Landlord selling up, anxiety.

[AnxietyAnn]

Obvious name change, but need somewhere to vent/hand holding.

Just found out today landlord is selling our flat, it hasn’t been looked after by the letting agency at all, we have reported numerous problems over the four years we have been here - windows blown with gaps you can get your fingers in, damp, guttering problems, plaster blown and most recently electrical problems we have no light in our living room for the past 8 weeks as it needs rewire so landlord has just left it. (Obviously doesn’t want to pay) DH works full time and pays the rent, I had to leave my job due to health problems and we get a small amount of universal credit. I’m now in absolute bits at the idea of us most likely being evicted, we have been in this flat four years and don’t know where to turn, nowhere accepts universal credit even though it’s a very very small amount and I don’t know how we would save up the cash to move anyways. It’s very frightening. I’m worried I’m going to have to go back to work full time at the cost of my health, I’ve just had a pre op for a operation thats going to require quite abit of time to heal and I suffer terrible anxiety anyways. No prospect of moving in with family DH dad has terminal cancer and my mum doesn’t have room.

Feeling very backed into a corner, where I’ve been out of work I’ve got a big gap on cv and feel like I’m unemployable.

Basically I’m just getting myself in a state.

I didn’t want to read and run, it’s one of my biggest fears, I sympathise.
Get in touch with your local council and see what they can do to help if the worst happens..do you have anyone that could help with a deposit or guarantor?

You still will have deposit from your current property. Can you come back to work at least part time, temporary, just until you’ll be accepted for new house? Did you visit council and discussed options?

Have applied for any housing associations or your council's housing register?
Council's usually have a scheme that connects private landlords who will accept housing benefit as part of the preferred landlord scheme.
Discretionary housing payments can help towards rental deposits.

try looking on openrent - look for ones where you can deal directly with the landlord, they would likely be fine with your explanation, even ones that say no DSS as such a small proportion is involved, it's not like the rent will be depending on that amount. I think you have a good chance - and even if not, there are a greater proportion of landlord who do accept dss on there

Council won’t help us as we have been here 4 years, it’s a minimum of 5 to get housed in our borough, just applied for two homeworking jobs because I don’t think anyone would employ me with my health problems ( I used to work in London and couldn’t hack the commute anymore)
Doubt we will get deposit back from the landlord as the flat needs ALOT done to it (even though it’s not our fault and has been logged with them)

Going to look on open rent and send messages to landlords, hopefully there will be something, i know with renting this happens all the time but it’s so stressful!!

Of course you will get your deposit back if it’s been registered and you can prove you haven’t caused damage. If it hasn’t been registered, you’ll be quids in!

There’s a company who guarantee rent for people on UC. That will help you to rent on the open market. I will see if I can find their details.

Here you go, OP. Take a read of this: www.rentguarantor.com/tenants/benefits

LL has to serve you notice so you could be a little way off needing a new home yet. Are there any HA with different criteria to council? When is your five years?

Is it definite that your tenancy would end? Properties are sold with sitting tenants quite often, I was in one a few years back. (This is in England, rules may be different if you live somewhere else.) I had been there under the first landlord for about two years, and stayed under the new landlord for another two. New landlords don't get any rights or advantages that the old one didn't, and they still have to go through legal process if they want to evict you.

You never know, the new owner might be quite happy to have you stay, and might be a bit more willing to fix some of the issues.

You might also find this page useful, about your rights as a tenant when the owner is selling.

We get UC and managed to get one of them zero deposit ones too. Iirc we paid 1 week rent for checks? And then £13 each per year on the renewal date. Not actually sure what it's for though?

Ring every agent as to who accepts UC.

Ours didn't but we asked them to forward an email to LL. Saying about our situation. We had 2 dcs and 1 on way. Needed to be local. And send photos of how we kept our old place immaculate. He agreed.

We have been lucky to be fair so far. LL does all the jobs we report. Some we contact him directly as the agent is more than useless.

But I have the fear he'd sell. Dh thinks he never would but you just never know.