Served Section 21 notice and can't get new tenancy due to IVA

[CreativeCrochet]

Hi,
I've been in my current rental for almost 6 years. I moved here when I left my husband and have since divorced. I was left with debt from the marriage (it was the reason why I left) and I ended up in an IVA to resolve this. I am now debt free and the IVA was discharged in Dec 2020.
Last week my Landlord served me a Section 21 no fault eviction out of the blue. I am not in rent arrears and have been a good tenant.
I have spent the week looking for new properties to rent, I am not yet in a position to buy. Everyone is telling me that the IVA, although discharged, is still an issue and I won't pass referencing, despite earning a very good salary and having rented for 10 years or more with no missed rent.
I wasn't looking to move yet, for exactly this reason, I knew this would be the case.
I have a disabled son in primary school, this adds to the complication. I have no family who are in a position to act as guarantor and the letting agents have all said they won't accept a company to act as guarantor.
Has anyone been in this situation? My landlord is effectively making me homeless, as I sit here now I really don't know what options I have. All I've been told this week is no, no, no. It's so stressful.
Any help would be great, I've tried to share all the pertinent points.

Only a court or the tenant can end a tenancy.

Speak to your local social housing and the council.

I'm private renting currently, I've been told the landlord is quite within their rights to issue a section 21.
I've never been a council tenant, is there some sort of duty to house me in this situation? I'll admit, it's not my first choice.

I'd get advice from Shelter.

@Andthereitis is right. You are going to have to go the homeless route to get an HA tenancy (unless the LL changes their mind or the IVA is almost six years old and you can spin it out a bit).

Social landlords won't credit reference you.

They are. But to actually get you to leave they need to take you to court.

You can leave voluntarily and make yourself homeless or ... Ring shelter for advice on whether your s21 is fully compliant with everything it needs.(EPC, right to rent document etc)

Your local housing association should be able to register you. They may have nothing to offer you but it is a good route to go down.

Is your current place direct with a single landlord, or through an agency/large landlord who might have other suitable properties?

You can probably find a private landlord who will ignore the IVA. Or maybe you can pay a year or six months in advance if that's a possibility? I was in the same situation after my divorce and had to live in an air b and b for a while before I found a private landlord. Try open rent and spare room dot com

Ah, ok I see now, you mean stay put and get the LL to take me to court to get me out. All that will do is buy me another few weeks. Very stressful as a single parent with a child with SEN. Looks like I'll have to call the council on Monday. I've been told a lot of LL's are panicking due to the new potential Renters Rights Bill. The change of government has triggered a spate of section 21's.

private renting currently, I've been told the landlord is quite within their rights to issue a section 21.

Yes but issuing the notice and regaining possession of the property are two different things and can be several months apart. That's what PP is saying.

I've never been a council tenant, is there some sort of duty to house me in this situation? I'll admit, it's not my first choice.

I don't think it's ever anybody's first choice but - unless you're close to the IVA dropping off your credit file - it's the nature of the safety net , and you now need the safety net. A lot of recent HA housing is actually very nice. Council stock much more mixed.

You have a child, and furthermore your child has a disability, so you'll get priority.

So first thing is to confirm the date of the IVA.

Secondly read up on the homelessness route and the council's homeless duty to you if you find nothing else by eviction day.

Yes it's compliant, I have renters insurance, checked all of that out last week.

It drops off next January 2025. So close, yet so far!
Thank you, great advice in your post.
I haven't tackled the landlord yet, it's managed through a local letting agency. Worth a shot to see if they would reconsider.

Ah, ok I see now, you mean stay put and get the LL to take me to court to get me out. All that will do is buy me another few weeks. Very stressful as a single parent with a child with SEN. Looks like I'll have to call the council on Monday. I've been told a lot of LL's are panicking due to the new potential Renters Rights Bill. The change of government has triggered a spate of section 21's.

(Every law or policy has an unintended or paradoxical consequence, unfortunately. Bad luck for you.)

Those few weeks might be precious.

Is your child's disability such that you ideally need adapted or single-floor housing?

None of the debts/defaults/late payments will show on the kind of search LLs can do. Only court judgements and bankruptcy type information. So 6 years from your IVA date, that information will drop off and your public credit will be "clean" again. If you took out the IVA soon after moving in, there might be leaway.

It drops off next January 2025. So close, yet so far!

X post.

Ah. I'd think negotiating with the LL has got to be worth a shot. You only need a few months.

Get the wheels in motion for social housing though. Don't wait.

Months
Your 2 month notice has to expire before he can apply to court. They're mega busy at the moment apparently as landlords are choosing s21 to get their house back due to the risk of more red tape on the way.
Maybe four months..
You then get a couple of weeks notice of the bailiffs coming.

But when bailiffs come you have to leave so need somewhere by then or risk having to go to some suboptimal option like a hotel room which means you lose all your stuff.

You could ask the landlord to help find you a place to go and you'll leave.

But registering for social housing is your best bet. You may get nothing if you are very restricted in your preferred location.

Checking your s21 is valid is the first step.

I concur with the advice that you should wait to be evicted as the LA will have to house you.

However, in the meantime I would seek out a private rental. Prepare a solid portfolio of evidence showing that you have managed your finances responsibly since the IVA was initiated, together with proof of current earnings and assets, as well as employment contract and reference.

Many Landlords, including me, would consider you if it all stacks up.

And this

What's renter's insurance for to do with a s21…?

If it's issued through letting agent I would assume they have all paperwork done properly but have heard examples of shoddy wrong stuff which invalidate the s21 and means you can ignore it.

But when bailiffs come you have to leave so need somewhere by then or risk having to go to some suboptimal option like a hotel room which means you lose all your stuff.

If she goes down the homelessness route, the council store her things free of charge. So let's not panic about that.

Disability sometimes means that the council will put you in a third party private let until a HA property comes up so it's not all from kitchen sink stuff.

Are you in a big city, OP?

Please go to your local citizens advice and get some free help and advice on this. yes lots of landlords are issueing these notices which is exactly what landlord associations warned the new govt they would do if no fault evictions were removed. you are one of hundreds possibly thousands in this situation. this is what happens when housing policy relies on someone else to put up the money and build and let the properties. its a mess and its going to get worse. hope you get the help and support you need. good luck.

It will take a lot more than a few weeks to evict you and it won't only buy you time, it will entitle you to emergency housing by the council and the right to be assessed and supported to obtain ongoing housing. In your position I would ask the landlord to give you an extra 6 months and explain you'll be able to find yourself a new private rental after January, otherwise you'll have to wait to be housed by the council. If he has any sense he'll agree.

Stay put. You will be a housing priority with the local authority, you have a disabled child x

You can look on OpenRent and speak with LL’s directly as they’ll be making a decision on whether they want to house you or not as opposed to an EA who will automatically shut you down.

Any chance you have a guarantor?

If not, you’ll need to contact the LA’s homelessness team which can usually be done online. You’ll let them know that you’ve been served and they’ll tell you to stay put until the bailiffs turn up. If you leave before then you’ll be considered voluntarily homeless and the council won’t have a duty of care.

It depends where you are in the country but you’ll either be placed in TA and placed on the LA’s bidding list or you may be encouraged to private rent. Many council’s in London have private LL’s that they work with in order to reduce the amount of people living in TA. Good luck OP, I’ve been in this position myself with not one but two disabled children, it’s horrible

I can't add to the above advice, except to say when I had rental properties I would have accepted you as a tenant.

im really sorry about your ex DH putting you in such an unstable situation, especially with your DS. You sound like you're doing pretty well now though. I hope you're in a position to buy before too long.

mind you, with the way things are headed if I still had rental properties I'd be selling them

people need to be careful what they wish for & actually understand the consequences!!

I'm no expert on renting but my instinct questions whether it's wise to put yourself in a situation where bailiffs evict you, in this circumstance. If you are just months away from the IVA dropping off and being a perfectly good tenant - wouldn't refusing to leave mean you end up with terrible references from the only landlord you've had in the last 6 years, which would then ruin your future tenancy prospects?

Have you considered shared ownership - part rent/part buy?