Eviction - Council Rehousing

[buspool]

Been served a section 21 notice

Nice landlord - paying low rent for years but I've 2 kids so not leaving til council rehoused me.

Council told me to wait until court order in place and bailiffs coming and then they'll rehouse me

BUT

does that mean I have to accept the property they offer me at that stage even if it is a flat in an area I don't want to live in??

If I don't accept it then??

Just wondering whether it is better for me to keep bidding on properties now and to ask council to give me higher priority so more likely to get a house with garden

Any tips on how I should play this please?

Can't afford private rents round here so not an option

In my area you are places in temporary accommodation and then have one chance to accept somewhere you are offered or you are kicked off the housing list and they will discharge their duty to house you.

Thanks @KurtCobainLover I'm in the north east hoping more houses up here

If you wait til you are evicted you will probably be offered B and B accommodation, not necessarily in your area either. It’s highly unlikely you would go straight from your rented place you live in now to a council flat or house as there simply aren’t enough places to go round. Obviously this depends on the area you live in. Whereabouts in the country are you?

They will house you in whatever emergency accommodation they have available on the day you get evicted. Down south that could be a flat, a hostel or a bed and breakfast. You'd stay there until they have some suitable temporary accommodation for you. If you have kids you must be moved out of B&B within 8 weeks I think.
You can and should keep bidding but you probably won't get offered something permanent before you get evicted and you won't get a choice about where they place you when you do.

@Grotbagg I'm in north east

Can I get council to give higher priority for bidding if my kids have health issues?

You will either be moved to interim accommodation or offered a suitable offer of accommodation this could be in the private sector or council accommodation.
If you refuse the offer any duty owed to you will be ended and no further accommodation will be offered.

I would continue to bid as you then have a choice on area and location, any offer by the council may not be as local as you may like.

Any tips on what I should do?

Don't want to mess landlord around either but my family comes first obviously. Suspect they may also put up rent if I stay put as other properties in area are £300 more a month than I pay though doubt they'd put it up by that much

Any additional banding will depend on the authorities allocation policy.
Most allocation policies work on whether those medical conditions make you current property unsuitable and therefore a greater need to move.

If you stay put after the section 21 they can't increase your rent.

I'm not sure what you are asking when you are asking for tips. Either you have options in which case don't wait to be evicted or you don't, in which case you stay where you are and take whatever accommodation you're offered.

Have you not already included that on your application?

So just thinking it's actually not in my favour to wait as council has advised until bailiffs turn up as I could end up somewhere I don't want to be.

When council told me this I thought that was great - I'd defo get a house - hard luck on landlord having to take me to court but best option for me but now had time to think I'm panicking

If I don't accept property the council washes their hands of me and end up homeless

If accept it (property council offers) then if it's awful I'll unlikely get a swap and means I'll be back to bidding on properties?

Is my best hope for landlord to give me but more time than section 21 days to help me keep bidding until gets something decent?

What health issues do your children have? This could be a factor.. however as I understand it you'll go into temporary accommodation-possibly out of the area. This could be 3 months or two years. If you're already on the housing register and bidding for properties I would continue to do so. Ask for a re-assessment of your housing needs once in temporary accommodation.

You most definitely won't be handed keys to a new house the day the bailiffs turn up. If you leave before that the council will say you made yourself intentionally homeless. Stay put, take the temp accommodation and be thankful your being helped!

Bit outting if I say what kids have but not physical ailments which would make current house unsuitable

@PineappleTime just trying to work out how to get best chance of getting a council property now before court and bailiffs

Have included kids issues on app form

Also check the allocations policy, some have a category or worse ing circumstances. This for example may include having been offered a property which would have resolved your circumstances but you failed to take up the offer. This could disqualify you from the housing register altogether.

I would continue to bid and try to resolve your impending homelessness.
Depending on the age and sex of your children you may in the future qualify for a larger property and therefore be able to rejoin the housing register.

As I said, once in temporary accommodation you can ask to be re-assessed. Be nice, be thankful, it goes a long way! There is a very limited amount of council properties available, those who take the help and treat to the housing officers with respect are the ones who end up being helped first.

This is going to depend very much on the local pressures on housing and it may make the most sense to try and get advice from local groups either in real life or eg Facebook. However I certainly don’t think you can assume you’ll be handed keys to a permanent home on day of bailiffs - in most places you’d be in temporary accommodation whilst you continue to bid.

Thanks for the tip @rockingbird just a very stressful time

Social housing is extremely scarce, anything bigger than a 1 bed flat are highly sought after. My association has a wait of around 4-5 years foe a 2 bed and 10+ years for a 3 bed or higher. We have properties across the length and breadth of England. Priority moves which we used to aim for 12 weeks, are now closer to 2 years.

You'll get a hotel, hostel or b&b at first as the council have a duty to put a roof over your children's heads. You will then be moved around temp accommodation until something more long term can be found. Which could be a temporary flat somewhere.

If they find a property big enough for you so you can leave temp accommodation you'll be offered. Unless you have a very good reason to refuse it (ie its too close to an abusive ex for example) you have to accept it. If you don't they'll consider their duty of care discharged and you'll be given notice on the temp accommodation. You'd then be referred to social services as your children will be placed at risk of homelessness. This then may mean you get put back into hotels etc as children can't be on the street.

Re your kids, I highly doubt their medical condition is outing since there are a multitude of parents on here discussing their kids conditions and I'd bet you're not the only one. But realistically it's only physical disabilities which can guide accommodation types, so if they need ground floor for wheelchairs for example..

This is very area dependant. They are building lots of new housing where I am and along with that comes a set number of HA properties. I know a few families who’ve just gotten shiny new houses/ gardens recently.

@Abitorangelooking thanks - did they just get them quick because there were lots of them or did they do anything special?

Are you band A? What are waiting times in your area? Unless you're band A and at the top of the list I would say your chance of getting a council property before eviction is zero. Are you able to move into another private rent? If so, you should do that. You'll be able to stay on the housing list, it won't affect your priority, but you won't have to go into emergency accommodation, you won't have to use precious council resources and you won't have to inconvenience the landlord. It sounds like you do have options but think that waiting to be evicted will get you a council house quicker - it won't.

Where in the north east are you? It's one of the few areas that don't need council housing you can rent a terrace for £400 a month. You might have to move you can't expect to live in the centre of Newcastle if you are struggling. I wouldn't want to put kids into temporary accommodation just to get a council house.

Sorry you're facing this - it's horrible when you're gong to lose your home through no fault of your own.

Here (wales) there is a shortage of council properties. You'd be in a hotel for weeks, possibly months, and then be given somewhere with appropriate number of bedrooms when you reached the top of the list. I don't know how the bidding system works but my friend (5 kids) have been in temporary housing for five years.

You would have to take what is offered overdose you're either dropped right back down the list or taken off it altogether, so if you were offered a flat somewhere you didn't want to be, tough.