Yay more Fun - Housing Association Rental Repossession

[kilasuit]

Re: Yay more Fun

Now time to get together the horrendous list of paperwork that they wish to see.


I think i'll need a suitcase lol.

[PlanB]

Re: Yay more Fun

Set up a CAB meeting on weds regarding this so tues HOT @ council and weds Housing @ CAB

Good Luck with your meeting with the Housing Options Team tomorrow

At least listen to what they have to say even though I know that's not your style (I'm probably sounding like your mother now ) and then feel free to ignore the advice you're given. But at least you'll know what your legal options are because the law and what you (and I) feel we deserve doesn't always collide. Post up when you get back

[PlanB]

Re: Yay more Fun

Fuming and tempted to send some shit to them in the post stink their offices out for a day. Though probably produce more effective and efficient staff there as they are dire.

Probably not the best negotiating tactic I've come across

I would very be surprised if a DJ made a possession order which would effectively make your family homeless over a wheelie bin dispute. You haven't been given an ASBO so your alleged bad conduct is arguable. Plenty of tenants with ASBOs stay in their homes. But rent arrears is another matter. Try and keep calm until you see the CAB adviser next week.

You say you don't want to remain in the property anyway, so why not re-think whether McDonalds' offer of £2,500 to settle your dispute with them could be good timing. You could clear your arrears (or not!), put down a deposit on a new flat, have your rent paid by HB, and make a fresh start. I just thought I'd mention it as an option well worth considering.

[kilasuit]

Re: Yay more Fun

In our area all applications fall onto a choose your own home scheme that all HAs have to detail properties on.

I was verbally advised by current HO that at 1 year we could re-register for this scheme and now been told this conversation didnt happen. Also if we had been able to register before hand we would have been looking at getting out back in march as i was fed up of coming home to find more shit going on in the "community" regarding noise and also the parking issues.


Honestly i feel that in the "agreement" the clause to keep the house in a decorative state is a pisstake as the walls were only given a 1 coat paint job which we could tell as moving things around left scuff marks etc. Also Why would i want to waste money & time decorating a place that i was under the impression i wouldn't be living at for more than a year.

Its this clause and also a few others that i would argue against with the UTCCR as IMO it put us as a disadvantage totally.


Many landlords tend to deny tenants the ability to redecorate for the simple fact of its not cost effective as one of my mums previous landlords said to her about then after we moved out having to re-decorate


Fuming and tempted to send some shit to them in the post stink their offices out for a day. Though probably produce more effective and efficient staff there as they are dire.

[PlanB]

Re: Yay more Fun

Then why not tell the HA that you intend to move in the next 3 months and show them details of any applications you make to other HAs as evidence of your plan. If they see you're going to be leaving anyway they may not continue with the possession proceedings. Tell them that if they evict you for rent arrears this could prevent you from being re-housed by the Council (or a HA) and ask them to be patient (agree a mutual deadline for your departure because everyone likes a date in the diary).

This is all something the CAB ought to help you with. It may be wise to let Marches know that you have taken their advice (to see the CAB) and have made an appointment for next week just to keep them in the loop. If it works then this should put you back in control of your own destiny again

[kilasuit]

Re: Yay more Fun

That's a response to your complaint at the Stage 1 level. You can now escalate it to the next stage, and then ultimately to the Housing Ombudsman. You can also ask the Ombudsman to intervene at this stage as a go-between if you want so give them a call before your CAB meeting next week to see if they can help

http://www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk/canda.aspx?nm=19

If it was me I'd be tempted to say to the HA "sorry it won't happen again if you let me and my family stay at the property for a further 6 months probationary period because we've been having a shitty time of late with job loss etc etc". I'm definitely not saying they're right and you're wrong, I'm asking you to consider what you actually want from this situation. Do you want a full scale argument or do you want to keep the roof over your child's head

Plan B prefers negotiation to litigation whenever possible because once something goes to court you lose control and the DJ is the decision maker

We know what we want (as a family) and thats to be allowed to move to another HA and a better priced property for the size.

My partners brother has just moved to a similar flat but slightly larger and are paying less than we are (almost £20 a week ) just because its with a different area and HA.

[PlanB]

Re: Yay more Fun

That's a response to your complaint at the Stage 1 level. You can now escalate it to the next stage, and then ultimately to the Housing Ombudsman. You can also ask the Ombudsman to intervene at this stage as a go-between if you want so give them a call before your CAB meeting next week to see if they can help

http://www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk/canda.aspx?nm=19

If it was me I'd be tempted to say to the HA "sorry it won't happen again if you let me and my family stay at the property for a further 6 months probationary period because we've been having a shitty time of late with job loss etc etc". I'm definitely not saying they're right and you're wrong, I'm asking you to consider what you actually want from this situation. Do you want a full scale argument or do you want to keep the roof over your child's head

Plan B prefers negotiation to litigation whenever possible because once something goes to court you lose control and the DJ is the decision maker

[kilasuit]

Re: Yay more Fun

The fun that the postie brought this morning time for me to send back a brick of a response including all McDs evidence and point out the inefficiencies of their record keeping of the verbal conversations and subsequent denial of these happening by the HO's.


Really getting fed up with them now.

[kilasuit]

Re: Yay more Fun

It looks as if the HA are saying that the original section 21 Notice for Possession still stands which expires on 30th August (if that's your 'rent due' date). A section 21 Notice is usually served when a Landlord wants the property back at the end of a fixed term without having to give the court any reason other than the fact that the original tenancy agreement has expired.

Then it looks as if they've served you with a section 8 Notice as well which relates to rent arrears as being the legal grounds for a repossession which can sometimes mean a Landlord can seek to evict the tenant prior to the end of a fixed tenancy agreement. It states that unless the arrears are cleared they will issue possession proceedings on 3rd September.

These are both important legal notices and you need to get professional legal advice on how to respond as soon as possible, which is not something the Housing Options Team usually provide. I would go back to your contact at the CAB and/or that legal advice centre you dropped into last week. If it was me I wouldn't wait another 24 hours to get on top of this situation as it looks like they mean business

Set up a CAB meeting on weds regarding this so tues HOT @ council and weds Housing @ CAB

[PlanB]

Re: Yay more Fun

It looks as if the HA are saying that the original section 21 Notice for Possession still stands which expires on 30th August (if that's your 'rent due' date). A section 21 Notice is usually served when a Landlord wants the property back at the end of a fixed term without having to give the court any reason other than the fact that the original tenancy agreement has expired.

Then it looks as if they've served you with a section 8 Notice as well which relates to rent arrears as being the legal grounds for a repossession which can sometimes mean a Landlord can seek to evict the tenant prior to the end of a fixed tenancy agreement. It states that unless the arrears are cleared they will issue possession proceedings on 3rd September.

These are both important legal notices and you need to get professional legal advice on how to respond as soon as possible, which is not something the Housing Options Team usually provide. I would go back to your contact at the CAB and/or that legal advice centre you dropped into last week. If it was me I wouldn't wait another 24 hours to get on top of this situation as it looks like they mean business

[kilasuit]

Re: Yay more Fun

this is the most recent notice i have received

alot of inconsistencies throughout

[PlanB]

Re: Yay more Fun

I had had letters about rent arrears and them taking issuing a notice of repossession (yes another one) due to them last week

Fired an email off to them and received another letter stating intend to serve notice of repossession beginning this week.

Wait a minute. Are you saying that the HA intended to issue a second Notice of Possession on 30th July (which wouldn't expire until 30th September) but you haven't actually been served with it Because that may change things in your favour Surely they would only need to issue a second Notice if the first Notice was bad in some way, because as far as I'm aware a section 21 Notice normally has a shelf-life of 12 months, which means the Landlord doesn't have to keep issuing new ones then can simply apply for an Eviction Warrant when they feel like it after the expiry date

You'll have a lot to talk about when you get to see the Housing Options people next Tuesday so take all the paperwork with you. Believe it or not Housing Options are often unbiased even though they're funded by the council

Did you pay off some arrears when some backdated HB came through or something similar which has made them change their tune?

[kilasuit]

Re: Yay more Fun

That's a Section 21 Notice because you have a fixed term tenancy not a rolling contract. The Landlord usually has the automatic right to possession at the end of the fixed term (12 months in your case). I doubt you can appeal it in theory because it's a no-fault notice (the Landlord doesn't have to give a reason). But if you sit tight the Landlord still can't get you out without seeking a possession order through the courts. This generally takes 3 - 5 months from start to finish and they can't start the process until the s.21 has expired on the 26th of August.

Reading back thru i missed this.

although we have also received another notice in regards to rent arrears now as well.

[PlanB]

Re: Yay more Fun

Would it be wise to keep Shakespeares solicitors in the loop by sending them a copy of that email from the HA which says they're happy to wait for your HB and JS to get sorted to deal with the rent arrears.

http://forums.all-about-debt.co.uk/s...9&postcount=67

Unless the HA has instructed their solicitors to down tools they could still issue those possession proceeedings on 26th August as threatened because that's when the s.21 Notice expires. Better safe than sorry

[kilasuit]

Re: Yay more Fun

Maybe ask them what your options are if you want to move voluntarily. Would you be entitled to a transfer or even a house swap to another area if you like the idea of getting away from Mr & Mrs Knobhead who've been making your life a misery

Also check where you'd stand with re-housing if you are repossessed by the HA due to rent arrears. Some councils regard this as making yourself 'intentionally homeless' to dodge their statutory duty

Thing is its funny that we received these notices after asking about voluntarily transfers as we made it clear that we were unhappy living here.

then there was teh rent issue of pushing forward the DD by a week

and the local council would deem us intentionally homeless if for rent arrears.