To refuse to leave rented property

[Boymamabee]

I’m having an ethical dilemma thanks to my husband…

I’m heavily pregnant (due a c-section next month) and we’ve been served a two month no-fault notice by our landlord (it’s all valid).

We’re struggling to find rented properties within our price range and although we’re at risk of homelessness, the council can’t guarantee temp accommodation before our notice expires. This makes my husband anxious as he says we have no right to stay in a house we don’t own and it’s unfair on the LL whose sale might fall through.

Places for the same amount of rent, or less, than we currently pay are more rural and would cost more fuel. Many of the local schools don’t have specialised facilities for kids with ASD (think rural schools with 20 students and 2 LSAs) and DS LOVES his school!

This is where it gets tricky…

We’ve been advised that if we stay with family or friends before the LL enacts a court possession order, we could be seen as making ourselves “intentionally homeless”. Likewise if we get ourselves into debt/arrears living somewhere we can’t afford.

I’ve proposed we listen to
their advice and stay put for now, but DH thinks it’s selfish and we’ll naturally find another way to make ends meet. He wants to be out before our contract ends and he feels sorry for the LL who’s going through a divorce.

AIBU?

if you want the council to house you then yes you need to stay out. Personally though, I would be doing everything I could to find a new place rather than risk having to go into temporary housing with a newborn and an ASD son. It sounds like you do have options, even if they aren’t ideal, as you can afford properties in the more rural location. It may not be what you want but may be a lot better than temporary accommodation.

Most councils insist that they won't help until bailiff notice or arrival.

Stay put if you want help from them.

SHELTER will advise:

england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice

I may of mistunderstood but my interpretation was that Roundandnour was asking what does the OP's husband expect them to do if they cannot find somewhere to rent, not the landlord. The husband thinks they should leave regardless. He has parental responsibilities.

It's a risky strategy remaining. The points about the OP not being able to afford rent where they are now and the inconvenience of moving further away to a place they could afford are fair, however there's no guarantee that the council will be able to house them in a suitable property in a place they like either. The OP is at risk of a prolonged period of hostel/B&B living once the council accept them - a suitable home won't automatically be found because it's needed.

I'd remain if I genuinely had nowhere else to go. But it would be a last resort. I've had the inconvenience of being forced to live in a Travelodge for a few months, it's not fun but in my circumstances it seemed better than waiting for a court order and bailiffs to kick me out. The OP might be in a position where that's preferable.

The court order route isn't pleasant or easy. Kiss any deposit goodbye and expect to pay for the landlord's expenses. That's ignoring the psychological harm of knowing you're deliberately choosing to do something wrong.

It may still be the best option.

Sorry but you'll just have to suck it up an move to the more rural location and pay more fuel costs and rent. It's either that or end up paying court fees, dealing with bailiff's, and potentially ending up in a hotel room or BNB with a newborn. I know which one I would pick. You have no security with rentals unfortunately.

Unfortunately the process is horrible for both landlords & tenants. (Sorry it's so long)
I am a landlord & am not a leech - it is a business that I use to put a roof over my own childrens heads since their Dad died in his 40's, but that is not what's important here
I have had to evict tenants - they abused the other residents in the flats - police called almost weekly, kicked the front down, threatened me & my children on multiple occasions. All prior to the section 21 being issued by myself.
It was still a horrible thing to have to do.
Talk to your landlord explaining you have no choice but to go through the whole process as you aren't able to find anywhere else.
Make sure you pay your rent.
They will then need to apply to courts, order for possession, warrant for possession & then bailiffs. When the landlord applies to the courts they can either apply to go to court or let the judge review it & the judge can order a maximum of 6 weeks, but there will be another gap where they apply for the warrant & request bailiffs
You will be liable for the court fees, the housing people will have a process & unfortunately they won't house you until they have to.
Good luck

Your deposit will be protected & cannot be taken as part of the section 21 process.
The landlords costs to evict you however are but these are repaid to the court & a payment scheme can be set up.

I'm currently having to sell my flat that I rent out (basically the freeholders are no longer allowing council tenants so have removed my ability to let to them) my tennant is a council tennant.

I'm having to evict her but due to the area we're the property is she will not be housed until the bailiffs come.

It's been ongoing since august and I am still waiting for my high court writ, due to a court backlog.

Do not leave until the council has taken responsibility to rehouse you. It's business not personal and the landlord will have to lump it

No wonder LL are selling in droves. I appreciate your situation however it's not the LL's fault that you cannot afford somewhere else or won't move to where you can.
I would never consider staying past my notice to vacate - it really doesn't bode well next time you need to rent.

Dont worry about the landlord. They are responsible for the mess of the market.

Get advice from the council and the CAB. Sign up for Rightmove alerts for anything in your area - perhaps look at a flat over a house etc etc.

It might be worth reaching out to the LL and explaining that you are unable to find anywhere and if there is any chance they would lengthen your notice period to give you time to look.

Sit down with a spreadsheet and work out the max rent you could pay.

Sending hugs - its a scary time to be renter, esp with a family.

They are providing a service no? People that either can't afford to buy or don't want to. After tax and repairs there's not much profit and then you have the risk of bad tenants and damage, unpaid rent etc. I wouldn't bother my hole being a landlord personally. Too much grief.

It sounds very stressful. While the advice to stay put until a court order is made sounds sensible from the council housing perspective, what is the prospect of your local council offering you somewhere to live that you would want to live? From what I understand, if they don't have suitable properties available then yes they still have to house you, but this could be in a hostel/hotel arrangement. It sounds as though you COULD afford to rent somewhere else, but just not in the area you're in now. If push came to shove would you prefer to be in council housing not of your choosing, or a private rental which isn't as convenient/nice as where you are now but which you've at least chosen yourself?

The thing is you’re not actually going to be homeless. You can afford to rent. It’s just not in your preferred area. You cannot assume that where you’re housed by the council in Emergsncy/homeless accommodation will be exactly where you are now. It’s highly unlikely. It could well be in a much less desirable area than where you can actually private rent. But by that point you’ve no chance as no private landlord will touch you as you’ve been court evicted.

you need to think through your options properly and take advice. It’s not about feeling sorry for your landlord. It’s about the potential ramifications for you and your family.

worst case Is you will all be housed in some shitty temporary hostel type accommodation quite far out, you are there for a couple of years, it’s totally unsavoury, but you now can’t private rent anywhere. Staying with friends or family will take you out of the homeless queue. You will be stuck

best case is they find you a home in the location you like before the bailiffs front up, if you post your council someone will be able to advise if there is a shortage.

I understand the feeling that you should stay until you are being forced away by bailiffs, however if there are properties that you can afford but aren't in the area you want to be I'd much rather rent one of those and not cause all this drama with courts etc. There is just no way I would choose for my kids to be forcefully evicted from their home and then go into temporary accommodation for god knows how long before you can get suitably housed. It could be quite traumatic for the kids to go through that, especially if they have ASD and it's difficult to explain it.

That’s the problem. They are doing one. In their droves. So folks often can’t find suitable accommodation any more. In many areas rentals are now a scare commodity, with ten folks desperate for each one. People being priced out and ending up homeless or needing to move locations, schools, jobs.

if the landlords keep doing one, as per your wishes. There’s going to be a fuck ton more homeless people in hostels and b&bs.

Honestly, given the options of:

• going through a stressful eviction process, being housed in emergency council accomodation (a room in a "BnB" - I use that term in the loosest possible sense), and scuppering my chances of renting somewhere half decent ever again; or

• moving out to a more rural / less ideal property

I'd take option two every time. Stay put if you want to, but IMO that's going to be the more difficult road by far.

I agree. Surely temporary accommodation goodness only knows where is something you’d absolutely want to avoid especially with a child with special needs and a newborn.
I’d really look at more rural even if that means paying a bit more for fuel.

It didn’t ‘work out’ for the LL, no wonder so many are giving up.

Temporary accommodation is usually not nice at all. I would not want to be in one after a C section with a newborn. The stress of bailiffs and court proceedings - do you really want this incredible amount of stress while giving birth and caring for a newborn and a disabled child? You'd be making life incredibly hard for yourself and you're being a bit naive if you think staying put is the easy option.

Exact same thing happened to us. In the end we put in several pleas for more time, they eventually gave in and gave us a few weeks, and then we stayed with family until we found a new house. The house we left is still empty and doesn't appear to be for sale.

It was very stressful with a C Section to deal with so I really feel for you!

The problem you have is that if you are housed by the council you will need to take what you can get where you can get. So it might not be where you want to be anyway. And the option for privately renting will be removed from you if you don’t leave when asked because no one will ever rent to you again.

Whether you like it or not, costs are going up. And you won’t find somewhere you like in the same are for the same money. So you’re now looking at trying to make compromises to make it work. The question is, what is the best long term solution? And it’s probably moving asap

I volunteer for CAB. You could stay up, wait for bailiffs, but they take 3 mths and you will be recovering from a c-section with a newborn when they come. Assess carefully whether you’d be able to handle the physical demands of being kicked out then. Because you’ll need to move your stuff at very last minute.

In your situation I would always recommend contacting Shelter and looking further afield before staying put to see if you can find somewhere you can afford.

The problem you have is that if you are housed by the council you will need to take what you can get where you can get. So it might not be where you want to be anyway. And the option for privately renting will be removed from you if you don’t leave when asked because no one will ever rent to you again.

Yep, this

You also need to bear in mind that your ll is getting divorced and so maybe one or both parties may become aggressive too. I’ve known someone who got the locks changed on them while they were giving birth - all their stuff in bin bags outside.

Are you eligible for universal credit? What is your LHA? If you're eligible, the rise in rent could be largely absorbed by your UC claim.

I’ve a bad feeling this was written as the op wanted folks to say fuck landlords your husband is a wanker. If her husband does just want to move and rent someplace else as he cares deeply about the landlord then they both desperately need help, as thr op seems to be naively thinking she will get housed somewhere she likes

shed clearly not consider this if she’d realised she could very likely be in a homeless hostel further out from where she could rent.

once the landlord applies to the court for eviction she looses control of her own destiny , from her kids school to where and how they are housed. There is no private landlord other than a slum one who will let them rent their properties as they’ve already refused to leave one ans the landlord had to apply to court.

and if the council deem you could afford to rent in their jurisdiction. , you just chose not to because you didn’t wish to go a little further out, then they could find you’ve made yourself intentionally homeless.

court eviction and homelessness is never, ever the easy answer .