So we're being evicted AGAIN!

[OnandOnItGoes]

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!

@Needanewnamebeingwatched landlords having homes forcing to sell how does that help the OP ? I’m interested to know with less rentals the price goes up demand increases the largest aquifer of homes are businesses now be careful what you wish for

Maybe a silly suggestion, but have you approached your existing landlord to see if they have any other properties?

although, I guess they would have proposed this.

You can employ a pa to come to your house and look after the kids after school so you can work longer hours. Not ideal but it might give you options if you wanted to work longer hours. Our council pay towards the costs for this because our son is disabled.

If LL has to go to court and get bailiffs to evict it will be CCJ. An eviction order in itself if OP complied and moved out then no CCJ. OP is planning on waiting for court action and bailiff's. She will need a LL reference to rent again. If LL has to get a bailiff he would say this in a reference. It is so hard to find a decent rental property ATM. I'm a LL and have 7 houses and as soon as one comes empty I get about 15 people wanting it. As well as a credit check I look at past LL reference and ring previous LL to check it's an honest reference. This is where by not moving out OP will shoot herself in the foot just for the sake of possibly 6 weeks extra time in house. Is it worth it if it makes it so much harder to find something decent to rent in the future?

Are you suitable for a housing association shared equity property? They are all over the south east. That'd be a better option as you have a stake in the property but the rent charged is much less than a mortgage payment. Only a small deposit is needed too

Housing association rentals are hard to find....

Good luck, OP. This is a toughie right now and I feel for you all x

What do you suggest she does, then?

So they sell and there's less rental properties around? How does that solve the rental issue? Did you think that through properly?

I’m not sure the LL on here aren’t being unsympathetic. They are just explaining why so many are selling up.
And whilst it’s sad for the op, you can’t disagree that the ops LL has been kind and kept her rent way below market rate. Now that kindness is going to be repaid by all the cost and inconvenience of court.

Its sad for both the op and the LL.

I have a house that I rent out that is below market rate. I’m not a greedy LL and I take care of repairs and upgrade far more than I need to as I treat my tenants as I would want to be treated.

Tbh, this thread has made me reconsider. If I’m possibly going to end up in the same situation, because my rent is so relatively cheap and the hike is so high if I give notice, then It’s sensible that I keep abreast with market rate all along and increase my rent annually. This will maximise my income to give a bigger buffer for potential court costs and also make it less likely that I need to sell because of increasing mortgage rates etc. It’s sad if I have to do that as I don’t want to, but let’s face it. The whole rental market is a shitshow. We need a system that is fair to both tenant and LL. It helps no one if LL are leaving in droves, but on the other hand rental prices/conditions of some properties, are unfair and unsustainable too.

Actually what needs to be pointed out as well is that the slum landlords with mould and undesirable properties tend to be councils it’s a complete mess. I have properties my rents are below market rent but I am selling over the next few years and my 4 tenants only one of which would pass a credit check will be out of homes

When the Government made it VERY difficult for landlords to make any type of money/tax saving on rentals, this was always going to happen.

The LA do not have unlimited budget, there are no council houses, and people are crammed in to B&Bs. The people who are struggling with affording rentals, are most likely not the families who can afford to buy the houses that these landlords are selling. Low income families are once again being fucked over.

Everyone believed that landlords were the enemy, and now there are a lot less of them for low income families to rent off.

Have you approached your estate agent regarding the situation. You have a good rental history and they might put in a good word for you. Some landlord accept these.

We recently accepted a tenant who became part time as he has become a carer but has 15 year track record of rental payment with 2 year after becoming part time.

If you are desperate then look at ads on gumtree (but be very cautious) , shops where landlords are advertising directly. Landlords advertising directly don't care much about what jobs you are doing as long as you can pay rent. Again, be cautious as some deals can be dodgy.

But that's exactly why OP is in this situation. Her LL (presumably) no longer feels that letting properties on the private market is sustainable, so he's selling up and OP is in the shit.

I happen to agree that ultimately nobody should profit from essential goods and services. Things like housing, energy, water, even basic food and clothing, should be available at cost price from government owned entities IMO. HOWEVER, just attacking the problem in a very superficial way like you suggest and has actually been done - e.g. by making private LLs leave the market in droves but without doing anything to build an alternative system that works - just kicks the can down the road and makes things worse for all of us.

It’s not unreasonable to suggest this, but the landlord probably considered this option before issuing the section 21.
The main problem with it being sold to another landlord is that they will be paying current market price to buy, and will therefore want current market rent. OP says that is £1800 for similar properties and she can’t afford that.

@Puppers yes you’re right vilifying landlords making us out to be the enemy but doing nothing to solve the problem and infact the BTL market helped the government house people now the bubble has burst people have nowhere to live what will happen ? the government certainly won’t be solving this issue they created by selling off stock creating a BTL market that suited their narrative

I’m a landlord. I don’t expect anyone to have any sympathy for landlords in general. We have a home to live in without our rentals and any difficulties cannot be compared with OP’s situation.
However in nearly every thread of this type there are comments along the lines of ‘if it’s too hot get out of the kitchen’
OP’s landlord is doing just that. The downside of landlords selling can be devastating for the tenants.
I am also ‘guilty’ of not normally increasing rents during a tenancy. The consequence of this when the tenant wants or needs to move out means there is a huge jump in rent, which I admit I hadn’t really thought about until recently ( no, I am not going to be increasing rents before anyone asks).
OP please do what you can to move out before the court order. I am not saying this to benefit your landlord’s plans, but as a landlord I would place someone who has been forcibly evicted below someone with a bad credit rating in my list of preference for a new tenant. In practice I am unlikely to even need to consider anyone who has a less than ideal history due to the ridiculously high amount of applications for any property.

@OnandOnItGoes what is your DH’s job? You could buy a house in a Northern town (suburbs rather than inner city) and your mortgage would be a lot lower than the rent you’re paying now. £49k is a really good wage, especially outside of the SE! Even a drop in pay would still allow him to buy a house. He’d pay less tax and NI per month and mortgage would be a lot cheaper.

Could he negotiate a hybrid contract for a little while until he finds another job? You don’t have any family ties in the SE so I think moving to a more affordable area would solve a lot of your issues.

Hi OP

Solidarity - we are in the SE and rents have skyrocketed - we are probably about £300 minimum now under market value and live in fear of a huge hike. Luckily, we seem (touch wood) to have quite a sensible landlord who knows the actual property is a long term investment rather than trying to make profit from rents (which is immoral IMO).

Set up alerts for Rightmove and consider downsizing into a flat/maisonette?

You have to be calling estate agents the minute a property goes on the market.

Also check openrent where landlords advertise direct.

Tell your LL that you are struggling to get accepted for any alternative housing so they know whats going on.

I do feel for you , I would go and visit some of the horrible areas at different times , it's not always as bad as its perceived and if you can find something just treat it as tempory while you pay off your car loan and get back on your feet .

Lots of options available:-
move to a cheaper area
Get a full time job at night that fits with DH job.
Work part time in the week and full time at weeks.
Find proper childcare for yr children and get a full time job, lots now offer childcare for SEN children, help with paying for childcare is available for most people.

I'm sure I'm not suggesting anything you've not already thought of, but if you've got a SEN child, are you eligible for a Motability car instead of having to buy one yourself? Just wondering if that could free up some money.

I'm sorry you're going through this OP. The government has made it less desirable for people to be landlords (higher taxes due to lack of being able to offset mortgage interest against their earnings). The theory is that it would make properties more affordable to buy as landlords would sell up. Now the landlords are selling up but property prices haven't as far as they would need to, and even then there's still plenty of people that could afford the mortgage, but have no chance in hell of building up a deposit. It's a total shit show.

I hope something turns around for you soon OP.

Let's take each point:

• move to a cheaper area - moving to another area would likely mean moving healthcare trusts. If you don't have any medical needs this is nice and straightforward but with a SEN child, the chances of a smooth handover are very, very unlikely
• Get a full time job at night that fits with DH job - and when is OP supposed to sleep if she's on care duties during the day?
• Work part time in the week and full time at weekends - this might be OK on a temporary basis, but is a recipe for a total burn out for both OP and her DH. My DMum looked after my disabled sister full time as a SAHM and she ended up exhausted, depressed and suicidal without having to contend with a job too.
• Find proper childcare for your children, lots now offer childcare for SEN children - that really is wishful thinking. We don't know OP's specific needs or age of the child that would need support, but there really is little provision for SEN children, especially as they get older. This is the reason my DM couldn't work until after my DSis had gone in to full time care. The only job that would have been remotely feasible for her was within a school setting as there was absolutely no help available during the school holidays. The only respite care my parents were entitled to was one week a year, during term time. I know things have changed quite a bit, but the idea that childcare for SEN children is readily available to anyone that needs it, is laughable.

Sorry you're going through this.

This government has done so much damage to the private rental sector. It's no longer worth the stress to have a BTL property, which has a knock on effect on landlords selling up.

@roarfeckingroarr done so much damage with nothing offered as an alternative completely ridiculous state of affairs which would be laughable were it not to have such catastrophic affects

It is nuts at the moment. My tenant is leaving (rent £1400 for 2 bed flat in Greater London) and the agents recommended raising the rent for new tenants to £1600. I've had a bidding war up to £1900 after a week on the market. Absolutely nuts - but at least will make up for higher mortgage costs

@Parsley1234 exactly. It's all well and good bashing private landlords but it's a bit silly to go after them without an alternative.