Being evicted, can't get through to anyone who can help and we're scared

[demonchilde]

Hi all - posting here for traffic, in a bit off a panic at the moment. Quite a long back story to it, I did have a thread in legal about it all, I will try and link to it.

I'm a lone parent of 4 DC's (still at home), currently doing a nursing degree. It's been a bit of a year in general- DS4 (11) has ASD so suffers from quite severe behavioural and sleep problems. DS3 very sadly lost his best friend of 10 years to brain cancer a few weeks ago and this has affected him really badly - he has become very anxious, is having panic attacks, sleeping problems and has been pulling his hair out. DD2 (18) is due to start her a levels next week.

We were served a section 21 in our private rented house of 10 years back in February. I looked everywhere but couldn't find anything at all - rental prices have rocketed round here and as a student with no wage or guarantor no one will rent to us anyway. We went to the council who said they couldn't help us. Went to shelter then CAB who advised us the council were obliged to help us. They are not helpful - almost impossible to get through to, and advised us we have to wait for the landlord to take us to court for possession and then eviction.

The landlord has now done this. We were allocated a hearing to ask for a couple of extra weeks for exceptional circumstances due to my daughter's A- levels. But the hearing was this morning and the judge denied our application for extra time, and granted the landlord possession from tomorrow. They have also said I have to pay a significant amount to him in court costs that I cannot afford. This is so unfair as we are only still here because the council have insisted we stay until the bailiffs arrive.

I have just spoken to the landlord- he has agreed to store our things for 2 weeks if we go voluntarily, meaning we will be saved the cost and the DC's being scared by the bailiffs but the council have said no, if we do that we make ourselves voluntarily homeless and they will have no duty to house us.

So now, he is instructing high court bailiffs who I am told will probably be here within the week. I can't get through to the council. I have nowhere to store our stuff, yet they are saying they do not have to help us with that. We still have our cat here- all the catteries are full up. The council have told us we will be in a b and b indefinitely which could be anywhere within a 30 mile radius. I have no idea how I will get my children to school if we are far away. Really panicking here and I can't get through to anyone.

Can anyone advice me what I should do from here? I'm really panicking.

Have you tried getting in touch with your local Councillor? I used to work for a LA Homeless Service and getting them involved tended to be useful, especially when it came to intentionally/statutory homeless decisions (my job was to advocate for the homeless families).

Rent arrears generated by change of circumstances as long as you responded promptly to any requests for information from HB and did everything reasonably possible to get your benefits going again should not count as rent arrears of the sort which make people intentionally homeless. Most people on HB will have a change of circumstances and their benefit suspended at some point in their lives. It might be worth talking to HB though to get the evidence to go along side the rent book as they should have all letters etc you have been sent scanned onto their system and thus should be able to help you prove that whenever there was an issue it was prompted by them and resolved by you.

I'm in Scotland so the rules I imagine are likely different but you should still be able to appeal if found intentionally homeless. Shelter should be able to help with the writing/gathering useful evidence if it comes to that.

If there is one near by the Trussell Trust (the food bank people) might be worth having a chat with too. I went to a couple of homeless conferences that they were involved with and I know they were expanding into welfare/homeless issues. They might be able to point you at some legal assistance if nothing else.

I will also add that in time I worked there (and I supported lots of families) no one ever had their children fostered because of being homeless.

Hope you get better news soon.

Hi demon, I'm also a lone parent in private rented and like you my circumstances have changed since I moved here, and rents have gone up crazily all around so if I had to move I wouldn't be able to afford to stay in the area - but this is where my 2 dc are at 2 great schools and my job is here - I constantly worry about what will happen when we have to leave this house. It will happen eventually. Or else our LL will put the rent up so I can't afford it. Argh I have no advice but just loads of good wishes, I am sure it will all work out eventually, I just hope it works itself out as soon as possible because this level of stress is just too much. Be kind to yourself and take it day by day and push as hard as you can for a council house - I would have thought you'd be eligible, top of the list in fact, homeless with dependants. Very best of luck.

If you need someone to foster your cat, I could. I live in London, so not that far away. DM me if you want to.

Your landlord lies again. Probably lost in this huge thread, but to repeat - returning an unprotected deposit does not stop you suing for its non protection. You have six years to do so and there is no defence.

That's because there is no excuse not to do it, the law has been in place for ten years. It doesn't even cost much.

Bank that for later. And believe nothing your landlord says. The truth is on gov.UK and in the how to rent guide.

Yes, pp is right. Have asked my friend.

You have to be given the certificate showing which scheme the deposit has been protected in, so that you can look it up on the internet. And she should also have given you a piece of paper to go with it - called something like the Notice of Particulars - with details of your name, her name, the address of the property, the amount of the deposit plus the date the new lease was signed. You both sign the paper and keep a copy IIRC.

If she failed to do this, you are entitled to either three or four times the amount of your deposit and some folk say this clocks up for each time you renewed your lease (although I believe that is disputed). How many times did you renew your lease and she not protect your deposit??

Returning your deposit is no defence.

Do you have any funds to ask a solicitor to send a very stiff legal letter? If not, there are loads of no-win, no-fee solicitors around who will be very pleased to do one very quickly for you -even though they may take a slice of any amount they get for you in damages.

It is really well worth your while asking around for a property solicitor as LL may end up deciding to offer you a one-off cash legal settlement rather than face court action she would certainly lose.

Did you have legal representation at the possession hearing when LL asked to move it to high court bailiffs? If so could you mention the deposit issue to them even now?

More hugs.

Is the cat sorted?

demonchilde - how is it going today?

I had a thought - I wonder if contacting your MP for help might work? I know there's an election in a few days but actually that might help (they might want to be seen to be responsive) - you might only get someone in their office helping but they might be able to talk to the council and challenge their attempts to claim you're making yourself voluntarily homeless and at least get it in writing that they have responsibility to house you? I had a problem once when issued a s21 (in my case it was a bullying tactic by my landlord / the agent to get us to accept a contract which we weren't happy with - they had no intention of following through - but that was stressful enough) and my MP offered to speak to the agent / LL on my behalf. In the end it wasn't necessary but it was helpful and I felt like I was getting some support.

All the political parties seem to be keen to help 'hard working families' and I think someone retraining as a nurse with 4 DCs at home is the epitome of hard working.

I suggested the MP a while back. You might as well give them a go op - what's to lose.

Totally go to your MP. I thought you had already done this. If the only thing you do this afternoon is make that call please do so. Our local Mp has been amazing and managed to get issues related to my father and his health resolved extremely quickly.

When speaking to your MP be very clear about what has happened in terms of the council not helping you, no access to legal representation and that you need housing ASAP. Your DD has exams to finish and your DS needs to stay in his current school.

My MP has been brilliant when I have needed help in the past.
They can often get stuff sorted when everything else has failed.
You can phone their office or email.
Look up "find my MP" on google.

good luck.

Hi demon sorry things are still shit. If you've got paperwork it's proper then...

Re 'damage' i.e. Wear and tear/carpets seriously DO NOT BOTHER YOUR ARSE! Whatever you do your landlord, from your description, will find fault. Mine was like that- did everything and they picked up on one tiny thing (dust) I'd missed in one area of one room and demanded a full end tenancy clean- I'd done carpets, everything. Seriously, just leave it reasonably clean and tidy don't break your back. They are evicting you from your home and have been gits in the process, you do not owe them any favours.

If no law centre etc have you tried citizens advice? They deal with housing and your local one will know the local circumstances/organisations. I don't think adult social services would be any use (having worked for them).

What PP's say re MP is true...though at the moment I'd wager your local councillor would be a better bet. If it wasn't an election I'd still recommend getting in touch with local councillor anyway.

In the meantime, any contact you have at all with your land lord, make a note and pass it/email to your housing officer as it sounds like the landlord is being manipulative.

Your local MP will assign you to a case worker in their office. The case worker helps you on behalf of the MP. Def call your MP.

Your MP is one to contact, definitely. Our local MP was brilliant in helping us with a complicated legal matter.

Have you looked at the website lawworks.org.uk which provide free legal advice, there is a clinic in the University of Kent.

Have you asked on FB for anyone with storage and help with moving your belongings?

It makes me so angry that council houses were sold off and not replaced, councils saying they don't have the money now, yet we pay housing benefit for tenants in private housing who are paying unaffordable rents and have no security of tenure. I have been in a difficult situation finding accommodation so have so can fully understand the stress you are going through.

How are you OP? Any good news? Hope you are all well and things improved. A big hug for you and your kids.

Hope things are going a bit better for you OP

Just a couple of bits of info that I'm not sure have been mentioned in proper detail

For deposit deductions, your landlord is only entitled to get the property back in the same condition as it was let out in, minus fair wear and tear. The landlord cannot charge for damage that is fair wear and tear, such as holes in carpets where it has worn through, or the sort of scuffs on the wallpaper that often happen in a hallway. After 8 years of letting to a family, I cannot imagine that there is much that couldn't be put down to fair wear and tear, unless you've taken a sledgehammer to the bathroom sink or something similarly ridiculous.

You'd be wise to do some reading up on the legal term betterment, as it covers not only fair wear and tear, but also how much you should be charged if you had taken a sledgehammer to the sink (in essence, he can only charge for the years of useful life that you've deprived him of). There's a useful guide to betterment here, including how to calculate it www.propertyhawk.co.uk/index.php?page=bible&id=230

However, the above largely becomes irrelevant for this tenancy (though useful for the future) because they didn't bother to protect your deposit.

• timescales listed here, in case he tries to claim that your deposit predates the legislation (it doesn't) www.depositprotection.com/legislation
• there are template letters here for sending to your landlord before you issue court proceedings (which aren't as scary as they sound) england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/tenancy_deposits/tenancy_deposit_compensation_claims

It's irrelevant that they have now returned your deposit. All that means is that it is possible to issue a valid Section 21 notice - but you can still go after them for compensation.