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AST staying beyond notice period

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  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    this is my mums reply
    She seems to hve done all the right things - like go to housing advice. They have admitted they have a duty to rehouse and will give her priority as she has a child and is not in arrears (ie intentionally homeless).

    The court may give her extra time, as it is not arrears. (The easiest way to get possession is through arrears - the hardest is through anything else!)

    Whether the council have a property might be an issue. It depends where the area is and what kind of housing stock the council have. Most councils have a shared waiting list with all the housing associations in the area for permanent housing. They mostly have a very small stock of temporary housing and often resort to B&B, although this is expensive for them, and don't like this arrangement to last too long.

    At the end of the day, if the Local Authority have admitted they have a duty to house, they will. They have to.

    It may be that the person can wangle it through the courts that she can stay long enough in the present home, so that the council or HA have time to find something suitable to offer her?

    The problem with getting a property larger than her needs is that she won't get enough housing benefit to cover her costs. With the new Local Housing Allowance, if she is entitled to two bedrooms, then she will only get housing benefit for two bedrooms! Tghis will be her entitlement whether she is in a one bedroom house or a five bedroom house!

    I am sorry that I cannot help any further. I hope she is ok and gets sorted soon.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    katralla wrote: »
    I already get priority housing status because of my daughter so no, I actually told the bloke that my health/medication/whatever was none of his business, to whic he raised an eyebrow but... it makes no difference so...

    Cool fair enough. It is none of their business unless you chose to tell them :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    im pretty sure it works on a points basis, you get a point for having a child, another point for having mental health issues, etc etc. Most points wins. It would probably be in your interest for them to know

    In my area they do like points for allocating council housing but there are other factors for short-term emergency housing and they have special mental health key workers at the housing department.

    Not that it's helped me really but at least I know that if I do get evicted from here then I won't be on the streets :)

    That said they don't always think of the logical things, once they suggested a homeless hostel to me that did mental health support but was totally out of my hospital and doctors catchment so I would have been practically starting over again treatment wise. And you literally had to sleep there everynight to keep your place so I couldn't have visited my Dad for a weekend or that sort of thing without losing my housing.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Fucking hell, why can't people just give a simple answer to a simple question?

    To cover everything:

    If you have been served with a section 21 notice this must end on the last day of your rental period (i.e. the day before your rent becomes due). It must give you two months (if your contract is monthly) or eight weeks (if your contract is weekly) notice. It cannot be set for a day within the fixed term of your contract. It can only be served if you have an assured shorthold tenancy.

    If you do not leave when the notice expires the landlord must apply to the court for possession. There is no defence to a section 21 application for possession. If the court orders possession you will usually have 28 days to leave the property.

    If you do not leave when the court orders you to then the landlord must return to court for a warrant of eviction. This will mean that the bailiff will come and evict you.

    Any costs that the landlord incurs will be payable by you, but the landlord will have to return to court again to get a county court judgment (CCJ) against you to enforce those costs.

    If you have been served with any other type of eviction notice, get legal advice ASAP. You can call Shelter on 0808 800 4444 or pop into the Shelter housing aid centre in Gateway House on High Street.

    There's a brief guide to making a homelessness application here.

    The council have admitted that they have a duty which is a good start. This means that they have to find you somewhere. It doesn't have to be a council property straight away and they can place you in B&B or hostel. Given that the councils are penalised if they have too many people in temporary accommodation they may try and sweet talk you into taking a private tenancy. Think about it carefully before you do this; if you can get a council or housing association tenancy you're in a much stronger position in the long term.

    If you are in receipt of income support you automatically get full housing benefit. If you rent from a housing association or council this will cover your full rent. You will only be affected by Local Housing Allowance if you rent privately. LHA will pay you a maximum amount towards your rent, depending on how many children you have, and you can find out what the LHA rate is on the council's website. The LHA rate changes monthly but your LHA rate is fixed for 12 months from when you make the claim; if the LHA goes down, you don't have to find the extra suddenly. If you're on a low income you should get some housing benefit or LHA, but there may be a reduction due to income.

    Tell the homeless officer about anything that affects your health as the more you say the more priority you are. Points mean prizes with homeless legislation. If you're a vulnerable person because of mental health difficulties it makes a big difference. It can even mean that social services have a duty to house you if the housing department can't find something suitable for your health needs.

    I would strongly suggest that you go and see Shelter, rather than ringing them up, if you can get to the nearest housing aid centre in the centre of Birmingham. We can do more for you face-to-face than over the phone. If you can't get to the office ring Shelter on 0808 800 4444, the line is open until midnight.

    If you have any problems send me a PM. You might be able to guess who I work for from the plugs;)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Spoke to Shelter on the phone in the end. Guess what... The notice is not in the slightest bit valid! Am still going to leave though. They REALLY REALLY want me out. Various people have been phoning on landlady's behalf to remind me of the notice etc. Neighbours have been asking my daughter while she's out playing whether I'm packing up yet. One of them called the police claiming they heard worrying noises when she was just having a bog standard tantrum. The landlady's 'husband' (yeah, right!) phoned me up last night and threatened me, with implied violence and with taking me to the cleaners at court. TWAT. Bloke at Shelter said there was stuff I could do about that too but, seeing as I'm leaving anyway, I think I'll just leave it, happy in the knowledge that I am completely in the right here.

    There should be a list of bad landlords so people know who to avoid. These cunts haven't done gas checks since sept 05, we've had no heating or hot water for er... months. When I did used to point out things that were their responsibility that needed fixing they'd be really curt about it and mention putting the rent up.

    Then they serve me an invalid notice and insist it's valid. Spend their whole inspection, slating me, slagging me off and harping on about how they've been doing me such a great favour by letting me stay in their house and have the use of their furniture and everything. Yeah, great favour, you've been abroad the whole time and wouldn't have been using it and... duh! oh yes, I've been PAYING you, not my definition of a favour. I could go on and on and on but... ta da, I feel better now. I might go and plant some woodworm in the rafters! - joke lol
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    id do that!!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Kippers nailed behind the skirting board is your best bet...

    99% of landlords are twats.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Couldn't do it - terrible waste. Have grilled kippers the morning you leave
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Your neighbours and the landlord sound like complete wankers. Haven't got any advice really because I know zilch but I hope everything gets sorted soon.
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