Being Evicted by council any advice would be. so appreciated

[helloall22]

So i have had some rent arrears and as the past year has been horrible i’ve missed the repayment plan
Ive had my life turned upside down and now im going to lose my home.
Ive been attacked in the street badly beaten up and then we lost our baby, had his little funeral, then my son was harassed by his ex girlfriend endlessly and her family she then had our house front door burned by my sons ex partner, then we were burgled, had my husband work van burnt out at night, we have been threatened by these people to drop the court cases as all have been reported to the police
Now my aunt has cancer of the liver
My kids are are scared to leave the house and dropped out of college after my daughter was threatened with a attack
So then i lost my job this week and im
beyond worried

I received a letter for a court date for a possession order by the council i have a secure tenancy.
they said they sent a notice of possesion letter a year ago.
I have misssef a couple of payments this year as i had large stomach operation and had to go on the sick and wasn’t entitled to sick pay after three months
so arrears started again. Then i got back to normal again when i started working
So then on the Beginning of march 26 was contacted to say i needed to start making payments to cover the debt
So by email i contacted the office and said i would
I did make payments for march
Then i made payments for April
and intend to make payments for may in two weeks

however in mid april she applied for the possesion order and now it’s likely i will lose my home and have no where to go plus im worried i am main carer for the person with cancer

I have emailed her over a few things but she hasn’t replied to me and even accused me of stealing housing benefits however i had to get prof from the benefits to prove i wasn’t paid anything and showed her that, that’s when she started to ignore me

can anyone offer advice or if they may have been through this the total arrears are 10months over 10 years that i have missed for different reasons

Are you a council tenant or private tenant?

Jesuzzzz im exhausted just reading your post! The drama and the chaos!

I wish you all the very best and hope you find somewhere to live but once you do you really need to make some changes for your whole family to take on board!

You should always priorotise rent and any bill that keeps a roof over your head.

I can't work out if you are private or council renting?

Have you contacted Shelter?

It sounds a nasty situation, but the substantial arrears predate all this?

You seem to have a lot going on with essentially being harassed in your own home, but I still don’t get how this has affected rent? Have you both stopped working at the same time?

Rent and council tax always have to be your #1 priority bills, everything else can be sorted and food can come through the food bank.

All the drama is by the by, if you and your DH have been in work, what was the difficulty in setting up a DD? we all have difficulties but paying rent is the priority surely

It does take a lot for the council to evict someone. They try everything to keep tenants in their homes. Over 10 years
Ago I was evicted from a council flat due to non payment of rent. They had already taken me to court four years prior. I was young and very irresponsible and it was probably the best thing that happened to wake me up in life. Seek advice, when they evict you go back to them to get temporary help whilst they investigate. If they deem you made yourself intentionally homeless they won't help you. Not a nice situation especially with kids involved but accountability and reflection are a must now. Could you have communicated more with them etc? Wishing you the very best

Op I am very sorry to hear about the loss of your baby and it must have been a very traumatising time.

However the rent situation is bad, how have not prioritised it? I can understand how things have just got away with you with everything going on but honestly it sounds so dysfunctional. Im not being judgmental but the repeated things that are happening cannot be an innocent one off or a culmination of things. This is a pattern of disfunction and sounds like something out of an episode of shameless. I live in social housing and never in the 20 years in my road has anyone been evicted for arrears However much the amount, and some of my neighbours have had a substantial amount owing. But what they wont tolerate is disruption and tenants that have a lot of drama around the houses or in the road,thats an immediate breach of tenancy and serious action is taken . This surely isn't just down to rent arrears

Thanks that is very helpful i know i have looked bad on here but i do keep a lovely house we have worked hard to make it a home, I am a mental health nurse and was just on a temp contract which has been terrible timing and my husband was thriving prior to a knee operation still works as a joiner but much slower your know
Thanks so much for your time

They're in council accommodation, the title is "being evicted by the council" and the council can't evict someone from private accommodation.

Your son needs to be a bit more picky about who he sees.
The first girlfriend had a brother linked to a gang.
The second girlfriend he finished with also seems to have been connected to a gang too.
He doesn’t mix with good people.

Hello I can promise this is rent arrears i’ve been as yourself a long serving tenant and never had any issues, my worst fear is looking like a episode of shameless and i wouldn’t have believed this would ever happen to us a year ago i would never have thought
I work hard as a Mental Health Nirse and see lots of chaos in people’s lives in the community and have thought much like many people on here that it’s attracted and due to life choices etc
However you never know what’s round the corner i’ve had so much and in such a short space of time it is humiliating to me completely i can say that i hope this court case does not result in eviction i am feeling scared i will be honest as everything is unfolding negatively and its just scary as i worry but you have reassured me that if it’s just the rent arrears then there will be no eviction
I am a very quiet person i’ve never had one complaint in my life we don’t play music it’s simply Home teatime and bed then work O think i’ve given the wrong impression on here
sadly xx

Oh no the second girlfriend is a lovely quiet girl i’ve worded that wrong i meant the first She’s very nice and not connected in anyway to a gang Thank God but yes i agree it’s better to be cautious

Sorry i am council i think when ive said She its come across as a LL but actually is the housing officer

Are your children bringing in money? Any other plans by all of you have to be kept on hold while you all try to bring some money in, in an effort to do something of the utmost importance: keep your home.

Hello I am council x

Ok, haven’t read the whole thread but I managed a LA Housing Rent Arrears team for over 30 years until I retired a couple of years ago.

First off you are extremely unlikely to be evicted first go unless there is something you are not telling us. Work out a sensible payment plan the you know you will be able to stick to and start paying this straight away. This will stand you in good stead with the Court as well as starting to reduce your arrears. It’s a good idea to talk to CAB or somebody like StepChange or National Debtline who can help you sort out your finances (don’t use paid debt management services) and as others have suggested speaking to Shelter is a good idea.

Ghen make sure that you arr end the Court hearing and ask that any order for your eviction is suspended on terms. The terms should be that you pay your rent plus a set amount per week/month. This should be the amount that you have already worked out and started paying. I HAVE NEVER KNOWN A COURT REFUSE A SUSPENDED ORDER WHEN THE ONLY ISSUE IS RENT ARREARS.

Once you have the order, make sure that you pay your rent regularly. As long as you do this you will not be evicted.

Thanks that actually means a lot i get why people feel that way but truly it was none of our doing maybe me trying to sort things out has made it worse. love your user name too keep that in mind lol xx

OmG thanks so so much this is extremely reassuring it really is. The worry has been overwhelming i’ve never struggled with my mental health but this has all impacted me beyond belief. Thanks so much you really are an angel yes it’s solely rent arrears so hopefully this will all work out xx

Do you write in a more formal way (compared to here) when contacting the housing officer? I think you need to get help to make your communication with them more legal and less emotional. Contact Citizen's Advice, Shelter, or any local legal advice services near you. Usually universities with a law dept have one, or try some local charities.

It has perhaps come across in a way that you didn't expect. But youve been honest and from an outsider it sounds very chaotic indeed and not helpful to you'r already stressful situation .

The court will more than likely agree a payment plan but you will be out if you don't stick to it. Things can and do change in an instant and we never know when that will come.

Going forward can you maybe learn from this.

Could your husband be entitled to PIP . Start an emergency fund so you're never caught out like this again if /when more shit hits your fan. And I woulld personally be looking to move to a better area because regardless of how long I've lived somewhere if my children were being put in situations repeatedly like you have described i would swap out for a fresh start

Hello Yes i try to however i have noticed that too and corrected myself a few times. Thanks for highlighting that i will make sure that stays in mind going forwards Very Helpful thanks

Also contact the CAB the should have someone who can go to court with you if you need that

Oh yes definitely the move is crucial as soon as i secure a new role I am potentially moving up a band as a nurse so that should help

My husband is terrible and against benefits claiming anything like that sees it as a weakness so i can’t see he would claim PIP but yes maybe with some persuasion
Hes always been a hard worker and struggled to accept help

So it’s hard you know stupid too i know

The same happens if you dont pay your mortgage its repossessed, its life im afraid, and the same for a private landlord if you dont pay you are evicted, as others have said im sure the neighbours have complained, you need to get a job and find a private landlord who will want a huge deposit also and references