Haven’t paid rent in months!

[Uppoopcreek]

I’ve just realised I haven’t paid my rent in around 6 months! I don’t know how this could have happened?
ive lived here around 4 years. All I can think is I set up a standing order a while ago and it didn’t work properly?
now, I have pretty severe MH problems. Awful anxiety and depression(probable ADHD but still waiting for an appointment to start the process). I never check my bank, I’m behind with other bills, too. I’m a bury my head in the sand type of person, but worry constantly about everything, About a month ago I hit rock bottom. Won’t go into details, but it wasn’t great.
I have 3 DC, and I’m on benefits.
Help! What do I do?! Had a text from landlord last night asking me to call him, which is what’s just prompted me to look now. I was asleep when he text.

Thank you for updating

So many don't

You say trying to find a solution

That means paying back the 6mths rent surely

Rather then the landlord have to sell ?

Surely he would give you notice end get another tennant in AND you pay the outstanding amount

Maybe the landlord wants to sell because they don't feel able to deal with a tenant who doesn't pay their rent because the landlord likely has their own issues in life to cope with.

And where is your compassion for the landlord?

From the update am I right that if it can't be paid he has to sell??? That is absolutely awful if true and completely unfair to him. I'm sure his mental healthbis not good right now either.

Shame that won't pay his mortgage though...

Where is your compassion for the OP?

Pleased to hear you had that conversation with the landlord. Whats the forward plan? How you going to pay it back?

As a landlord I wouldnt consider my having to sell my flat an acceptable compromise at all. Especially after I had lost my son.

This is why I try to actively avoid this tyoe of situation. I have my own MH to think of.

She didn’t pay her rent and that is on her

People are making a lot of assumptions about the LL in order to maximise their sympathy for him and bash the OP further. All we know is he inherited the house from his son and might sell if he can't come to a suitable arrangement with OP. We don't know if he has a mortgage, mental health issues himself if he cannot afford to keep the flat, or any of the other things posters are assuming and using as a stick to beat OP with.

It could very well be that he simply doesn't want to be a LL and has only kept the house because OP lives there and would rather sell than go to the trouble of finding a new tenant if OP can't afford to stay.

OP, I'm glad your chat went well and I hope you can find a way forward and access the right support.

If for any reason you can't and the LL does put the house on the market please don't listen to the posters telling you to leave asap. If you do that the council will class you as intentionally homeless and refuse to rehouse you. You must stay until the bailiffs turn up and remove you.

It's a shitty situation for the LL and the tenant but unfortunately, that is the way the government dictates it must work.

Why did the bank stop your direct debit that you had paid for last 3yrs or so ?

What did the bank say ?

Ans for curiosity sake - how much is your rent ? £400 a month or heading to £1000 area depending

If on Benefits then assume uc paid a chunk of it if not most /all a month

So still can't see how you can spend £2.6/6k and not known or have anything to show for it

Ie if got lots of clothes can sell on Vinted and try and recoup some of the money

People are making a lot of assumptions about the LL in order to maximise their sympathy for him and bash the OP further.

No one’s making assumptions beyond acknowledging the man is grieving as his son died - a terrible event. I suggested he may have ADHD, not an assumption and not based on anything at all, but if OP’s list of issues excuse her of paying for the roof over her head, perhaps the LL also has a list of issues that make it even worse he’s had the rent money stolen for 6 months. Compassion can’t flow only one way.

Maybe he does have ADHD. Maybe he cannot cope with the death of his son and has spent the last 6 months in a drunken haze, maybe he is absolutely on the bones of his arse and is going to lose his home or maybe he is a billionaire and murders kittens in his spare time. We don't know.

What we do know is that he didn't start this thread, OP did. We also know it is highly unlikely that he will ever read this thread, OP will.

Of course, losing a child is the worst tragedy that could ever befall a parent, but facing homelessness also isn't nice, even if it is self-inflicted (although there is also the possibility OP is telling the truth and is too unwell to manage her finances and needs support). It's not comparable but as I said the LL is not reading the thread.

The landlord hasn’t received rent money for 6 months and you think that’s acceptable?

This. Yes its sad the op is struggling mentally. But how many people if in the land lords position would say hey no problem. I'm financially ruined and have to sell but my tenant has some mh issues she is struggling with so it's OK. It's easy to say poor op not her fault, but how many would take that financial hit? At the end of the day this is a business relationship. Unfortunately the world does not stop for us when we struggle and I say that as someone who definitely has struggled mentally in the past.

Too many pps saying oh poor OP, no rent received for 6months??
I assume he wasn't relying on this income or OP would have been out on her ear long ago.
Never checking your bank as a parent with children reliant on you is irresponsible.
Kids are affected for the rest of their life by chaotic/neglective upbringings.

Perhaps the LL and the OP have come to an arrangement where he will 'No Fault' evict her and her children because he's 'planning' to sell the house and then she can claim homelessness and attempt to get a Council House?

The LL cuts his losses and doesn't have to deal the legal fees, big delays, threat of vandalism, etc.

The OP walks away scot-free.

If that's the case, it's a pretty shitty outcome for the LL and the taxpayer. The taxpayer has had 6 months of rent money stolen by the OP and the LL hasn't been paid for the service he's provided. The taxpayer will still be legally obliged to support the OP and her children.

And people wonder why so many private landlords want nothing to do with benefit claimants. 🙄

Unless I’ve missed a post, OP is not saying she plans to live on benefits and not work in future.

@Uppoopcreek You can apply to the council for HSF, which is discretionary help to pay back rent as well as other things. It grant payments

Explain to him what has happened, what you will be doing to rectify it.

If he still goes ahead with eviction proceedings then you need to talk to housing options at the council.

With your circumstances and because of your mental health under the disabled act they will beable to help you with housing

If you get help towards your rent through U.C or direct housing ask your landlord to apply directly to the dept paying the benefit for direct payments so this doesn't happen again

I presume landlord hadn’t noticed there were arrears because he wasn’t the original landlord (his son was). Maybe probate has now been completed so the (new, ie father) landlord is now aware of the situation. In many ways, he’s also complicit for the arrears, for not noticing them earlier, but this maybe due to grieving over the loss of his son, or not having the full picture until now.

I hope that you can all come to mutually beneficial arrangements for the payments. (Also, it heeds a warning to guarantors, that a simple situation of a landlords death, could lead to rent arrears, which they may have to pay).

The landlord is in no way at fault here. The onus is the OP to pay the rent which she didn’t for 6 months

This entirely

I very much doubt OP will be eligible for the discretionary household payment issued by local councils!!
They will expect a breakdown of her incomings and outgoings.
It's not paid just because OP has spent her rent " accidentally"
It may be the LL is forced to sell as he can't meet his own mortgage payments!
There is no magic money tree

I wonder if he's at fault in the same way it's the serving staffs fault for dine and ditch...shops for shoplifters as they have stuff out on display...😆
Its absolutely bizarre how some on mn try and negate responsibility for everything!

OP is not saying she plans to live on benefits and not work in future.
she can't ben be bothered to check her bank so I don't imagine holding down a job will be easy, do you?
Security of a home isn't important for her as a mother, let's stop making excuses for the OP.