Friend and daughter can't pay rent and being evicted. Is there any social housing left?

[Wtftoadvise]

Both work with agencies on min wage, as far as I can tell must be on zero hour contracts. Friend gets hours 9 - 9 some days then other weeks far less work available. Upshot is they cannot pay the rent on October 1st and landlord has asked for it and told them to get out by November 1st.

Friend is distraught and has nowhere to go, no family as a temporary option. I don't live in the UK anymore and am not in a position to be able to lend money for a deposit and first month's rent. What can I suggest to help? I suggested applying for discretionary housing payment a few weeks ago, she's still waiting to hear about that but now things have got worse because the landlord is actually saying to get out as he now knows there's a problem paying the rent.

She has been to CAB, and tried many times to call Shelter but constantly gets the busy message.

They're in the Southeast but would go anywhere, is there anywhere left in the country that has social housing stock left? if they approached the council and asked to be re housed somewhere else would that be an option?

Are there any other ideas? I am really worried, friend is talking about trying to live on the streets because she can't think straight anymore and is completely frightened and exhausted.

There is an agency in Brighton called Acorn which supports tenants in these kind of situations. Not sure if it's just Brighton but I'm sure they cover Sussex.

Acorntheunion. Org.uk

To echo PP's warning your friend cannot just change the locks - this is likely to be a breach of the tenancy agreement. The PPs who have advised this are seemingly giving advice without any actual knowledge of the law, which isn't helping anyone.

What does the husband do about it. Shouldnt he be the man and ensure he provide for the family?

There is no husband anymore.

At least be sensible about how they use the wages even tho its minimum wage. I had know families on benefit go on spending spree on clothes holiday etc and then sweat it out when paying rent/mortgage. Its totally unnecessary.

Ok, now I know you're on the wind up.

If her daughter is under 18 she'll get priority but they will insist she stays put/doesn't answer door after the 'official' eviction day & waits til Bailiffs arrive, which will cost her LL £ to arrange . Her Landlord has to serve formal notice with Section 21 & eviction date first & only go the Bailiff route if she stays put.

She'll get temporary accommodation first. If she has MH issues she'll get extra help to sort housing & where I am in NE London they also have a scheme that offers local landlords £1200 incentive to take benefits tenants with proviso they will pay future rent direct to LL rather than to tenant first.

I am in Midlands and loads of work available here. We are in a distribution hub as many motorways so lots of work picking and packing with no skills involved. Pay no high but will pay for rent, bills and food. Agencies advertising all of the time for workers. If you work you can get accommodation. There are houses to rent on Rightmove. Cost of living is less than in South East.

OP, are they both fit and healthy? If they're in the south east, especially reasonable commuting distance to London, it's extremely unlikely they'll be housed by the council.

They'd be far better off looking for a larger flat share. It will be cheaper than just two people sharing. They should look for rooms advertised.

Another possibility is looking for jobs with live-in accommodation - perhaps in a cheaper part of the country (but with decent employment prospects).

No further advice (other than try and see someone at the local council housing dept), but astounded by the lack of insight some posters have into how hard and lacking in choice life can be for the working poor and how years of austerity have eroded safety nets that previously existed.

I'm sure you're friend appreciates your support, OP.

OP, there has been some good advice on here which you have noted, re the fact that he cannot start an eviction until she goes 2 months into arrears.

If she gets paid weekly, then I would recommend that she starts to pay her rent weekly if the LL will agree, so that she can budget better. She needs to apply for HB and ask for it to be paid directly to the LL. She may not qualify but she won't know unless she applies.

The local council will often help out with Deposit schemes as well.

If she found the place through an agency, then I would imagine that the deposit is protected, but she could ask them to check. A lot of LL use a tenant finding service then manage it themselves.

Wtf but there are clear ways out. There are benefits available. The new leases in the UK are firmly weighted towards tenants' rights. They can't just be evicted.
The LL may be awful but from his pov, your friend is calling weeks in advance to say she can't afford her rent or it might be late. Like most people the LL is going to think she should spend those few weeks trying to meet her bill rather than spending those few weeks trying to get out of paying it.

Worth checking with CAB or Shelter, but I believe a tenant can legally change the locks, as long as they put the original back when they leave. Unless there's an emergency (in which case, landlord can enter without prior notice) the landlord would only know if they themselves broke the law by attempting to enter without tenant permission.

Statutory law can override what's written in a contract.

If she's made homeless then the council will house her,

Err no. This isn't correct. If she is evicted for not paying her rent the council can decide she has made herself intentionally homeless. Affordability is not a reason not to pay rent. She needs to get a benefits check asap and also talk to the housing team at her local council.

As a previous poster has said she must not move out before the day the bailiff's are due to evict her or again she will have made herself intentionally homeless and she will not be eligible for temporary accommodation.

Most areas now have a residency clause so that you can't just turn up looking for social housing. Generally you would need to have lived in the area for six months at least before you can apply to go on the housing list.

Does your friend have mental health issues, OP? I think she’s going to need longer term support as even if she manages to make her rent payment this month she is at risk of doing it again if she doesn’t put strategies in place to manage it.

For two grown adults with no caring responsibilities, with no health or mental health issues; to not be able to scrape rent together is rare. To both have been given so few hours that month is rare and shows their jobs aren’t to be trusted any more. Yes, zero hour contracts are shit, but could they get a similar flexible job to pick up shifts if needed? (Care work bank staff or similar) After this crisis, you need to encourage them to aggressively search for jobs; and possibly even move into a house share until they get steady work.

Have they looked into the benefits they are entitled to? Have they looked into delaying paying literally any other bill to prioritise their rent? I know Water Companies have special rates they can offer to low income families, perhaps other utility companies are similar?

If they get through this crisis but then sit back and carry on as before they are likely to end up in exactly the same position.

How much is the rent and how much do they earn? If they are both earning and there are no children, why can't they afford it? (Not a hostile question, just wondering.)

Well mainly because even intelligent, well educated people can struggle to find work. It's not difficult to end up in a situation where you're over-qualified for many jobs, and so won't get them, whilst lacking experience in the jobs that are available. I know you're not being hostile, but really I find it quite odd that so many people on MN have no idea about the realities of life for many people.

Rents in the SE can be extortionately high. UC takes into account variations in earnings but it does it retrospectively, often leaving you short. You don't need to be going mad with any spending either. The housing element of UC is capped and may not cover your rent entirely if your rent is deemed to be too high for your needs. Again that leaves you trapped because moving to somewhere that's cheaper to rent in the long-term is expensive in the short term.

Really, it's quite possible to poor, careful and blameless. It's quite possible to be struggling whilst also being talented. And if you think it's hard work that separates you from people struggling in this way think again. Often it's just luck.

I'm sure I've read on here before that if someone is evicted due to non payment of rent, then they will not be treated as a priority for housing as it is classed as making themselves intentionally
homeless @Wtftoadvise . It might be worth checking if that is the case. Is there any reason why your friend and daughter are not claiming benefits to top up their income?

Yes, zero hour contracts are shit, but could they get a similar flexible job to pick up shifts if needed?

As mentioned earlier, friend is with several different agencies to try to have as much work as possible. Mixture of cleaning and factory work. I don't understand how exactly it all works, I have never done similar work and have never had a zero hours contract, but there just seems to be a lot of variability.

I have asked tentatively if friend is depressed and encouraged her to go to the doctor, friend does not feel she is depressed though, just extremely stressed.

I'm not sure of where stress ends and depression begins and certainly think that circumstances can cause depression (I've experienced this in my own past) but I don't want to force that discussion.

There are areas of social housing but you usually have to live in them for a certain period of time to qualify for them.

There is nothing stopping her asking to apply to join the list. She can probably do this online via her council website then send in her documents

I rejoined the list (after giving up on waiting for years as you have to renew every year and I never got anywhere) in December 2018 and was housed in February 2019. Partly because they are building at an unbelievable rate of knots where I live in the SE, partly because I live in a rural county with less applicants than suburban, and partly as once DD1 turned 16 I qualified for more bedrooms and got more points. I was very surprised by the speed.

On the other side of the coin it seems wrong that people can refuse to move out until its been through high court and baliffs are sent out, by then the landlord may be thousands of pounds in arrears

This pinned thread on mumsnet has Andy from Shelter offering advice all week www.mumsnet.com/Talk/property/3691155-MNHQ-here-Sign-in-for-a-FREE-advice-clinic-about-housing-issues-from-Shelter

My dsis ws in this situation the council wont help single chidless women practically bottom of the list-she said but i'll be homeless they told her nothing they cojuld do not even emergency acc

tell her to let landlord go thrugh courts and not to leave till a high court says so-maybe their council is more helpful than ours

The wisest advice you've received so far is for her to change the locks. This type of landlord will not be beyond turfing her and her belongings out or even just taking possession of the house when they're out and retaining her belongings (happened to me). She needs to change the locks tomorrow and not leave the property until she has done so.

Has she a tenancy agreement?
I was locked out, tenancy agreement, my passport, all my belongings were locked inside so the police were less than helpful - said it was a civil matter. It will be a civil matter if she changes the locks. She really needs to scrape together whatever money she has to lock the fucker out.
My life was pretty fucked, all my clothes, shoes, underwear, ID, passport, bank statements, toiletries, makeup etc. were all kept by the COMPLETE AND UTTER BASTARD who did this to me. He boldly declared that I had already moved out and taken everything with me. Medication everything. He just changed the locks and that was it. The hell I went through after that was well, just hell. I had literally just started a new job too and had to try to find a complete new wardrobe, everything from scratch.

I know cunts like the landlord in the OP and if he has no regard for the law, she shouldn't either as he WILL fuck her over - without even a second thought.

Only advice is to change locks and get a fucking bolt on the door. Keep her tenancy agreement and all ID with her any time she leaves so that she can at least prove who she is and that she has a right to be there.

Oh and my laptop with conversations with him was also locked in. He was an utter BASTARD.

Your friend still does need to find the money to pay her LL the rent due or he might try and get a CCJ. It's true they are worthless if the person has no money to pay it but it will absolutely f*ck her over on terms of ever getting a private rental again.

I don't know much about how social housing is allocated but it sounds from what others have said that she'd be on a long, long list. Might end up in a b n b first.

Once she is evicted (assuming this is the way this goes) she needs to either flat share locally or rent a flat privately in a much cheaper part of the country (after finding a job of course).

I'm so sorry Yadid, I had a cunt ex-landlord who kept some of my stuff
Nonsense post Dexy, LL cannot get a CCJ unless he has followed the law himself, a CCJ isn't a disaster and um yeah it's that easy to just relocate and 'get a job'

What kind of landlord rents a place to a group of people where neither of them has a steady, reliable income. Fair play to the young ladies for wanting to be independent and not live at home bit the landlord must have known they were a huge risk. Taking on tenants like this and it should come as no surprise to him that the time has come where they can’t pay. He’s no better than those loan sharks who lend to people they know full well can’t pay it back.