Housing Eviction

[WaferThinIce]

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

@gardeninggirl68 deposits are restricted to 5 weeks rent - you cannot, legally, ask for anymore than that - not even as a pet deposit or for gardener

@topcat2014

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?

Becayse they aren’t enough places for people. So they need to keep them in their current accommodation as long as possible, particularly when considering there is a huge back log of people waiting for places and this family will likely go to accommodation they really don’t want to be in Ie hostel, b&b or cramped into one or two unpleasant rooms. They may also be placed quite far away.

It’s not the council don’t take it at face value, it’s more they are delaying them becoming homeless. It’s really in this families interests to find somewhere, in emergency accommodation is usually horrendous and could last for a couple of years or more. In addition, the whole eviction process will basically count them out of ever private renting again

I’d also add they likely face having to give up their dog too.

"@lannistunut 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".

This attitude is ridiculous. What if the landlord is at risk of having that property repossessed , their credit rating screwed over and need to sell it- through no fault of their own say from redundancy/ illness /global pandemic etc?
What if the landlord was themselves being made homeless due to change in financial circumstance ( having rented their hse out to be able to keep hold of it) then rented somewhere smaller themselves, now needed THEIR own house back having gone through all the proper channels. Not the landlords fault the tenants cannot find themselves housing.

Boils my pee that people sit there waiting for the bailiffs, incurring more costs for the landlord. The sense of entitlement is appalling.

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

No i would not. I would want my tenants out of MY house, that i reasonably gave them notice on. So, i could move my own family back in. Would you??? Would you be homeless if you had yr one and only property with someone else refusing to move from it?? Would you let yr tenants sit there while yr family was broken up?? Doubt that very much .

I had friend in this exact position and it almost broke her. She and her children stayed with me. while sorting it out. She is back in HER own home now, albeit £1000's worse off. Her tenants.... they were rehoused and have a nice home in the next village now , right by the school with views over the fields.

It's not the landlord I feel for in this situation. The housing system in this country is so broken

"@TakemedowntoPotatoCity 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".

You must be very proud.

@twinningatlife

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

yes they will , i continued paying my rent every month whilst my landlord evicted us and we had nowhere to go , the council told me to , its not illegally squating anyway , its only that when if you are still there past the final date to leave comes from the court , in which case then you are forceably removed from the propery , its just the way it is and tenants are merely doing what they are instructed to do by the council which is not to leave

@girl71 I can see you have exercised your creative writing skills by coming up with a landlord tale of woe, but the tenant is not responsible for the landlord and the landlord has to follow the law.

Tough shit really. The idea a tenant is being 'entitled' by following the only rational course of action is ridiculous.

I never expected anything different from my own tenants. It is part of the risk of being a landlord.

I am glad at least that the family who rented your friend's house and had to leave have secured a good home, that is precisely why this family should stay put - to hopefully get the same outcome.

&, by the way, contact the housing officer at the council to tell them you have been given notice & update them about the next process & when you are given bailiff date. Actually if memory serves right - the council legally has to start the process of finding you temporary accommodation before bailiff date (I think its about a month???)
I did this on behalf of a tenant who was in long term arrears & left the house a wreck - so they actually had somewhere to move into before eviction date -
But keep paying the rent because if you don't the council can decide you made yourself intentionally homeless & they may not help at all

We don't know why this landlord is selling (unless OP provides more detail), but it's worth bearing in mind that staying put and refusing to leave could have severe implications for the rest of the chain, which could well include other families who are desperate to move.

If the notice has been given legally / with correct process, I would do everything in my power to be out by the end of the period.

Not least because you would have next to nothing to hold up in court and may end up having to pay costs when you inevitably lose.

I say this as someone who rents and has no prospect of owning their own house at the moment.

How much longer does the notice period have to run OP?

[quote girl71]"@lannistunut 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".

This attitude is ridiculous. What if the landlord is at risk of having that property repossessed , their credit rating screwed over and need to sell it- through no fault of their own say from redundancy/ illness /global pandemic etc?
What if the landlord was themselves being made homeless due to change in financial circumstance ( having rented their hse out to be able to keep hold of it) then rented somewhere smaller themselves, now needed THEIR own house back having gone through all the proper channels. Not the landlords fault the tenants cannot find themselves housing.

Boils my pee that people sit there waiting for the bailiffs, incurring more costs for the landlord. The sense of entitlement is appalling.

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

No i would not. I would want my tenants out of MY house, that i reasonably gave them notice on. So, i could move my own family back in. Would you??? Would you be homeless if you had yr one and only property with someone else refusing to move from it?? Would you let yr tenants sit there while yr family was broken up?? Doubt that very much .

I had friend in this exact position and it almost broke her. She and her children stayed with me. while sorting it out. She is back in HER own home now, albeit £1000's worse off. Her tenants.... they were rehoused and have a nice home in the next village now , right by the school with views over the fields. [/quote]
So what do you propose the tenants do?

One irony here - if you have shared ownership &part rent these laws don't apply & the housing association can literally kick them out in a month & if you have mortgage the rules for eviction don't apply in the same way either
Please note many houses are rented out to pay for someone's care & the house has to be sold to pay for any costs even AFTER the person has died & care homes have increased their prices (which are more per week than most people pay per month even before) & funeral costs are extortionate - the rules & costs for landlords have been increasing & that has meant many people have decided to sell rather risk renting. This is not going to help people who for one reason or another cannot buy their own home

@lannistunut i knew you would say that and you did not disappoint.

I doubt very much my friend and her children would like to be considered a creating writing exercise . Luckily i have a big heart and an even bigger house so could help them.

I see you avoided answering the "would you allow yourself to be homeless " question if you had a perfectly good property with tenants refusing to move. I'll take that's a no then!

@Drgnbllx you first, so what do you propose the property owner does?

*If the notice has been given legally / with correct process, I would do everything in my power to be out by the end of the period.

Not least because you would have next to nothing to hold up in court and may end up having to pay costs when you inevitably lose*

Court won't be for months though, and leaving with (likely) one months notice in that period will be legal, easy and come with no extra costs.

but it's worth bearing in mind that staying put and refusing to leave could have severe implications for the rest of the chain, which could well include other families who are desperate to move

There is almost no chance of their being a "chain" here, as no-one without options will have bought a house with sitting tenants.

@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?

I don’t think landlords are allowed to ask a bigger deposit nowadays which is why it’s harder to find somewhere pet friendly. It helps explain why there is so many Airbnb’s though.

People shouldn’t become landlords unless they understand the laws around it.

A notice to leave is not legally binding. It is not a guarantee the tenants will be able to leave by then, for whatever reason.

There are court costs involved but these are passed to the tenant.

There is a wait for court action because the system is backlogged.

Don’t like that that could be your scenario as a landlord? Don’t fucking be one then.

Don’t come at me with accidental landlord bollocks either, you consciously choose to rent a property or multiple properties out.

What if the landlord is at risk of having that property repossessed , their credit rating screwed over and need to sell it- through no fault of their own say from redundancy/ illness /global pandemic etc?

This is the risk of doing business, the landlord should not have risked their personal credit in this way, it's why we have limited liability companies - of course that is not as profitable for the landlord in this situation, but that is what risk is - they took the risk, it didn't pay off.

"@SpaceBethSmith Don’t like that that could be your scenario as a landlord? Don’t fucking be one then. Don’t come at me with accidental landlord bollocks either, you consciously choose to rent a property or multiple properties out".

Or your DH could have left you and with a large unpaid mortgage that you could not support on yr wages alone so you had no choice but to act quickly ( with stbexdh agreement) and rent it out while you secured employment in order to afford the mortgage.

I am guessing you rent Spacebeth.

Landlords are not always Rachman type entities.

We were in this situation and it's horrible. Your friend needs to...

1. Contact shelter - they have region specific advice that is crucial, including whether the notice has been served legally and correctly. For example, in Wales if the landlord is not registered as a landlord on national database any notice they serve isn't recognised in law - this gained us an extra much needed 6 months to secure a new tenancy

1. Contact the local council's housing team. From 56 days prior to the end of a legal section to vacate notice your friend will be considered at serious risk of homelessness. This is the point the council can start advising of options and realistic outcomes.

1. If they still haven't secured tenancy in time for the vacation date, keep paying rent and inform the landlord/letting agents that they are still actively seeking private lets but are also now working with the council for social housing options. At this point the landlord can seek support from the courts for eviction, realistically I'd be surprised if this was handled before 2023 begins. Nonetheless from that point onwards your friend would be wise to live as spartan a life as possible with everything possible boxed up in storage if feasible or at least ready to move out in quick order because once you're on that emergency housing list you need to shift fast.

If it offers a slither of hope for your friend we've managed to secure somewhere suitable after being on 16 shortlists and a very stressful few months. It may help them to advertise on local Facebook groups that they're looking for accommodation - a lot of places don't even make it to Rightmove etc anymore, they're snapped up immediately through word of mouth etc.

The trouble is none of this is fair on either tenants or landlords. The stress from both parties is huge, but if you enter the business of letting out property for whatever reason landlords need to accept that it's a business and that no tenant with sense or support will vacate without a new property to go to. The landlord needing the home does not trump tenants rights otherwise there'd be a lot more evictions based on the landlord "needing" the property just to get rid of tenants quickly.

@Drgnbllx I’m with Girl71. I would propose that the family just try a bit harder. I can’t believe that there’s zero other housing options for them. They’ll either have to pay a bit more, look further afield or compromise on their requirements. It’s tough but that’s just life. The council can’t allocate a 4(?) bed house at the drop of a hat to a family who CAN afford to rent privately. Best case scenario they’ll get hostels which would be much worse than compromising on a rental property.

[quote girl71]"@lannistunut 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".

This attitude is ridiculous. What if the landlord is at risk of having that property repossessed , their credit rating screwed over and need to sell it- through no fault of their own say from redundancy/ illness /global pandemic etc?
What if the landlord was themselves being made homeless due to change in financial circumstance ( having rented their hse out to be able to keep hold of it) then rented somewhere smaller themselves, now needed THEIR own house back having gone through all the proper channels. Not the landlords fault the tenants cannot find themselves housing.

Boils my pee that people sit there waiting for the bailiffs, incurring more costs for the landlord. The sense of entitlement is appalling.

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

No i would not. I would want my tenants out of MY house, that i reasonably gave them notice on. So, i could move my own family back in. Would you??? Would you be homeless if you had yr one and only property with someone else refusing to move from it?? Would you let yr tenants sit there while yr family was broken up?? Doubt that very much .

I had friend in this exact position and it almost broke her. She and her children stayed with me. while sorting it out. She is back in HER own home now, albeit £1000's worse off. Her tenants.... they were rehoused and have a nice home in the next village now , right by the school with views over the fields. [/quote]
you seem to miss the whole point of it , the tenent is told by the council to stay until the landord has evicted them , if they want the council to house them they dont have a choice , you obviously have never been a single part time working , claiming benefits parent trying to find a house to rent in a short space of time in a market in which the rent is extorniate even with housing benefit and getting told that in order for them to agree to rent to you they want a guarantor .

it may not be the landlords fault that the tenants cant find a house , but its not the tenants either .
im failing to see how being forced to live in a house with an eviction order going through on it knowing that you and your kids are going to be homeless and having to be placed in temp accomodation of whatever nature is a sense of entitlment , theres no fucking choice about it , and landlords have to let their tenants sit there until they have that order done they dont have a choice about it either .

its all very well to go on about your friend and how hard done by she was out of it , but she shouldnt have been a landlord by the sounds of it , professional landlords know its a risk this could happen and have the money lined up to cover it , my silly bitch of a landlady didnt have a clue either , it took a phone call from the housing officer at our council to put her straight , and so your friends tenants were rehoused , why is it a problem they were given a new house with a decent view ? should they have been put into a grotty one bed flat so your friend got to feel better when they were merely doing what the council told them to do .

"@sirfredfredgeorge This is the risk of doing business, the landlord should not have risked their personal credit in this way, it's why we have limited liability companies - of course that is not as profitable for the landlord in this situation, but that is what risk is - they took the risk, it didn't pay off".

Agreed but not all landlords are Ltd companies. They are ordinary working people who saved for a deposit and made sacrifices all their life to buy that home. Some have become chronically ill or made redundant due to pandemic or divorcing and no choice but to temporarily let the property.

There is a housing crisis, i can see that. But, it is not for an individual to subsidise the unpaid rent or the inability of others to be able to afford housing for them and their family. Someone ultimately pays, never usually the renter.

It’s just happened to us.
Council have a duty to help prevent homelessness (e.g suggest associations and any private agencies they deal with - im north east and there was one called Aurora properties which is private but with affordable rent akin to council (you have to pass credit/affordability)
I have had no joy with private, they’ve been that overran I haven’t even been shortlisted to view the properties!
Aurora didn’t shirt list me for any initially
Council then made me band 2 (2 months before section 21 ended) and I was offered a house that I bid on in 2bd week of increases band changeZ a few days after Aurora also said I’d been shortlisted for a property…
So in my experience, yes council can abs will help (this doesn’t always mean them giving you a house and will mean you having to work with them to exhaust all avenues)
However nothing really happens until right near the end of section 21.
Like ops have said the section 21 is only a notice to seek possession anyway it is not a get out today notice. Hth.

@SpaceBethSmith

People shouldn’t become landlords unless they understand the laws around it.

A notice to leave is not legally binding. It is not a guarantee the tenants will be able to leave by then, for whatever reason.

There are court costs involved but these are passed to the tenant.

There is a wait for court action because the system is backlogged.

Don’t like that that could be your scenario as a landlord? Don’t fucking be one then.

Don’t come at me with accidental landlord bollocks either, you consciously choose to rent a property or multiple properties out.

Eh? 🙄

You do realise that the majority of LL own one rental property? It’s not a business, it probably pays the mortgage and there’s not much left afterwards.

If the LL circumstances change, as @girl71 pints outs and happened fo her friend, why should they be the ones in dire straights and homeless?

Is that because you assume they’re absolutely loaded because they’ve got ONE property they rent out?

It’s their house. When you rent, it’s NEVER your property, you’ll never own it, so of course there’s always going to be situations where for whatever reason the LL needs it back.

Put it this way, if every LL decided to just sell their houses, because they couldn’t be arsed with the cost of it then guess what?? There would be even bigger waiting lists for social housing so the tenants wouldn’t be better off anyway……