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Original poster

Housing Eviction

187 replies

WaferThinIce · 31/08/2021 14:51

I realise this isn't the right place but am hoping to get some information or guidance as soon as possible. Friends (genuinely friends and not me) have been given an eviction notice as their landlord is selling their home. They, so far, haven't been able to find other suitable accommodation. They either can't afford it or they miss out because they come second. It's a family of three adults, parent and 2 children, and one older teenager, plus dog. As the end of their notice period comes ever closer and they still haven't secured a place they are getting very worried and stressed. Does anyone know what they can do if they haven't found another home. Will they be turned out onto the street or what might happen? Will there be an obligation on the local council to offer them temporary accommodation. They have looked not just where they currently live but also nearby towns and there's just nothing available.
Thank you

OP posts:
1990b · 31/08/2021 14:57

Is the eviction notice correct?

If its not then they don't have to go anywhere. If it is then they need to stay there until the very last moment, council will not help until then. Then they can apply as homeless and the council will have to help them.

I don't know the exact ins and outs, the link below will help

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/homelessness/

BitterAndOnlySlightlyTwisted · 31/08/2021 15:14

Once the Notice expires the landlord will need to apply to the court for possession. The courts are very busy and the cost to the landlord is not inconsequential.

In the meantime your friends should do a couple of things:

1). Check that the Notice has been correctly served. Many landlords and letting agents get this wrong, so will fail in court. The folks on the Housing part of the MoneySavingExpert forum are very knowledgeable and helpful. They will need to know which country the property is in as the laws in E&W are different to those in Scottishland and In NI.

2). Keep all lines of communication open between your friends and the landlord. The LL could be persuaded to delay applying to the court if they understand your friends are sincere in their search for alternative accommodation.

Londonnight · 31/08/2021 15:18

Once the eviction date is up they don't have to go anywhere unless they have found somewhere to go. The landlord will have to apply to the court to get them out. This could take another few months giving them more time to find somewhere.
Once they have an eviction notice, they should take it to the council who may be able to temporary house them. They shouldn't leave until they have this notice otherwise the council will class them as making themselves intentionally homeless and won't help.

This isn't ideal and there are no winners in this, but unfortunately this is what you have to do to get any help from the council.

Shelter are the best people to get advice from as they are the experts in housing issues.

Upsidedownworld21 · 31/08/2021 15:22

Definitely call Shelter, great advice and caring people.

Gimlisaxe · 31/08/2021 15:26

Not sure if it is the same in all councils, but my council refused to home animals, so they may need to find a temporary place for their dog.

Also, they might not have an expectation to house two of the adults, if I have read this right, it seems to say there are 4 people 3 are adults one is a teenager?But 3 of them are all children of the 4th?

HarrietsChariot · 31/08/2021 15:30

They need to stay until the baliffs literally throw them out in order to be able to get help from the council.

Once the official end date is reached, they need to refuse to leave. The landlord will then have to take them to court which will take a few weeks. The court will then order them to vacate the premises by a particular date. They should then still refuse to leave, once the date has passed the landlord will have to take them back to court for breaching the order. The court will then allow the landlord to use bailiffs to force them out.

If they don't follow this procedure they will be "volutarily homeless" so ineligible for help.

twinningatlife · 31/08/2021 15:34

Presumably they'll continue to pay the landlords mortgage whilst they illegally squat and refuse to leave?

lannistunut · 31/08/2021 15:37

@twinningatlife

Presumably they'll continue to pay the landlords mortgage whilst they illegally squat and refuse to leave?
I have been a landlord, but this type of attitude is ridiculous.

The tenant can not be classed as homeless unless evicted, it would be irrational and ridiculous for them to leave prior to the eviction.

If they are not evicted they will forfeit any right to council support in finding alternative accommodation.

It is the nature of the system in the UK.

But for the family to be homeless would be worse than for the landlord's home to be occupied against their wishes. The family must stay where they are, it is the only rational course of action.

SpittinKitten · 31/08/2021 15:39

@twinningatlife illegally squat? You really need to read up on landlord and tenant laws. And yes, people waiting for a legal eviction do have to continue to pay rent past the section 21/other notice to quit expiry date.

If a landlord evicts them without going through court hearings and court appointed bailiffs, it's an illegal eviction.

Tinkerbellfluffyboots79 · 31/08/2021 15:44

Am glad it didn’t come to that for me, single parent 4 kids we got temp b&b the end day of my tenancy so I didn’t have to stay and be forced out. But I can imagine no one wants to do that, it’s not choice if that’s what you’ve been made fo do because you can’t get temporary accommodation and being in multiple temp accommodation in the last 3.5 years isn’t much fun and not somewhere I’ve chosen. They need to speak to their LA find out what to do and shelter too.
Hopefully something will come up for them, unsecure living accommodation isn’t nice I feel like I’ve been in limbo for years now.

LoislovesStewie · 31/08/2021 15:49

@Gimlisaxe

Not sure if it is the same in all councils, but my council refused to home animals, so they may need to find a temporary place for their dog.

Also, they might not have an expectation to house two of the adults, if I have read this right, it seems to say there are 4 people 3 are adults one is a teenager?But 3 of them are all children of the 4th?

If the people in the family are ordinarily resident together then ALL the people are housed not just the minor children. So adult children who have never left home are still housed, they are family members.
And for the benefit of twinningatlife, they are NOT squatting. They are legally entitled to remain in the property until a possession order is obtained, they are also legally entitled to await a bailiff's warrant.
Gimlisaxe · 31/08/2021 15:57

Thanks @LoislovesStewie, I should have clarified that a bit better rather than just put might

gardeninggirl68 · 31/08/2021 15:59

i think landlords shouldd take a bigger deposit when offering a tenancy if they have to go to these lengths (and expense) to get their property back

how ridiculous! how much do these court costs all add up to?

TableFlowerss · 31/08/2021 16:00

If there’s three adults in the house, the best thing they can do is to club together and try to find somewhere a bit more expensive.

The council are barely able to help 1/2 adult families when there’s young children involved, so I assume housing 3 adults won’t be their priority. Sad but true.

Unless of course this is a drip feed thread and it turns out one of the adults is disabled etc… taking the post on face value then sadly, from reading stuff on here, the council just won’t be helpful.

I understand that the eviction process is ridiculous and that the tenants have wait until they literally get thrown out before the council helps, it’s crap for the tenant and the landlord but then it makes it less likely that another or are landlord would want to take the family on. It’s a shame all round really because as all said, the council probably won’t be able to help and even if the families circumstances change and they can afford private, the fact they will have CCJ’s against them will mean they’ll lose out on private houses.

Maybe and AirB&B in the short term?

sirfredfredgeorge · 31/08/2021 16:07

The landlord will then have to take them to court which will take a few weeks

It will likely take quite a lot longer than that at the moment.

Beckhamsmetatarsal · 31/08/2021 16:08

I was in this situation, I'm in a council house now. I couldn't get a rental because my income was too low and no guarantor. The landlords took me to court once the date had passed, then they extended my date by about 6 weeks i think it was, then once that passed I had to go. My house still wasn't ready and I was about to be put in temporary accommodation but the landlords agreed to wait a little longer and were trying to put pressure on the housing association. My house became ready in the end after a few false starts.

So it's not just move out straight away, it's a reasonably long process and when the landlords took me to court & I was given a date by them, it was only THEN that I was considered legally homeless and went to the top of the list.

lannistunut · 31/08/2021 16:10

@gardeninggirl68

i think landlords shouldd take a bigger deposit when offering a tenancy if they have to go to these lengths (and expense) to get their property back

how ridiculous! how much do these court costs all add up to?

How would they rent the property to anyone if the deposit is so high most renters can't afford it Confused

Honestly, people need to stop blaming tenants for the fact the housing market is completely broken.

Would you make yourself 'voluntarily homeless' and see your kids taken into care? Would you, really? Doubt it.

Beckhamsmetatarsal · 31/08/2021 16:10

They need to apply to the council asap if they haven't, and then give them all the documentation as it comes through which will escalate their priority.

It is hard to get housed though, and they may have be housed in temporary accommodation. I was on the housing list for 4.5 years before I got this house, and only got it because we were legally homeless otherwise there'd have been no chance.

Beckhamsmetatarsal · 31/08/2021 16:11

@gardeninggirl68

i think landlords shouldd take a bigger deposit when offering a tenancy if they have to go to these lengths (and expense) to get their property back

how ridiculous! how much do these court costs all add up to?

Found the Tory
gogohm · 31/08/2021 16:11

They need to widen their search for housing. If they are evicted then the parent and teenage child (if under 18) is a priority for housing so should be offered emergency housing, if very unlikely the dog will be allowed, and the adult children are likely to be offered a hostel place at best.

Starstar7 · 31/08/2021 16:30

As already stated above I strongly advise posting here

forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/house-buying-renting-selling

If you have ye exact wording of the notice then that will help.

People on there will tell you that your friends will be safe in the property for at least the next 18 months.. There is a massive backlog for court hearings and evictions

Bluntness100 · 31/08/2021 16:33

Op it will take time to evict as pp have said, and the council will jome them but it will likely be in temp accommodation Ie a hostel or bed and breakfast, it’s unlikely to be good

They do need to be careful though as once they are evicted it will be very hard for them to rent somewhere private ever again.

topcat2014 · 31/08/2021 16:38

It is so shocking that tenants need to go through all this aggravation and stress - ie baillifs and stuff.

The landlord selling his house cannot by any means be a rare situation.

Why can't councils just accept this at face value at the start?

TakemedowntoPotatoCity · 31/08/2021 16:39

There's a little false into on this thread. I should clarify that if and when the landlord gains possession through the courts, he/she has won the case and you will be responsible for paying his court costs.
This is true, because I was advised this, had legal aid and it happened to me.
Luckily I was on income support so only had to pay £2 a week (for four years!) which must have pissed him off no end 😋 but it's something you need to be aware of.

LoislovesStewie · 31/08/2021 16:47

@gogohm

They need to widen their search for housing. If they are evicted then the parent and teenage child (if under 18) is a priority for housing so should be offered emergency housing, if very unlikely the dog will be allowed, and the adult children are likely to be offered a hostel place at best.
The Homelessness Code of Guidance interprets 'as a member of his family' as including those with close blood or marital relationships and cohabiting partners (including same-sex partners) so that if they are established members of the household accommodation must provide for them as well This is a quote from shelter to explain why adult child who live at home will be housed as well as younger children. And again landlords have to go down the legal route to regain possession as it is their duty to do so. That is the law, it's to protect the tenant from being illegally evicted.