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Original poster

So we're being evicted AGAIN!

500 replies

OnandOnItGoes · 01/05/2023 22:48

3rd rented property in 7 years. Been here for 4 years. Had to leave the last two properties as landlord selling, now we're in the same situation again.

Rent always paid on time and properties always very well looked after so it's not that we're bad tenants, just the never ending game we're stuck in.

We left within the notice period of last 2 properties but can't with this one as rents are £500+ for similar properties and much smaller worse properties with no parking/horrible areas are £200-300 a month more and we simply can't afford it or find one which we are successful for as they seem to only want 'professionals' in high paying jobs.

Council have been no help and have said as both DH and I work, we need to find another rented property. I can only work part time in a low paying admin job due to caring responsibilities as need to be on hand for disabled DC for school drop/pick up and after school as no after school care (teens). We have no family support.

Also worried about being put in temp accommodation as around here it seems to be adapted office blocks with lots of anti social issues. Also as we work I understand we'll have to pay a lot for it!

Section 21 expires on 15th May and I'm aware Landlord will start court process for possession as he's very keen to get us out and get it sold. I assume he'll use the accelerated procedure as he's a professional landlord with lots of properties and is selling most of them I believe.

Does anyone know how long we may have before bailiffs? We're in the South East. I've already looked into storage facilities so we can empty the house but we have no family to stay with so not sure where we'll go from there.

Of course we will continue looking for a property and continue paying rent but any advice on timeline will be helpful if anyone has been through the process recently?

The stress is unbearable and much worse this time due to the current rental market!

OP posts:
Thread gallery
15
Parsley1234 · 03/05/2023 22:45

Big problem a lot of UK housing stock is Victorian that can never be a C so there will be houses not able to be rented but can be on air band b such badly thought out policy

TwoBlueFish · 03/05/2023 22:45

Do either of your children have a social worker? They may be able to help. You should also have local carers organisations who may be able to advocate on your behalf. Contact have a helpline for families of disabled children and again might be able to give you some pointers.

it may be a case of accepting temporary accommodation until the end of the school year and then looking to move to a cheaper area. Not an easy thing to do with disabled children I know.

HipHipCimorene · 03/05/2023 22:54

Parsley1234 · 03/05/2023 22:45

Big problem a lot of UK housing stock is Victorian that can never be a C so there will be houses not able to be rented but can be on air band b such badly thought out policy

Agree.
Older properties ( ie the vast majority of uk housing stock ) will be very expensive to upgrade.
A disaster for the rental market.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Property legal advice
wellstopdoingitthen · 03/05/2023 23:00

I'm so sorry to hear about your situation OP. I can't believe the landlord wouldn't let you stay until the end of the school year, especially with disabled children.

Unfortunately this is happening more & more. I work in a school & we have had several families hit like this. The trouble is if you move out before the bailiffs remove you the LA will declare you made yourself homeless & refuse to help.

I wish I had some wonderful words to advise you. Hope you manage to get something suitable. I really feel for you trying to secure a place in school for your children.

Is there any chance your school can write to your landlord and appeal to their better nature & give you more time? Our home school support worker has negotiated with the LA in some cases. Mixed success.

Indoorcatmum · 03/05/2023 23:00

Solonge · 03/05/2023 20:44

Airbnb? Ive booked several trips recently with Airbnb from Edinburgh to Cornwall and not paid less than £485 for three nights!

Show quote history

You'll find that multi month stays are very attractive for some hosts.

I am in the centre of Edinburgh and was paying less than market rate for traditional rentals in this property :)

I have switched to this being a traditional rental as that was better for my landlord, but initially I was paying less than market rate with zero deposit.

I also had several other people in both Edinburgh and Glasgow say they would love to have us stay too :)

Thesharkradar · 03/05/2023 23:13

Parsley1234 · 03/05/2023 22:45

Big problem a lot of UK housing stock is Victorian that can never be a C so there will be houses not able to be rented but can be on air band b such badly thought out policy

hopefully air b&b will be next for the ban hammer then!

Parsley1234 · 04/05/2023 00:30

What I can see is that landlords won’t need a section 21 they just have to wait for their homes to be untenable through not being a C rated and where will the tenants be then ? Homeless
@Thesharkradar slightly chippy ?
I think one way round would be changing to holiday let and letting tenants stay like that but there would be no protection atall

Thesharkradar · 04/05/2023 00:41

Parsley1234 · 04/05/2023 00:30

What I can see is that landlords won’t need a section 21 they just have to wait for their homes to be untenable through not being a C rated and where will the tenants be then ? Homeless
@Thesharkradar slightly chippy ?
I think one way round would be changing to holiday let and letting tenants stay like that but there would be no protection atall

just a bit of late night shooting from the hip😶

HipHipCimorene · 04/05/2023 01:20

Parsley1234 · 04/05/2023 00:30

What I can see is that landlords won’t need a section 21 they just have to wait for their homes to be untenable through not being a C rated and where will the tenants be then ? Homeless
@Thesharkradar slightly chippy ?
I think one way round would be changing to holiday let and letting tenants stay like that but there would be no protection atall

That’s an interesting point.
ie What happens if a property can’t be upgraded
Will the landlord have to issue a s21
or will he be fined
or what?

Obviously he will have to sell.

DisquietintheRanks · 04/05/2023 06:03

@HipHipCimorene think the law says they must be upgraded or landlord must spend X amount per year upgrading them (can't remember what X is but it's not huge).

woollymammal · 04/05/2023 06:21

@HipHipCimorene

Lenders increasingly won't lend on property below C.

Parsley1234 · 04/05/2023 06:52

@DisquietintheRanks it doesn’t matter how much you spend most Victorian properties will never reach a C it’s another ill thought out bullshit all virtue signalling there is not enough housing stock now and now this

DisquietintheRanks · 04/05/2023 07:11

@Parsley1234 yes and no. Its not great to end up with the state paying (or helping to pay) for great swathes of the population to be housed in cold, substandard housing whilst landlords profit (and I say this as a landlord).

Victorian housing stock can be upgraded (internal cladding and double glazing) but it costs £££ - and in the case of small properties makes them smaller. The best thing to do would be to move these properties out of the rental market and replace them with better stock. But no one wants to build that.

It's hard now with the lack of affordable housing but bringing back the slums isn't an answer either.

Ukrainebaby23 · 04/05/2023 08:23

I see some of the posts, I didn't read them all are judgemental and not supportive, I'm sorry for that, this situation is really not your fault.

Illness and disability cause many financial issues and housing security is a major problem for people in your situation. Tbh, and not helpful, your best bet is win the lottery.....

I don't criticise the landlord, they have the right to buy and sell properties, I would suggest you'd be better off in social housing, and though I know council housing is almost impossible, your situation will help. Most likely housing association will be the best solution.

I don't understand the details of section 21 fully, but I believe it's a no fault eviction.

Options, : can the landlord suggest anywhere, they most likely have other contacts.

: could you possibly offer to buy the property?

: would landlord consider selling with sitting Tennant, even if you are on notice, I guess they'd want you to leave so they can up the rental price.

: would a relative consider buying property, this or another, for/with you.

: have seen a few joint purchase schemes but I think with family would be tricky, but maybe a joint rental where 2 families rent a massive place might work?

: try to think creatively, advertise everywhere for home needed. Hospitals often have rentals listed on their notice boards, a wander round might get you somewhere. I'm sorry for your situation, and it must be terribly stressful. I wish you the best.

usernamealreadytaken · 04/05/2023 08:27

OnandOnItGoes · 02/05/2023 22:13

No tenant wants to stay until eviction either but what are we do if we have nowhere else to go bearing in mind rents are currently the highest they've ever been and demand is unprecedented. It's all over the media. You probably wouldn't be aware if it didn't affect you.

Should I just leave and live in my car with disabled DC (one of whom needs a fridge for medication) so as not to inconvenience my millionaire landlord?

We did buy a house before we had DC, it was much bigger than this. Unfortunately we didn't foresee my career ending when the older one's disability became apparent and another child (who was already born before the older one was diagnosed) being diagnosed with a completely unrelated disability a few years later. I went from £35k a year to carers allowance of £60 a week. There is no history of either disability in our families. We had to sell our house and rent, couldn't afford the mortgage anymore. I've only been able to work again in the last few years.

No amount of planning would have foreseen that.

Show quote history

Sorry for your situation, but it sounds like you might have received really bad advice re selling your home; did you explore moving to interest-only before selling? If an advisor or bank provided any advice, you might have some avenue for compensation (and I'm definitely not in the compensation for everything camp).

Other posters have advised moving north, and I'm going to add my tuppenceworth. We moved from the south east to north west and housing here is so much cheaper - in our area a 3 bed rents for £850-£1000 (or more) but buying starts at around £130k for a reasonable house in a reasonable area. Hospitals are reasonable, we've always managed to get appointments and treatments in a reasonable time (DS under paediatrician for about 8 years before difficult diagnosis, but that's because they weren't looking for it...). Even have an NHS dentist. Other living expenses are similar, but DH has a far shorter commute as we live closer to the city, and that gives us more time and a better quality of life. Would your DH be able to find work in other areas, even at a slightly lower wage, if housing costs were greatly reduced?

It's bloody hard moving away from the area you know, but it is doable.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/133690808#/?channel=RES_BUY
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/130682933#/?channel=RES_BUY

Check out this 3 bedroom end of terrace house for sale on Rightmove

3 bedroom end of terrace house for sale in Coronation Drive, Leigh, Greater Manchester, WN7 for £130,000. Marketed by Entwistle Green, Westhoughton

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/133690808#/?channel=RES_BUY

VK456 · 04/05/2023 09:58

My heart goes out to you. I really hope that you find somewhere affordable and suitable soon. The stress must be awful.

HipHipCimorene · 04/05/2023 11:14

woollymammal · 04/05/2023 06:21

@HipHipCimorene

Lenders increasingly won't lend on property below C.

So even owner occupiers are going to be or could be hit by this one at some point.
My house is grade 2* listed and will never be a C, but I understand that we are exempt ( if it alters the character of the building ) at the moment at least.

Worth remembering though if anyone is looking to buy.

Thesharkradar · 04/05/2023 12:05

woollymammal · 04/05/2023 06:21

@HipHipCimorene

Lenders increasingly won't lend on property below C.

People who own properties rated below C are going to have a tough time selling... They'll have to spend money to upgrade or sell cheaply to someone who doesn't need a mortgage?😳

Ducatifan · 04/05/2023 12:12

The C rating is so difficult for anyone without mains gas either to rent or just buy. We are oil heating. All of our area is.

justasking111 · 04/05/2023 14:01

We're D rating because the idiot that surveyed it didn't clock the insulation in the walls. Our old home built 1804 out of quarried stone with oil heating no gas in the village wouldn't tick so many boxes

Parsley1234 · 04/05/2023 14:31

I know it’s complete bullshit it’s going to be impossible to upgrade most Victorian stock another Ill conceived policy

Original poster
OnandOnItGoes · 04/05/2023 17:28

B
B

OP posts:
ThankmelaterOkay · 04/05/2023 18:49

Sorry, ^ this is in reference to early posts about flats being listed and let, but taken down rather than left as let. Ie preventing market deflation.

They get 5-10 people to ring up and view, knowing one will take it.