What Legal Help Am I Entitled To?

[hollyjessica]

I am privately renting a flat in a house (converted into flats) on an assured shorthold tenancy agreement. I am up to date with all my rent payments and currently owe my current landlord / estate agent nothing. The council are purchasing the property - where I am renting - as part of a local scheme to regenerate the area and have told me they have to rehouse me. At the moment in time apparently they have nothing to offer me so they have been trying to get me another rental in the private market.

They found a suitable property for me to rent with a local estate agent and this is where the problem has been. I supplied my current agent with a months notice I wanted to stop my current tenancy verbally, and I submitted my information to be vetted and I submitted a guarantors information as well to the new property the council found privately for me to rent, but because I have adverse credit back from several years ago now when I was a student I failed the credit check. This is even though I no longer have any student debt it's all been paid off and cleared - I spoke to the individual companies this morning who have sent me emails of receipt showing my debts are clear.

I contacted the credit check company and updated them on their incorrect information but as a result of the unsuccessful check the letting agent aren't now willing to rent me any property even though I have explained all this about the debts being clear and telling them I have the emails and evidence to prove it and said I can get the company doing the checks all the receipts of the debts paid.

The council have paid them a months rent upfront for me and paid a new deposit for me as well so when I got rejected for the tenancy this morning and they phoned me, understandably I was very upset and the council woman on the phone was extremely rude and said some horrible things to me which sent me in tears.

When I was making the application for the rent I explained to the letting agent I had prior debts relating to my student days but told them correctly I had been accepted for my previous tenancy. And to top it all off I have received a written eviction notice from the council but with no date for it to take effect so I don't know what it all means?

I can't talk to anyone at Shelter about the situation until wednesday is there anything I can do in the mean time?

[AlwaysConfused]

Stay put until you are evicted, you will then be homeless. Once homeless, the council will rehouse you. Go the the CAB as soon as possible, they will give you advice and inform you if your rights

[themas]

1. If you are of working age, not disabled or vulnerable, & have no children then the Council does not have a duty to house you under homelessness legislation. It is also questionable whether they have do so simply because they are buying the property you are living in. (It is quite normal for tenants to have to leave if a property they are in is sold or is repossessed by the mortgage lender.)

2. However, you say the Council "told me they have to rehouse me", which seems to imply they do recognise an obligation & are now trying to go back on it. I suggest you either try to contact someone at a more senior level in the Council Dept. concerned, or else contact your local Councillor & see whether he/she can help you.

3. You say you provided the new property's agent with guarantor details. In that case, I don't understand why they have refused you (assuming they found the guarantor acceptable). The purpose of having a guarantor is to provide the landlord with security in case the tenant defaults in paying rent - which is what they are obviously afraid of in your case. I suggest you enquire more into this to find out why they rejected the guarantor (if they have done so).

4. Going to CAB for help asap is a good idea.

5. You say you supplied your current agent with a month's notice. You need to be quite certain your tenancy agreement allows you to do this. If you are still in a fixed term then it probably doesn't, unless the landlord (i.e. the present owner unless the Council will have bought within the month) agrees.

[lcg]

1. have you been accepted as statutory homeless, unintentionally and in priority need by the local authority and received a letter from them confirming this and stating that they have a duty to rehouse you?
2. if the council are compulsory purchasing the property and you have children under 16 yrs and/or a significant medical problem which makes you vulnerable under the terms of the homelessness act - then you fulfil the criteria set out in no.1........if this is the case and you have not received an official letter stating they have a duty to rehouse, then that is what you need to do first (get that letter off them, pronto!). if you do not fulfil that criteria, then their duty to you is 'advice and assistance' only and they do not have to provide you with accommodation.
3. assuming you do fulfil the criteria, they have a duty to house you, which could be temporary accommodation first of all which could include b+b and is unlikely to be suitable for your needs if you have a family while you are waiting for permanent housing to come up. they can suggest, cajole, badger and even lie that you 'have' to accept private rented, but that it not true - you can insist solely n council accommodation only. if they have given you that letter stating they have a duty to rehouse you, then that duty remains until you are found PERMANENT accommodation, or you accept the offer of private rented places
4. as for the eviction notice, they cannot evict you without going to court - the court will find in favour of the council and will provide with a date after that......usually 28 days from the court hearing, unless you can prove/provide evidence of extenuating circumstances. once that date have expired/gone past.....the council can go back to court to apply for a bailiffs warrant to enforce the court order and will give you another date (again 28 days) and you will then be turfed out - and then homeless.
5. contact a housing solicitor or wait to speak to shelter to verify this information is up to date and correct
6. don't panic yet and don't allow the council to try and force you into doing anything. nowt will happen until after the new year.....bailiffs are lazy over the xmas period!!!

this info is provided by my hubby who was a homelessness officer for 10 years, so is the truth in a nutshell. some councils are crap and will try anything to force you into private rents (it lessens pressure on their own housing stock) and even omit information from discussions unless specifically asked about - this is where shelter or the solicitor will be of help (do not go to the cab, they do not know enough about housing to help you when things get complicated.

basically, the crux is....have they said they have a duty to rehouse you....and sent you written confirmation of this....if not, GET IT ASAP and demand that they write to you at this point stating their duty to you. if they paid out money before a credit check and it is now refused, then that is their problem, not yours (councils can be stupid like this!) - and if they did....it does suggest to me that they do have a duty to you, as they do not like flashing money around unles you have to. i will subscribe to this thread and see how things go for you, so do continue to post and update us. mr kicker knows the law inside out and every trick in the book....so ask away. good luck and try not to worry......regards, lisa x

[lcg]

p.s. meant to say an eviction notice without a date means they have not gone to the court yet, so they cannot evict you and it will take the 2 x 28 day periods AT LEAST to get you out. they will more likely than not do this after the new year, so DO NOT panic yet.

you have also given notice to your current landlord verbally, which does constitute a contract exists for that purpose (if you are able to do that under the terms of you AST tenancy. check this out with shelter and it may be that you can't do this and have more time to work things out. if so, inform your landlord asap. if the contract remains and exists....and the council have a duty towards you....then they still have to help you as they have participated in a huge cock up and they need to sort it out.

[tonywiltshire]

You sound to be a responsible person who has taken the right action to date, as you know which credit agency the agent used, obtain a copy of your file which they will provide for £2 and which will reveal why you are having credit problems, you can then write to the agency to have the information corrected. This of course takes time, the agency has 28 days to reply, but you are dealing with Shelter who are an excellent organisation.
Keep the Local Authority and agents aware of the position; you can speak to someone in authority in the LA if you have not found someone there helpful in the past. With the LA having paid a month’s rent in advance, paid the deposit and you having obtained a guarantor the agents are not being helpful in their lack of cooperation, remind them of this. You will not, of course, move out of your existing accommodation until you can enter the other.

[lcg]

if the council has a housing advice service, they may also be able to help and support you x

[Canary42]

I suggest you make a formal complaint to the council about the rudeness of one of their employees - I know I would, like a shot.