Yay more Fun - Housing Association Rental Repossession

[PlanB]

Re: Yay more Fun

I have contacted Shakespeare's and told them I am appealing. Also CC'd them in emails to HA so they are aware of my constant fight to get the required justice.

Good for you

You may need to turn detective and see if you can find neighbours willing to give statements supporting your side of the story on those anti-social complaints. You can also get people to be character witnesses to say what a lovely family you are Perhaps a letter from your GP about your health problems would help to melt the heart of the HA

There are legal procedures they must follow, but there is also a Code of Practice for all Housing Associations to treat people fairly and repossession must only be used as a last resort. Remind them of that too

[Paul.]

Re: Yay more Fun

Good for you

You may need to turn detective and see if you can find neighbours willing to give statements supporting your side of the story on those anti-social complaints. You can also get people to be character witnesses to say what a lovely family you are Perhaps a letter from your GP about your health problems would help to melt the heart of the HA

There are legal procedures they must follow, but there is also a Code of Practice for all Housing Associations to treat people fairly and repossession must only be used as a last resort. Remind them of that too

Fantastic advice from PlanB

i must admit housing isnt my strong point, but fortunatley it is Planb's

[PlanB]

Re: Yay more Fun

Fantastic advice from PlanB

i must admit housing isnt my strong point, but fortunatley it is Planb's

Don't dump on me when you're supposed to be the lawyer around here

I didn't know about that Supreme Court Case you posted and that's been sent to all the LawWorks clinics I know. It's proved to be unbelievably helpful when stapled to a F*ck Off letter to a Housing Association

[Paul.]

Re: Yay more Fun

Don't dump on me when you're supposed to be the lawyer around here

I didn't know about that Supreme Court Case you posted and that's been sent to all the LawWorks clinics I know. It's proved to be unbelievably helpful when stapled to a F*ck Off letter to a Housing Association

its helpful no doubt, but as i said i am not au fait with housing not like i am with CCA stuff

[kilasuit]

Re: Yay more Fun

Don't dump on me when you're supposed to be the lawyer around here

I didn't know about that Supreme Court Case you posted and that's been sent to all the LawWorks clinics I know. It's proved to be unbelievably helpful when stapled to a F*ck Off letter to a Housing Association

F*ck Off letter


hmmm

Tempting to just tell them that. Arsewipes

[PlanB]

Re: Yay more Fun

F*ck Off letter


hmmm

Tempting to just tell them that. Arsewipes

I know it's tempting to tell them to f*ck off but this is a time when you need to bowl underarm not overarm They hold all the cards with a Starter tenancy agreement which expires shortly and I don't think they have any obligation to renew it You're on the back foot a little bit. You need to defend your position rather than attack them (save that for your complaint later!).

I would go back to the CAB which helped you sort out your arrears last time and get them to fight your corner. Once your HA sees you have an official organisation behind you they should co-operate

I would play all the cards you have right now such as 2 year old child, recently laid off work but actively looking for a job, being treated by your GP for depression which could see you classed "vulnerable" in legal terms, and nowhere else for you and your family to live if evicted because the Council will treat you as *intentionally homeless* if your conduct is an issue and so will probably have no duty to re-house you.

The CAB will either sort this direct or refer you to a solicitor who takes Legal Aid cases which would be even better

[PlanB]

Re: Yay more Fun

Me again. Read this link from the Housing Ombudsman service because it tells you how to make a complaint about your HA to them if you think the HA has not treated you fairly. Start by asking for the HA's Complaints Handling Procedure leaflet (they all have to have one) and that should set the tone for what follows and they'll know you mean business

If nothing else once you've started a formal complaint's procedure any repossession proceedings should get put on hold. It might just work so give it a go

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

[kilasuit]

Re: Yay more Fun

small update i rang HA at 16:50 friday and requested at least an additional week due to being unable to get a CAB meeting

Phonecall Tuesday saying thats fine have until Tues 24th to get it to them.

I am now thinking that i could use UTCCR against them due to the fact that we pay service charges as do the 2 knobheads that i have belief that the complaints have come from.


My thinkin is that even though we dont have access to the communal hallway (we have our own front door) we still pay charges for its "upkeep" and then theres this bullshit with cars etc.

I think that using this in a compliant would trip them up massively. I mean they have already in my mind tripped up due to negligence to provide details of appeal process with the NOP

Also as a major stab back i am making a few complaints due to the knobheads misuse of the car park and i'm going to put forward the suggestion of car clamping when misusing the car park in this way.

Thinking that if i give them much more work to do now that i am no longer working and have the spare time on my hands it would make the case stronger in my favour to show that i was just unable to service their silly little complaints due to time constraints which i can back up with my worked hours etc but now i am a more active and socially aware member of the community.

Does that make sense?

[kilasuit]

Re: Yay more Fun

I have just i think come up with a viable and very strong argument towards the HA.

Constructive eviction. Except they have now issued formal proceedings.


It all makes sense tbh as from things said and written point towards it.


time to claw thru absolutely everything.

And time to make a certain HO rather stressed.

[PlanB]

Re: Yay more Fun

I have just i think come up with a viable and very strong argument towards the HA.

Constructive eviction. Except they have now issued formal proceedings.


It all makes sense tbh as from things said and written point towards it.


time to claw thru absolutely everything.

And time to make a certain HO rather stressed.

Did you email/write to Shakespeares solicitors to tell them that you intended to appeal against the Notice of Eviction. Because if you did then they shouldn't have issued proceedings

If the possession proceedings summons has arrived I think you need to deal with that first. It's probably an 8 page document with loads of questions for you to complete. One of them should be a box for you to tick in answer to "Do you intend to defend . . . ". I would put a tick in the *Yes* box to prevent possession being granted automatically (by default).

There should also be a question asking you whether you want more then 14 days to leave the property after possession has been granted. Possession may not be ordered but answer the question anyway. I think you can put the maximum which is 56 days from memory. It will usually ask you for a reason so why not tell them that you and partner and small child will be homeless if you are evicted

If there are arrears on the summons and the figure is wrong then you usually have an option to challenge that on the form. Some solicitors would say that procedural error alone is enough to find the application for possession is defective and an order can't be granted (a bit like a bad DN)

The summons should say the "grounds" they are relying on for the possession. Is it conduct, arrears or what? You will need to defend only what you are being accused of rather than go on the attack on other issues unless there are repair issues which you can usually use as a counterclaim and a reason for withholding rent so you'd not effectvely be in arrears.

Is the tenancy is joint names with your partner? Are the anti-social complaints against both of you or only you? It would be unfair to evict your partner and child if you were the only person alledgedly causing problems and not her (or baby). If one of the grounds for possession is conduct then look into this issue.

I strongly advise you to go back to your CAB contact and get them to fill in the form (and help you with your defence) which will have a time limit for return just like any other county court summons paperwork. If you miss the deadline you'll be sunk

[PlanB]

Re: Yay more Fun

I am now thinking that i could use UTCCR against them due to the fact that we pay service charges as do the 2 knobheads that i have belief that the complaints have come from.

My thinkin is that even though we dont have access to the communal hallway (we have our own front door) we still pay charges for its "upkeep" and then theres this bullshit with cars etc.

I think that using this in a compliant would trip them up massively. I mean they have already in my mind tripped up due to negligence to provide details of appeal process with the NOP

Also as a major stab back i am making a few complaints due to the knobheads misuse of the car park and i'm going to put forward the suggestion of car clamping when misusing the car park in this way.

Does that make sense?

I'm not a lawyer but I'm not sure how UTTCR could help you here

The tenancy contract should spell out what service charges you will have to pay and what these will cover. It's common to have to pay towards things you don't use however annoying this may be. Flats in basements get pissed off at paying towards roof repairs but they still have to if the tenancy agreement states payment for all maintance of the building. It usually does.

If the "Knobheads" have been making complaints against you but you feel you have a complaint against them, then why not make that formal. There will be a channel for making official complaints so you could do this. However, if your defence is that you are the victims of a bullying or hate campaign then this would be unwise because it suggests a tit-for-tat situation.

Another option is to ask the HA to arrange a meeting between you and the "Knobheads" which will be an opportunity to sort this out. The HA will have a representative to chair (referee!) the meeting and a lot can be achieved to calm the situation and even get the "Knobheads" to withdraw their complaint(s) when they see what a lovely young man you really are After all if they withdraw their complaints then the HA won't have grounds for possession (unless rent arrears are still an issue although try to sort this in advance of any hearing).

Your mission is to stop the repossession and at the moment your best tool for doing that is a good solid defence and not an attack on the HA. They can withdraw those proceedings at any time if they chose to, so I'd be working on getting their sympathy and understanding rather than rubbing them up the wrong way, since they hold all the cards when you're on a temporary *Starter* tenancy agreement. But I think you should ask the CAB person what they think instead of me telling you what I think

[PlanB]

Re: Yay more Fun

I've started the paper trail and gonna get messy with them about this all.
I'm currently at doctors to see about getting something for depression to hopefully help me deal with this all. And again also a good thing for all issues at present and gives me some ability to be sane again.
Also constantly in pain in my jaw so hoping to get some painkillers to help soothe that too as buying co-codamol and diclofenac is costing a bomb and unfortunately that's all that working to kill the pain.

I've been thinking and maybe this would be the moment to play the sick card with your HA. A letter from your GP to say that you're been helped through a rough patch and the threat of homelessness is making your health issues worse could help. It's got to be worth a try if it gets the HA to withdraw or *stay* those possession proceedings

[kilasuit]

Re: Yay more Fun

Whoops made a big mistake there. Bit too tired at the time methinks

The HA and Shakespeares havent issued formal proceedings yet. i believe that they will Weds 25th which is the day after the revised appeal deadline.

[PlanB]

Re: Yay more Fun

Whoops made a big mistake there. Bit too tired at the time methinks

The HA and Shakespeares havent issued formal proceedings yet. i believe that they will Weds 25th which is the day after the revised appeal deadline.

That's good news. And since you have other good news of a £1,000 windfall from McDees, maybe clearing off any rent arrears a.s.a.p. would be sensible because it'll be much harder for the HA to get possession of the property based only on conduct issues. They'd need to have solid evidence with photos, sound recordings for noise allegations before a DJ would believe it was anything other than neighbours squabbling.

Keep us up to speed on what happens next

[kilasuit]

Re: Yay more Fun

That's good news. And since you have other good news of a £1,000 windfall from McDees, maybe clearing off any rent arrears a.s.a.p. would be sensible because it'll be much harder for the HA to get possession of the property based only on conduct issues. They'd need to have solid evidence with photos, sound recordings for noise allegations before a DJ would believe it was anything other than neighbours squabbling.

Keep us up to speed on what happens next

Should i not just point that out to them.

I just find it funny that there was supposedly a variety of petty complaints all silly things and then from January onwards when a new HO was appointed to the area the complaints were regarding only 1 matter.

Seems that its a push push shove tbh.