Yay more Fun - Housing Association Rental Repossession

[kilasuit]

Re: Yay more Fun

Sue(CAB advisor) rang me yesterday after speaking to Pat Greenhouse from Marches and Someone from Shakespeares.

Looks like they are going to push for possession regardless on rental arrears being settled.

What would the chances be of defending it?? I only ask as i dont wish to loose our current right to social housing especially whilst i'm not working.

Once i start working it wouldnt be as much of a problem but still make things difficult

[PlanB]

Re: Yay more Fun

Sue(CAB advisor) rang me yesterday after speaking to Pat Greenhouse from Marches and Someone from Shakespeares.

Looks like they are going to push for possession regardless on rental arrears being settled.

What would the chances be of defending it?? I only ask as i dont wish to loose our current right to social housing especially whilst i'm not working.

Once i start working it wouldnt be as much of a problem but still make things difficult

If you say (in an earlier post) that the summons for possession states that rent arrears are the legal grounds (section 8) for possession then I can't see how they'd get an order if there are no rent arrears

But they have also issued you with a section 21 Notice which gives the Landlord the semi-automatic right to take possession of the property once the fixed term has ended. But surely they can't just swap one legal ground for another If the HA want to pursue you under section 21 then I think they would have to issue new proceedings. Ask the CAB lady to clarify this point once you've had a good look at the summons.

Just double-check they didn't put both s.8 and s.21 as the the grounds for this summons. Some Landlords put both in case one fails and the other can be used as an alternative in court It is odd that they should only go after getting you out for rent arrears when they could more easily go after you with section 21, except if they get rent arrears embodied in a court order they will find it easier to enforce payment

At least if you have no order for rent arrears (because you've paid them off) you should not be deemed *intentionally homeless* by the council and you could be re-housed if you get a possession order. If that happens you normally have to accept the first offer they make (and I doubt it'll be a 3 bed house with a garden), because the Local Authority only has a statutory duty to provide you with a roof over your head and that could be in anything vaguely habital and not necessarily ideal (it's subject to availability of housing stock in your area).

I'm still hoping that once you've paid off the rent arrears you can ask the HA to give you a second chance to stay for a further six months on the promise that you're looking for somewhere else to live and have applied for a transfer

[kilasuit]

Re: Yay more Fun

Off to local solicitors to see if can sort out the S21 and rental arrears and form a defence now.


Seems like my day aint gonna stop

[PlanB]

Re: Yay more Fun

Off to local solicitors to see if can sort out the S21 and rental arrears and form a defence now.


Seems like my day aint gonna stop

Things usually get resolved once the other side know you've got a solicitor involved HAs tend to take advantage of tenants who don't know their legal rights

You're in receipt of benefits at the moment so you should get Legal Aid to cover the initial advice (i.e. today's meeting). If you end up in court next week you can ask to see the Duty Solicitor who can be your advocate at the hearing. They're usually pretty damn good at getting possession proceedings adjourned or stayed if the tenant is in receipt of HB

Take your tenancy agreement and possession summons with you to show the solicitor today.

[kilasuit]

Re: Yay more Fun

Apparently have pretty much no defence at all.

Off to grab the rental lists from the estate agency's

[PlanB]

Re: Yay more Fun

Apparently have pretty much no defence at all.

Off to grab the rental lists from the estate agency's

I'm sorry to say there is no defence to section 21 but you can try to negotiate your leaving date with the HA to avoid an eviction

If you pay off the arrears before the hearing you should only get a possession order on the Grounds of s.21 with no reference to arrears written into the order so you shouldn't be deemed *intentionally homeless* by the council. The order will state the date by which you are supposed to leave the property. Did you put the maximum 42 days on that form otherwise it may be as little as 14 days? If you don't go voluntarily on that date (and why should you) the HA will have to get the court bailiffs to evict you and they'll need to apply for a warrant from the court first.

Read this http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_ad...steps_involved

But as soon as you get the possession order go immediately to your local authority housing department with a copy of the order and they should start the re-housing process before your eviction date. Some councils will wait until you have the Warrant for Eviction before they act on their statutory duty to re-house you.

Whatever happens a warrant should give you a minimum of five days notice and in some circumstances you can apply to the court for a delay.

I still think there is time to plead with the HA for a mutually agreed 'out date' but leaving by consent may not give you the automatic right to remain in social housing as you may not be considered priority if you're not facing eviction.

[PlanB]

Re: Yay more Fun

Apparently have pretty much no defence at all.

Off to grab the rental lists from the estate agency's

I probably shouldn't say this but if you're planning on moving into the private rental sector and not relying on the council to re-house you, is there any advantage for you to pay off those rent arrears in one go before the hearing The arrears sum won't evaporate once the HA has obtained a possession order but you can probably pay them back by instalments over months or years if you're on benefits. Ask the CAB if you can do this.

The only reason to pay them off a.s.a.p. was to (a) prevent the possession order under section 8 (arrears) but that's been scuppered because you've noticed that they are also seeking possession under section 21 (no fault) which has no defence, and (b) to avoid being labelled *intentionally homeless* due to rent arrears so the council won't re-house you.

You need professional advice on this because you could end up homeless if you get it wrong

* Disclaimer: I'm only giving you information so you can go and ask the right questions from legal advisors (CAB, Shelter and/or your solicitor) who will give you the right legal answers - I am definitely not giving you advice I'm simply giving you ideas to check out *

[kilasuit]

Re: Yay more Fun

I probably shouldn't say this but if you're planning on moving into the private rental sector and not relying on the council to re-house you, is there any advantage for you to pay off those rent arrears in one go before the hearing The arrears sum won't evaporate once the HA has obtained a possession order but you can probably pay them back by instalments over months or years if you're on benefits. Ask the CAB if you can do this.

The only reason to pay them off a.s.a.p. was to (a) prevent the possession order under section 8 (arrears) but that's been scuppered because you've noticed that they are also seeking possession under section 21 (no fault) which has no defence, and (b) to avoid being labelled *intentionally homeless* due to rent arrears so the council won't re-house you.

You need professional advice on this because you could end up homeless if you get it wrong

* Disclaimer: I'm only giving you information so you can go and ask the right questions from legal advisors (CAB, Shelter and/or your solicitor) who will give you the right legal answers - I am definitely not giving you advice I'm simply giving you ideas to check out *

Needless to say this thought had ran through my mind.

Hence at present me not actually paying arrears off but setting an equivalent amount aside.

Also on the RA's basis i reckon i can argue that the RA's built up due to their fault and subsequent failings to follow my request to re-confirm the DD on the correct date and then subsequent denial and refusing to acknowledge this failure.

I'm still not sure that they are seeking repossesion under S21 so will scan and upload the court papers in a short while.

[PlanB]

Re: Yay more Fun

Needless to say this thought had ran through my mind.

I'm still not sure that they are seeking repossesion under S21 so will scan and upload the court papers in a short while.

Why does that not surprise me

Didn't you take the court papers to the solicitor today because they're the best people to ask about the grounds for seeking possession All I remember is that you posted up a section 21 Notice which you received in June because your tenancy agreement was due to expire in August

[kilasuit]

Re: Yay more Fun

Claim PDF attached

Claim.pdf

[PlanB]

Re: Yay more Fun

Claim PDF attached

[ATTACH]6154[/ATTACH]

Point 4 in the POC states: "The reason the Claimant is asking for possession is: Expiry of a notice pursuant to s21 of the Housing Act 1988 and rent arrears". It looks as if the HA has covered both bases I'm afraid

But you can get a bad s.21 Notice just like you can get a bad DN so get that checked out a.s.a.p. (Did you keep the envelope as proof of service?) Take it to the solicitor or the CAB for an opinion because it's surprising how many possession proceedings get slung out on the back of a faulty s.21 Notice You've got nine days left to fix this which could still happen if you get advice from the pros

[PlanB]

Re: Yay more Fun

I've looked at the Rent History in that summons again and it shows no rent paid between 27th August and 10th September Is this because of a problem with your Housing Benefit which I think you said was being paid direct to the HA or is it being paid as an allowance direct to your bank account

If there is anything technically wrong with that summons then you stand a chance of getting the claim dismissed

It also refers to an arrangement to pay the arrears. Is that a previous arrangement for previous arrears, or does that relate to the current arrears because if there is a current arrangement in place a court would consider a suspended possession order on the condition that you keep to the arrangement.

[kilasuit]

Re: Yay more Fun

HB is being paid 4 weekly in arrears

[kilasuit]

Re: Yay more Fun

If memory serves me, you said HB was paid directly to the HA.

Yeah its paid 4 weekly in arrears to the HA.

[PlanB]

Re: Yay more Fun

Yeah its paid 4 weekly in arrears to the HA.

If the HA is getting HB direct and you enter into an agreement to pay the arrears then CPR Pre-Action Protocol says: "if a tenant complies with an agreement made after the issue of proceedings to pay the current rent and a reasonable amount towards the arrears, the landlord should agree to postpone court proceedings so long as the tenant keeps to such agreement".

http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/pro..._rent#IDAJJ0HC

You say there's a £15 per week shortfall in HB paid to the HA due to a previous overpayment which is being clawed back. If you can manage to pay that £15 from now on plus a "reasonable" amount towards those arrears then you may still be able to rescue this situation. If the CAB approach the HA on your behalf this could be negotiated. You'll need to sign a letter of authority for them to act on your behalf and give a copy to the HA (it's a Data Protection thing otherwise the HA can refuse to talk to the CAB).

Why not give that a go