Evictions. Please don't judge

[Homesweeethome]

Quite some time ago I was evicted from my home under section 21. Leading up to the evicted was stressful as I did not know what to expect for my family. I was ripped apart on mumsnet. People were really nasty. Then people did not know how things worked just thought I could wave a magic wound. ",just do this" "just do that" thought it was all so simple. Then when I explained why it was not that easy . I was ripped apart some more.

My situation is now much better and and I have now been housed and I'm very happy so are the children.

I have noticed there has been a massive rise in evictions and familys becoming homeless. I have seen people on FB housing support groups reaching out for advice. I have also seen people posting on MN posting their situation. I have seen the comment "why have children if you can't house them". But mostly people seem much more supportive than a few years or so back. There seens to be more understanding and empathy.

Please be kind to people who are losing their home they are not in that situation because they want to be times are tuff for them.

Agree with this people who are able will also offer a heigher rent payment. So the landlord will take who ever pays the most . Other situations as well of course.

Also with going homeless route there is a process. The 1st part is homeless intervention. This means you and the council help you to find and secure private rent. If it can't be found then you become officially homeless. So council are trying to help and so is the person facing homelessness. Sadly its mot as easy as people think

Thank you . Things can often feel shit , hopeless etc . But actually we tend to get through them.💐

@Spirallingdownwards Yes, I have looked for a year. Assuming, my approx. £2100 a month income (Universal Credit/Work) that I stated everywhere was enough. Then I applied for a property I liked this October, and the agent kindly refused explaining they do not include benefits into their affordability calculations. The problem was I was mislead/unaware for a year. Getting to know that they can only count my work income into their affordability calculations. Having to know that, and this is warning to anyone who earns below at least £24K a year: No agent/Landlord will rent to you at the current situation unless you pass excruciatingly high affordability check. If yes, then with a guarantor. But as mentioned, I have no family here. My friends do not earn above the threshold, or they wouldn't be willing to put at risk themselves. I understand that, I wouldn't become a guarantor myself. Although, I never missed a payment and my current landlord would love to provide me with excellent reference it is simply not a possibility. So on the suggestion of the agent I dealt with, visiting Citizens Advice all they suggested there was: when it happens your only choice is to apply for homelessness. I have contacted all agents in our area from than being laughed at, humiliated and looked down upon and ended up almost scammed on Facebook and OpenRent recently trying to escape this homelessness ordeal. So the choice is very narrow. I can keep looking through "non official" sources for a place to live, and lose my savings that would cover deposit and first rent for 2 bedroom flat to a fraud. Or, I can just do what the Citizens Advice suggested. So yes, a 1 year is a lot. Knowing all this sooner, I may have looked into changing job to earn more to pass the affordability threshold (but again even people with high earnings are nowadays asked for guarantors), but this solution would require for me to find £30K+ position to manage the level of income we currently have to afford even out of school hours childcare to keep that kind of job. A job with this salary for me highly unlikely to get unless I would be above qualified and is usually in higher management in my area. It is truly not that easy "just to look for place", or "just to change your job". But let me know maybe you think of something outside of the box and options I have not considered yet that may slip through my now rather anxious mind. ☺️

@hopeforchanging it's horrifying isn't it? People don't understand unless they have been there 💐

Hey I'm getting evicted by bailiff on 1 Feb 2024 I have two kids I'm stressing what did you do on the day the council house you in temporary before the date or when the bailoff date came and what type of accommodation did they give you

My emgency/temporary accommodation have always been self contained flats/houses. But alot of people end up in b&b /hostels it's hard to tell

Are you based In London and have any kids I'm so stressed out

Yes I'm in southeast London. And have kids . To be honest I was lucky in some ways . Every case is different. The unknown is the worst I think.

This would absolutely have been my situation if I'd stayed in the UK. As soon as the Welfare Reform Bill was published I started saving like mad and eventually scraped together enough money to buy a very cheap house abroad. I don't think it would be possible now, with over a decade of austerity, rent and COL rises, plus Brexit sealing off the escape hatch. I'm so sorry for your situation and that of other families caught in the rent trap and made destitute. :(

I tried looking 20 years ago, and it was all "No DHSS". It certainly hasn't got any easier since.

Im delighted youre in a better place.
I'm sorry about the way you were treated on here last time. It should be hard to believe that people can be so cruel but sadly I'm neither shocked nor surprized. Your struggles yesterday could well be their struggles today.
What goes around tends to come around.

That's exactly it. I would say it's the lack of empathy/solidarity that got the UK into this mess - everyone's fine with the Tories taking everything away from the most marginalized because that's not me or my family, plus they're probably nasty thicko slutty pramfaced chavs who deserve it, right? Then when we can't pay our own bills we look around for someone else to take responsibility, and find that there's nobody. When we run out of scapegoats, we become the scapegoat. How the Tories are laughing at us!

I am under a section 21. Luckily, landlord has given me an extra 6 months. I work and have a child with disabilities. It's like a fight for a private rental and I'm priority on the council, but I'm not getting anywhere, even with 6 months rent up front. It's so difficult. I've been living on edge since September as I never know where I'm going to be. We cannot see our bidding position on the council, so you have no way of knowing if you're going to be offered anything. I'm still viewing private, but I never get chosen. It's horrible and I wouldn't wish this on anyone at all!

I was evicted from my home this year. To anyone going through the same, please please please phone Shelter. The support and ( most importantly) legal advice they gave me was invaluable and meant I actually was rehomed in a lovely permenant property before the eviction was due. If you have money/benefit issues Stepchange are incredible and far more helpful than CAB( Who were utterly useless). Goodluck to everyone on here in this situation. Unless its happened to you, I think its impossible to understand how unbelievably stressful it is to be made homeless.

Was you rehomed into social housing or the private sector?

If it was social housing then you were extremely lucky to get housed before eviction happend . But also it would depend where in the country you are.

My council do not deal with you until actual day of eviction.

I'm a LL and all my properties are rented out but the 1 I've just bought, a 3 bedroom house with a small back yard, and that needs an intensive clean, fresh paint everywhere and new carpets and gas certificate before it can be let. I've had 7 different people ask me about this house and two of them are in temporary accommodation with DC so it makes me feel under pressure too. I can't let them both have the house. They have both told me they got a section 21 when their LL sold their house and the council told them if they moved out before evicted they wouldn't accommodate them. They both pleaded to be given the house. I think I'm going to tell them both to apply through EA then EA will credit check them. I'll feel shit either way knowing I'm having to say no to a family with small kids leaving them in temporary accommodation. I wish the council would build houses again.

The system is messed up. Tenants do not want to go eviction route as much as the landlord does not want to . Its the council that forces it to be that way. Some landlords understand the system fully and just accept that's part of the process of the Tenant leaving . It's stupid though. But council sees it that the tenant has another few months and they don't have to deal with them.

I was a tenant for 14 years. 9 landlords, only two good. Every new year we would fear the 8 weeks notice. The landlord would want to sell in the spring.
The sheer cost of the rental and moving costs ment it ate into our small savings. It took us more than a decade to save a 10% deposit. The behaviour of the landlords was appalling, bullying lying and finally a stalker.
The biggest issue is the short notice that can be given. If you are competing for properties it is not long enough. We need more professional landlords who value their tenants or tell the truth about the house being available for a short six month let only. Moving someone in and then using the tenant to help sell an empty house is jusy cruel and greedy. I personally think all rentals need to be limited companies and inspected each year. One house with mould nearly killed me.

Honestly I'm so stressed I have no idea where they will put Me

It is stressful. Try and take one day at a time. Has storage been sorted out for your belongings