it’s unfair that people who don’t need the space seem to get it rather then people that actually need it

@Happyd thank you your comments are so helpful.
He was discharged last year due to the sight in his eye completely going, I have asked my doctors for all the forms he does well at school etc but he does bump and trip a lot so we try and have the space and clear walkways for him at all times. Also if he’s not wearing his glasses he does need help to and from bed in the night bless him.

I just feel like the system is abit backwards as the council helps people being ‘evicted’ from their mums houses pretty promptly but not people like myself who are struggling to find private accommodation and have gone to them as a last resort!

@3JsMa yes I understand just very frustrating!
If I could private rent I would and I still will if I find away, but the council seeks to be my last option at the moment!
I suffer with anxiety and panic attacks due to this so uprooting my children again from a home worries me! My son struggles so much to settle at school and in yr 2 has only just settled in. We live right on the outskirts of town aswell so barely any properties near his school!

@kkneat

Yes they do and I’ve called/emailed the council a lot over the last few weeks and still haven’t had a solution. But they’re busy so I understand but doesn’t make my worry any easier!
The ban on evictions is only until February at the moment and my landlord is good and I know he wouldn’t of evicted us unless he was desperate himself

@mumofboysxo - absolutely do not move out on 25th March (especially if you are hoping to get housed by the council - they will only help if the Court has issued a “Possession Order” and bailiffs are on your doorstep).

You may ask the Court in any case to delay the Possession Order for up to six weeks if you can show that you will experience exceptional hardship.
(Source; www.tenancyagreementservice.co.uk - see ‘Tenants Rights”, especially the last two paragraphs.)

Most councils actually tell tenants this - to stay put until then. Very annoying for the Landlord but OTOH you probably have nowhere else to go until the council is going to arrange accommodation for you....and you will obviously still be paying him rent until you actually leave.

If you move out without a Court order then the council will deem that you have made yourself intentionally homeless. It’s great that you have been keeping up to date with your rent payments.

There is a massive backlog of court hearings due to Covid. It may take many months - even up to a year before your Landlord’s case is heard. If you remain in the property it’s important to continue to pay your rent each month as usual.

Also see: www.citizensadvice.org.uk and look up “Your Rights When You Rent From a Private Landlord” - you can also make an appointment to discuss with an advisor

Honestly, I don’t think you will be moving anytime soon!