Eviction notice... try council housing?

[Mamaforever]

Hi there,

We’re in a very confusing situation right now so I’ll just give you the basics.

We’ve been told that tomorrow we will be served an eviction notice not because were bad tennants but because our landlord is leaving our letting agency and if we want to stay with our landlord in our house then we need to pay an extra months rent.

We were planning to move in a year or two anyway so are considering moving sooner rather than paying the extra rent to stay in a property we may move from in a year or so anyway.

My mother in law is suggesting we try applying for council housing which I have nothing against I’m just worried that we wouldn’t be considered.

We have an almost two year old and another on the way in 6 months (just as we would have to move out!!) my partner works full time and I work part time but would be on maternity leave.

Does anyone have any experience and can give me advice or an idea of how likely we would be to be considered?

Thanks in advance!

I don't have personal experience, but we tried to get the MIL on a council housing list.

In our area there is certain criteria
What income and savings you have
Disabilities
Family

The mil got refused as she had too in much savings, despite being disabled, they also considered if she had family to stay with.

That said had she been made homeless they would have accommodated her, However that is usually a hostel.

Your council website should give you an idea.
At worst they say no.
Mind you even if you do get accepted it could be years on the waiting list

Only your local council can tell you what the criteria for consideration is. Speaking from bitter experience though it’s rarely as simply as applying and being considered, people spend years on the list before a suitable place comes available. Also no guarantee you would get offered a home in the place you want.

It's unlikely to be an eviction notice that being served, unless you've already been to Court and they've been given a Possession Order.

Your Council should put you on the waiting list from now but will only offer emergency housing once you have the Eviction Notice and that could be a single room.

I'd speak to the Housing Department of your Council to see about getting on their list but also google local Housing Associations and see what they have to offer.

Contact the housing department in your area. If you qualify there’s no harm in joining the list - though it’s likely to be long. Privately rent in the meantime.

Yes agree with what has been said. Wait for your eviction notice but you could end up in temporary accommodation like a hotel room or hostel then eventually moved into a temporary accomdation flat or house Depends where you live though as I know in big cities that's how most councils operate. You could be in temporary accommodation for years before getting a tenancy.

England? It isn't an eviction notice. If it is a valid section 21 it is six months notice of legal proceedings and then about 18 months to the bailiff.

There are also formal procedures for raising rent, if you refuse then the same process applies for the landlord.

If this is England then you are being bullshitted by a landlord/agent playing on your lack of knowledge. Read your how to rent. If you weren't given one then the sec 21 will fail.

No reason not to try the council but they may not help until much later in the process.

I don't understand the rent thing, who is asking for an extra month rent? The possibility of council / social housing depends on the area, in mind you could get a house tomorrow - it might not be where you want to live, but there are properties available, without knowing the demand in your area it is impossible to say if you will have a 10 week wait or a 10 year wait. You will only have a 2 bed entitlement as well (which may or may not be an issue) -same sex siblings are expected to share until 16, different sex 10, so at least 8 years in your case.

Back to the rent - does paying this rent mean you can stay in the property? Honestly unless you are in an area with good housing stock supply you are most likely better off paying the extra rent (?) and then being able to make any decisions at leisure. As much as the landlord can't just chuck you out, the whole eviction process will end up incredibly stressful and do you really want that when you are heavily pregnant / early baby days?

This sounds legally wrong to me -I would check with shelter - First -hold them to giving you a section 21 & stick it out
DO NOT MOVE let him go to court & evict you & contact agent & ask if they know he is doing this. He probably would have signed contract with them when he employed them & HE may be obliged -legally to stay with them (& the legal process will take months & months & months at the moment
I am a landlord & I think his behaviour stinks

Based on being in England I don't know how a landlord moving to another agents could mean you incur an additional months rent. There are so many things that landlords/agents are not allowed to charge for now that I'm not sure how this would be the case.

Do you rent under an assured short term tenancy? How long have you been on the existing tenancy agreement, when does it expire, is there a break clause option?

The tenancy you have is more than likely an agreement between you and the landlord, who the agent is is very likely to be immaterial to you. The landlord can't put the rent up, charge you extra fees etc if they change agents just in the same way they couldn't now. Obviously if your agreement is coming to an end soon and they have said they will be putting up the rent when they move it's slightly different matter but they will still have to go through the section 21 notice process which will take time to process.

The landlord has to give a section 21 notice to evict you. At the moment this is six months [ pre covid it was two months ].

They can't charge extra rent just to change agencies. Check out with Shelter on what your rights are,

You can apply to go on the council list, but houses are in very short supply, so it unlikely that you would get approved. Some people are on a council list for years.

Who has told you this the landlord or the soon to be ex agent?

I would be inclined to stick it out if I could

It depends from area you live. In mine there’s requirement you have to live locally for at least three years , but, once you apply , you’ll be accommodated within months. Not every area has shortage of houses . Look at your local website and apply. In worst case scenario they’ll say no.

Sorry for taking so long to update.

So my landlord came and spoke to me on Saturday and told me they wanted me to lie to the letting agents and say I was okay with moving out etc. And then stay on with them privately so they/we wouldn’t have to pay to get out of their contract with the agent.

I was taken completely by surprise and agreed however the more I think about it it’s so risky and I’ve felt so anxious since.

How am I supposed to lie to the agent and ‘pretend’ that I’ve moved out? She suggested we move all of our stuff into the garage (but, hello, they are gonna check that?)

So I’m in a rubbish situation where I can either pay the extra to be able to stay with her but do I trust that she will be a good landlord and not try to double cross me like she did with the letting agent?

Regarding council housing I think you’re all right, especially at the moment with covid etc I have little to no chance of getting a home with them.

Im just very hormonal atm and have no idea what we should do! Worst case we can move in with my in laws but is that ideal with another baby on the way at the same time?

Thankyou for all your advice everyone!

Aha, all becomes clear. Not your problem!

You do not have to get involved with this.
You do not have to do anything.
You cannot be evicted legally for many many months.

Just get back to the landlord and say 'no'. You may also wish to change the locks. Put the old ones back and make good when you leave.

I am a landlord and if this is England I do know what I'm talking about.

This sounds fishy as hell. They have to give you 6 months notice as per S21 covid guidelines.

Sit tight and do nothing, wait for them to take you to court to evict. In the meantime, don’t stress out too much, continue paying your rent as normal register for council housing although as others have said it’s highly unlikely to get something soon.

Apply to the council list (if you can) regardless of LL.
Depending on area, criteria and availability vary.

Regarding council housing I think you’re all right, especially at the moment with covid etc I have little to no chance of getting a home with them.

It depends on what is available in your area, you need to talk to the council.

Your landlord sounds dodgy as hell, if you were moving out you would be getting your deposit back which you could then use elsewhere.

Do talk to Shelter.

Oh right, that update completely changes my pov. I had presumed the LL was simply changing agents.

Not your problem, but if you are not going to consider council housing I would start looking as soon as possible, LL can drop the agent when you move out.

OP, please do not engage with this proposal on any level. Also - please do check that when you took out the tenancy you were given ask the right documentation such as details of where your deposit is protected (the name of the scheme), your information as a renter, the gas safety certificate if applicable and so on. Any breaches could render a s21 notice to quit invalid.

The landlady sounds to be playing fast and loose. Its not a game you have any interest in getting caught up in unless the place you're living in really doesn't suit you at all. As others have said it is a gamble to rely on council accommodation coming through.

Why not get another private rental?

Surely its up to the landlord if they keep the agent or not? I would be interested to see a contract that indicates that the tenant must move out should you no longer avail yourself of there services

@Theunamedcat

Surely its up to the landlord if they keep the agent or not? I would be interested to see a contract that indicates that the tenant must move out should you no longer avail yourself of there services

The landlord agent contract and the landlord tenant contract are separate. If the landlord changes agents while they have a tenant under contract the tenancy moves to the new agent it's just very likely to cost the landlord to be able to do that. The time to move agents is at the time of a new contract either with the existing tenant or a new one.