Housing hardship hearing after S21

[mummydoingamasters]

Our landlord required possession of her property back (we haven't breached the tenancy, rent is up to date, no neighbour complaints) and served us a S21 in August. This expired as we have no immediate financial means to privately rent again so we attended the local authority as unintentionally homeless. We have 2 children 2 and under.

We are registered on the bidding system but we are middle of the list so obviously never get anywhere.

The landlord has filed an accelerated possession order and this expires on 26th of November.

The courts have also deemed us responsible for her legal costs (a massive kick in the teeth but whatever) and we have a hardship hearing Friday.

Me and my partner have both been served papers but under the same claim number.

Does anyone know if we are being charged a single fee under one tenancy or both required to pay a fee each? The phone queue for the courts is impossible to get into let alone speak to anyone and CAB are wonderful but not as helpful when it comes to housing matters. Shelters phone queue is also limited so I can never get through.

This whole situation is really stressing me out so close to Christmas and it's feeling impossible to get answers so I'd be really grateful for any help.

I'm so sorry. The tenancy fees act and increasing regulation is partly a good thing, but the downside is that it often makes it uneconomic to rent out property, even if your landlord's circumstances haven't changed.

It isn't the council forcing the fees on you, that's what happens - but it is the council forcing you to stay to the bailiffs or they won't help. The homelessness reduction act was supposed to prevent this but due to right to buy and cuts there's no magic source of council housing.

there is only one set of legal costs for section 21 eviction, not one per tenant. These are £355 for the accelerated possession, £121 for the bailiff and £66 if transfer to the high court is made. Bailiffs always give you warning now. (How do I know all this? Having to execute a sec 21 which unlike your case was very far from no fault...) Courts never answer the phone to anyone. It is usually around six weeks from expiry of order to bailiffs but if in London can be a lot longer.

no need to ring Shelter, all they can tell you is on their website anyway. This might also help you do battle with the council:

england.shelter.org.uk/legal/homelessness_applications/introduction_to_homelessness

you do nothing illegal in staying until the bailiff, and if you do leave earlier the council may well wash their hands of you. Get everything in writing from them, trust no-one.

@mencken thank you. I thought it was 1 fee as the claim number is the same on both sets of paperwork but I lose rational thought when I'm stressed!

I originally got legal advice which said I wouldn't be responsible for her legal costs (she is evicting us because I made a noise complaint to EH about a neighbour who is also her tenant). It's all gotten a bit messy but I can't forfeit my right to help from the council so I will be staying put and waiting for the bailiffs.

I'm just worried that she's going to demand our deposit pays the legal fees but we need it for storage fees and deposits (some council housing requires a deposit here). I'm only on maternity allowance and my partners salary is the wrong side of desirable!

I've been told our deposit is protected against legal costs. Do you happen to know if that's right?

hmm, well good luck to her on that! Assuming the deposit is in a scheme (and if it isn't, then you sue her sorry arse) then she has to prove deductions and costs. I really can't see the scheme allowing deductions for the legal costs - for which all sensible landlords have insurance anyway.

england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/tenancy_deposits/tenancy_deposit_deductions_your_landlord_can_make

strange reason for issuing a sec 21 but sounds like you are well out of the place, painful as the process is. And yes, stay to the bailiff - it's awful but that's the system.

As you've probably guessed I'm a landlord.

sorry - as you probably know, the deposit must be in one of the three schemes. (and if it wasn't your sec 21 would have been deemed invalid). Read up on the scheme concerned and get ready to raise a dispute.

@mencken I had guessed and I'm grateful for your experience and knowledge! I used to be a Landlord myself just not on the same scale as my landlord so I feel a bit out of my depth.

I think it's a bit cheeky of her to seek us to pay her costs when shes done what she's done. She's basically evicting us for increasing her paperwork. I told her so many times about the neighbour issues and her way of dealing with it was to go round and talk to them and then come tell me I've got him all wrong, he's not like that blah blah blah. I got fed up and went to EH and 2 days later we get a S21.

I'm just hoping to have something go our way at the hardship hearing and if not I'll appeal the cost ruling I guess

still a very bizarre reason to evict you - all she gets is a void! I can't imagine you are going to allow viewings and you've every right not to.

I don't think the cost ruling itself can be appealed, but it should be stressed to the council that the costs are being incurred because you are having to stay to the bailiff.

According to gov.uk, the costs could have been part of the possession order - is that what has happened? (sorry, I misread - you said 'courts' and I said 'council') This is beyond my knowledge but that's where citizens advice could help.

it's all so unnecessary. Councils should not be allowed to make you wait and pay for the bailiff but with so little housing available, they do it.

one final thought - revenge evictions are illegal and the fact that you went to environmental health before the S21 was issued could come under this. Sounds like the judge disagreed as the order went through but maybe worth a check.

I wish you the best and a better landlord and neigh bour next time!

@mencken she's actually said to us she'd rather have an empty house than have the wrong people in it! If she can afford it, lucky her I guess!

I think so, she's requested possession under the accelerated process and the court ruled without hearing that we are liable for her costs. All I can say to that, is she can't have what isn't there!

It's definitely a revenge eviction, but proving it is bloody difficult. I might look into it if I can ever get through to citizens advice

Sorry op, your ll can claim the legal costs from the deposit and has a particularly strong case if it is stipulated in the TA.

Unless you are being evicted due to your complaints about disrepair or the condition of the property and the local authority has issued your landlord with either an improvement notice or emergency remedial action notice, you have no protection from a possession order and subsequent eviction. The relevant legislation is s33 of the Deregulation Act.

hmm, yes. It does look like it isn't a revenge eviction if the landlord moves quickly, my mistake. And while no tenant is indeed better than a bad tenant, if she expects more than rent paid/property not trashed/tenancy not breached she's got a lot to learn.

all very bizarre. Why a noise dispute between tenants is relevant to the landlord is beyond me. If anything, you'd think the noisemaker would be evicted.

@mencken she evicted him too but he claimed we were bullying him due to his colour when in reality, we just didn't like hearing his music blaring at 4am from his car when we have a newborn!

We went to EH as he was causing noise pollution from the street, not the house.

It's all just a bit of a shambles really.

good riddance to your pig of a neighbour, what kind of selfish dickhead does that? (regardless of any babies around)

but why she is also evicting you is still baffling.

@mencken especially baffling when she offered us one of her other properties! She just kept saying she 'had to' evict us.

I think we're better off out of it.

the only possibility I can think of is that your current home won't meet EPC regs after April - but if that, why not just say so and move you to another?

nowt so queer as folk...