Been given notice to leave our home, panicking.

[ReanimatedSGB]

The council halved the amount of housing benefit we were getting, I have been fighting with them for about three months and we are a bit behind with the rent. Now we've been given notice (it's a section 21, so 'notice to leave' of two months, not a matter of kicking the door in and throwing us out) but I don't know what we are going to do, if we are going to be able to find somewhere in time when we get housing benefit and a lot of places won't take tenants on benefit...

That must be very scary. I would certainly want to understand why and if there was any chance of getting the landlord to change his mind.

We are about three weeks behind with half the rent, which is entirely due to the council deciding to cut the housing benefit because they had 'overpaid' us. Which they haven't. They appear to have made up the figures about my income, and also have decided that our rent is a lot lower than it actually is (rent is very much the low end of the scale for this area.) And they are just... not doing anything. They are supposed to respond within 15 working days to complaints etc but it has been three months. Usually phoning them means about 40 minutes on hold (which is, you know, great for my phone credit) and then I get put through to some well-meaning idiot who says oh, well, yeah, we're supposed to respond within 15 days but we're ever so busy and ever so behind with processing stuff, we'll get back to you.

Don't listen to those saying you cannot be evicted. If your landlord decides to take this through the HIgh Court which he can do at any time, then you can be asked to leave on the same day as bailiffs arrive and you don't have a choice about it.

Not trying to scare you...just better to be informed. Start packing now...just box and bag up the things you don't always use...have a good clearout. ....speak to Shelter...and go directly to the Council Housing office.

What county are you in?

We are in Greater London. My current plan is to pack and sort like mad, get stuff out of the house as much as possible, hunt for a new home (while pestering the council on a daily basis)and, if we end up looking likely to go a few days over the leave-by date, having enough proof that we have somewhere else to go to be able to negotiate another week or so...

It's at least probable that a family member will lend us the deposit for a new place.

Have you actually spoken to your landlord? Or is it an agent?

So sorry to hear you are going through this shit @ReanimatedSGB

@PookieDo had similar. Ive seen her discussing it on other threads.

Have you actually managed to speak to anyone re, why they halved your benefit?

I'd find a way to find the money I owed before spending too much energy planning a move.

How much money do you need to raise to pay the LL back? Can you seek an emergency grant through your social welfare service (sorry I don't know the name of the ones in the UK)? Can you find a way to earn the money by selling some assets or taking on extra work somehow? Sell your car? Sell a child? (kidding!!) Can you take food bank food for a few weeks to save money on groceries? Seek a deferment of your utilities payments? Offer to babysit neighbourhood kids? Busking? Anything?

Talk to your landlord, don't put off talking to your LL. Usually a LL will want a good tenant to stay.

I have just been made redundant by a council so I know what you need to do. You can't make a homeless application until you are actually homeless. So you can't do that yet. You can apply to go on the housing list as you have a section 21. It's very important that you do NOT move out on the date it says unless you have somewhere to go. At the end of the two months, your landlord can apply for a court order, if they do so DO NOT leave on the day the court order says. Keep in contact with the housing department and only leave when they say. That will be on the day the bailiffs are going to come. You don't have to wait for them to put you out but if you leave before that day you will have made yourself intentionally homeless and they will not have a duty to help you. As you have a child they should put you in temporary accommodation. They will not do that before you are actually homeless. Realistically you have about 4 months from the date of the section 21. Use that time to sort out your rent.

There are a few issues with your rent. If they have overpaid you they will be clawing back the overpayment from your HB. Ask them to take the minimum payment they are able to take, that is about £11.70 per week. If they have overestimated your pay it should be easy to prove, Are you talking about current earnings or is it information they have received from HMRC about past earnings? If it is current earnings then submit two months payslips and bank statements or the same documents covering the appropriate time period. If they have past information from HMRC then you need to sort it out with HMRC.

You say they are under estimating your actual rent. If that is the case you will just need a letter from your landlord stating the rent. However there is something called Local Housing Allowance and they can only pay up to the amount on there. it goes on the size of property you are entitled to. for instance if you just have one child you will only be entitled to a two bedroom property and even if you are living in a three bedroom property they will only pay up to the maximum for a two bedroom property. That is the law, your council can't change it. You can check the LHA for your area here lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/

Once your benefit is correct you may be eligible for a Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) to help you out. This won't cover any overpayment though.

The best people to help you with all this is your local CAB. They will do a benefits check for you and can give you housing advice and may deal with the council for you.

If your council is dragging their heels over your complaint then contact the Local Government Ombudsman, again CAB can advise. Details of the LGO are herewww.lgo.org.uk/

If you need to look for a new property bear in mind that you can only claim HB to the amount of LHA and the Local authority will still be clawing back the overpayment so it would be best for you to get help from the CAB and sort it out so that you can hopefully stay where you are with help from a DHP if necessary.

If you have a disabled child you should be exempt from the benefit cap?

@Whatisthisfuckery The council won't help anyway as eviction is due to non payment of rent. They'll find her intentionally homeless regardless

One more thing. The bailiff's won't arrrive without warning. If your LL gets a court order and you don't leave by then, they will apply for a bailiff's warrant and the bailiff will come to see you and tell you what date and time they will be coming. You should get about a week's warning. But as I previously said the earliest will be about 4 months from the date of the S21. You have time to sort out the rent.

The council will help as she has a child.

@Teribar Nope! My friend had 4 kids (2 under 5) and was pregnant and still refused to put her in accommodation because she was evicted due to non payment of rent. They said she was intentionally homeless and they all slept in the car! (250 miles from me)

This was Milton Keynes Housing Dept. Known as the worst and tightest in the country for providing temp accommodation

@MummyParanoia101 councils can decide that someone has made themselves intentionally homeless if they are evicted due to non-payment of rent. Most will still provide temporary accommodation if children are involved, especially if there has been a problem with HB, but it would be wise to sort out the problems and not rely on this especially if the local council have a reputation for not helping in these circumstances.

@Teribar Erm... AFAIK if the LL applies to the high court for eviction there is no notice from the bailiffs. They show up at the door unannounced and you have about an hour or so to get your stuff sorted and out the door. You can then return within 7 days, I believe, to retrieve your remaining belongings by appointment.

The safety nets that people keep talking about are not always there for everyone, so please don't rely on them as a given. Could relative not help with the late rent rather than new deposit, OP?

Vet The relative paying the late rent won't help OP when she can't afford it again next month.

And there's no guarantee that the landlord will allow them to stay at this point. Not after a section 21.

I imagine the landlord is giving notice because you are paying below market rent. Landlords will often suck that up for a good tenant paying reliably, but if there start to be problems it gets them thinking it isn't worth taking less rent anymore.

When you say your credit rating is bad, how bad is it? Do you have CCJs for example? It is suprising how little information actually shows on the credit checks, certainly the ones private landlords typically run. The ones I get via Experian don't show missed credit card payments for example.

Speaking of private landlords, they will likely be your best bet as they tend to be more flexible. Try Open Rent. Also pop a post up on local community Facebook groups to ask if anyone knows of a suitable property coming up for rent. If you draw attention to having been such longterm tenants I imagine you'll get some interest. If you run into problems it will likely help if you can persuade a family member to lend a larger deposit or act as guarantor.

So sorry SGB.

I have seen you here for years and years, and while I have no practical advice, I sincerely hope this situation can be resolved.

a section 21 won't necessarily mean that you are being kicked out for non-payment -so you may be being made involuntarily homeless rather than voluntarily and therefore eligible for council housing - but some councils insist that you wait until the bailiffs actually turn up.

Have you actually spoken to your landlord? The cost of the court orders etc might make them keen to negotiate?

I’m so sorry for what you’re going through OP They seem to be after everyone at the moment, must be the new tax year. I’ve heard they get bonuses for cutting benefits so might be true. I’m not sure how non payment of rent because you’re not getting any money from the council themselves would make you ‘intentionally homeless’ though. You didn’t decide to lose your housing benefit! I hope it gets better for you OP

Hi Op some great advice on here. Locally in the borough we have a housing aid department who are independent from the council. Check if your borough has one. It’s for private tenants and council. Take all your information to them and they will check it’s all legally correct.
Also go to you local housing dept and speak to them and they will tell you the process.
Look up the local housing benefit allowance for your area.
Please also look up Welfare Rights they are experts in situations like this re checking benefit entitledments and the law.
Please do not move out as you will have made yourself homeless.
Go through the process - it will be stressful but keep housing informed at every step.
Best wishes OP

You’re being kicked out for being late on 1 1/2 weeks rent. I despair.

Have you spoken to your ll? If you plead with them and explain the situation and offer to repay at x amount per month, they may retract.

They will probably need to do a ton of work on the property after 15 years. New bathroom / kitchen etc. The rent generated would then be a lot more but it will take them possibly 10 years to recoup the costs. I’m a ll btw and this is disgraceful. So if you show willing this may sway them.

As for the council underestimating your rent, you need to provide proof to the council. Do you have that?