What happens to a persons social housing if they get put in jail?

[onlynotafan]

Not going to jail ever but just was thinking about this recently- So what happens? do the LA take it back depending on the sentence? And what happens to said persons bills, you know mobile,council tax, gas and electricity? Do they stop or continue to be paid even when the person is locked up?

Also is there a way you can find out a crime someone has committed with just a name?

Looking forward to your replies 😌

Depends on the length of the sentence. Whilst on remand (not sentenced) they keep the tenancy. I think if the sentence is under 6 months they can keep the tenancy but anything more then it goes back to the LA.

Yoi can Google the name if its a crime being reported in the local newspapers.
I went out with a guy for a while back in the 80s and he was "looking after" someone's council flat while they were "away" not sure how long the sentence was

I know someone this happened to and they kept theirs but I guess depends how long they go for

This person who is a relative of a relative by marriage - apparently it was serious but I don't think it was in the local news as I googled the persons name and nothing came up regarding a crime.

You can find anything. The court details are available for anyone to see.

Is there a specific website?

UC will pay rent for up to 6 assessments periods directly to the landlord. After that, the claim will close. Not sure what happens to utility bills etc, probably just arrears building.

Often they'll lose the tenancy if the crime was committed during their tenancy as a breach of tenancy agreement. Length of sentence can also mean the tenancy will be lost unless they can identify a caretaker tenant to live in the property until their time is served and they can resume it.

Do you know what court they would have been in? Probably their local one.

Google the name, court hearing. Or name and town.

If someone has a direct debit that doesn't change just because they're in prison. The utility companies and phone company won't know that they're in prison, unless the prisoner informs them. For the period that they keep the tenancy those bills and rent are still owed, regardless of them not living there because they're in prison and regardless of their ability to pay or not because they're in prison.

If the tenancy ends, requirements to pay utilities, rent and council tax also ends. But unless these companies are informed that the tenant has left, they won't know and will continue to bill the tenant until someone else moves in and informs them that they now live there. Or if they're dishonest, doesn't inform them and carries on whilst knowing the bill is being run up in the previous tenants name, until threat of utilities being cut off etc forces the new tenant to tell the companies they now live there.

Mobile phone depends on the contract. If it's a fixed period contract eg 2yrs, that's payable regardless of if your circumstances change or whether you're able to use the phone/SIM at all. As with utility companies and council tax, the phone company can use debt collectors or small claims court to chase you for what you owe. A SIM only rolling monthly contract you can just stop paying and after 6 months of no use the number will be disconnected.

If rent isn't paid the tenant will lose the tenancy and be evicted like any other non paying tenant, being in prison is irrelevant. It's the same as how rent has to be paid even if you used to earn £100k a year and rented a mansion but now exist on benefits and can't afford the rent. If you can't pay you get evicted, the reason for not paying doesn't matter. I imagine a lot lose their tenancy for this reason because without savings how can you pay the rent if you're in prison with no income?

Somewhere there will be a public record of who has gone to court. A name should enable you to find out some information.

Often they'll lose the tenancy if the crime was committed during their tenancy as a breach of tenancy agreement

That's a good point. Commiting a criminal act is usually listed in the tenancy agreement as a reason for the landlord to terminate the tenancy. So if you're found guilty, often that's your tenancy gone.

Actually often the landlord will know that a tenant has been convicted.
The police may have broken down the door to gain entry, landlord advised.
If there are animals in the property these have to be in place of safety, so landlord advised.
Probation tell landlord their client is up in court soon.
Other agencies might also be involved and will tell landlord.
Oh, and the nosy neighbour will often be on the phone telling the landlord exactly what happened. In this case I was pleased to know.
If they are sentenced , the tenant will often surrender the tenancy as they don't want to lose any valuable items and can get a relative to look after them.

Been googling this persons name left right and centre... only thing that got brought up was their old twitter account.I just want to know what they are in (prison) for. My relative couldn't tell me because their offence was bad obviously they didn't want to break trust of their partner by telling me everything.

Which is fair enough. But I'd like to know, as this person is the last person you'd think would end up in prison. Religious etc

Despite what people say about googling the name and it will come up I’ve also found the same as you the person I know who went to prison there is absolutely zero information about it on Google 🤷‍♀️ no news articles, nothing

It's fair enough you want to know, presumably you're coming into contact with this person regularly. If you Google the courts you should be able to find a list of the people who've been through there, that might be the best way to start the search for information.

Do you want to put this much energy into it though? If you're looking to make a decision about how to spend your time and that decision depends on what this person has been convicted of, you could simply choose to never have contact with them again since they won't tell you. It's all very well those concerned wanting to brush it all under the carpet to spare their embarrassment, keeping it secret to avoid other's judgement and carrying on like it never happened, but you don't have to accept this. The convici person and your relative have made their choices, you can make yours. To hell with upsetting them, they don't care about how much worry this situation and your lack of knowledge about the details is causing you. When people do bad things it can rip families apart.

*convicted

Which prison are they in?

That Might give a clue

Hi my son is on remand and his housing association have the keys to his home. He has been on remand 3 months and has asked me to check his property but the housing association will not give me the keys even though my son has spoken to them. They will give access pre arranged and enter the property with me until I leave.
They are also advising if my son gets a prison sentence after his trial he should voluntarily give the flat up. Which would mean he would be homeless on release.
I live 130 miles away from my sons flat.
Any advice would be gratefully received.
Thank you

Also you can request for anything in your name to be removed. My ex used to come up with loads of things. Now only last 12 months cause that happened after request to remove. Not sure if it was something he had to pay someone to do or if it's a legal obligation when requested

I think also if the tenancy is in solely that persons name also impacts.

My BIL served 6 months last year, he is a council tenant. It was incredibly hard to actually get advice on his tenancy because no one in the housing office would speak to my in-laws, even in general terms. In his case it was a drugs related offence which occurred in the property so there was a real worry he would be evicted.

Thankfully, BIL engaged with a social worker while he was in prison and they were able to help make arrangements to keep his tenancy going. His UC was paid direct to the council and there were no changes to his UC because his sentence was only 6 months. My in laws kept the rest of the bills going for him and he had gave them a key before he was sentenced so they could keep an eye on the place.

Random googling only shows what the local media have reported. Not everything is reported by the media. You need to find the actual court records. If you can't find online, maybe go to your town's main library and ask there as they probably have official court records that you could search through or maybe point you in the right direction online. Maybe even phone your local court to ask where cases are publicised.

These sites have transcripts and/or sentencing remarks of a lot of court cases but unfortunately not all.https://www.judiciary.uk/judgments/

Bailii https://www.bailii.org/bailii/search_by_title.htm and type their name into the Case Law search function