Urgent advice leaving local authority housing

[Rich44]

Yes my wife is self employed but hasn't had any work, we get a tiny amount of WTC which is about £800 a year and then whatever the CTC is I can't complain moneywise (well I can but you know what I mean). It's just we were struggling to keep our heads above water before and then earlier in the year the rent went up by £40 a month (RPI + 0.5% + £2 per week) which was a massive kick in the teeth (2007 rent was £53 a week it's now £81) then we got into another mess in the summer for various reasons and because we were paying the rent out of the tax credits money it wasn't on the same day each month and we just made a right mess of it, before that I paid £400 and for Sept I paid £400 so it was coming off the arrears.

 

I've printed out a direct debit form for the rent and i'm going to get the arrears cleared tomorrow for sure! Is it worth writing to the landlord and saying we've cleared the rent arrears and here's a direct debit form to prevent more arrears if we pay the £100 court fees on top will you stop the proceedings?

 

I'm just gutted over the whole thing and my parents have paid for a family caravan Haven break for that week so that'll be out of the window I think now too, bigger picture I know but it all adds up.

 

Thanks to everyone who has replied it's a huge help, i'm off to have a little cry for a bit. I have ME and have stopped taking my Tramadol as it makes me violently sick so it means i'm in terrible pain 24/7 so this on top is enough to make you lose the will to live but hopefully we can get it sorted out...

[stu007]

Hi Rich44

 

Right as advised you need to speak either to CAB or Shelter to try and get this action stopped but most likely they may let it proceed since the action has been issued.

 

In your favour is you attempting to get the arrears paid off before court date.

 

Now with the housing was the letter notifying you of these proceeding the only time the housing association have notified you of this?

 

Did you have a payment plan in place with the housing association to pay off the arrears and if so were these payment paid on time?

[Rich44]

We had all of this about this time last year and we got the notice through, we then agreed a payment plan and stuck to it until August when I stuffed it up, I have been making payments of £400 to clear the arrears off.

 

We agreed £5 a week to clear the arrears which were not struggling with then the rent went up by just shy of £40 a month in April and we found it much harder to keep going, I wrote to them and to our MP stating that £40 was an outrageous rent increase but was basically just told to go away. Anyway we kept it going until various things happened and August and Sept were late as they were paid with tax credits rather than the wages which made them late hence where this has come from.

 

I'd already paid £400 earlier this week then today we got the paperwork saying we owed £1180ish, obviously £400 was off of that figure immediately as i'd already paid it and i've been trying (after much scrounging) to pay another £790 to get us clear but the bank put a stop on our account earlier because they thought a transaction was dodgy it's just taken 3 phone calls and a 10 mile round trip drive to sort it out so now about to attempt the payment again.

 

Do you think it's worth writing to the landlord and saying the arrears are gone, we'll pay the court fee will you stop? Or is that likely to upset them more?

 

Thanks so much to everyone, nearly in tears what with this and then the bank problem too

[stu007]

Hi

 

There is no harm in speaking to them to try and prevent the court proceeding.

 

I would suggest if you do try to actually speak with them either "Head of Housing Services" or "Senior Housing Manager" and just be honest about your circumstances as you have here and if they have a "Welfare Advice" officer or similar make an appointment with them for welfare/benefits advice.

 

The difficulty here is that you entered into an agreement of a payment plan with the housing association to pay the arrears off and you now realise the consequences of failing to keep to the payment plan they are seeking possession. It is always difficult is situations like this but my advice is to be open and honest with the housing association, keep them upto date with payments etc and seek there advice and help as they are there to help.

[Rich44]

Thanks very much, after loads of calls to Santander and trips to ATMs I managed to get our account unblocked there was a transaction they didn't like the look of and they put a stop on it. So that's now sorted and i've paid another £790 so including the £400 i'd already paid I think that should be the rent FULLY up to date and we'll make another £400 payment on pay day in 2 weeks plus setup a direct debit to prevent it from happening again.

 

I've written this is it ok, i'm trying to not make it sound to whiney or woe is me etc

edited as it's now sent and don't want them using it to google this thread just in case...

Edited October 5, 2012 by Rich44

[citizenB]

Your letter sounds good. Please keep us updated

[45002]

Right i've now dug out all the paperwork the secured tenancy mentioned was because we did a mutual exchange and the previous tenant was on one on subsequent paperwork it is referred to as an Assured tenancy and as we've only been here since 2007 I assume reading around that is the correct type of tenancy.

 

 

Hello Rich44

 

Assured tenancy or HA Secure tenancy ?

 

Can i ask the date you moved into the ordinal property before you did the exchange ?

Edited October 5, 2012 by 45002

[mariner51]

I suggest you may only have set up a Standing Order with your bank, as DDs cannot be initiated by individuals.

Also payment is not guaranteed as it relies on 'sufficient funds avail on day of payment'. Or if payment taken you could end up with unauthorised overdraft and sig bank charges. SOs are not subject to DD Guarantee.

 

As for your letter, I would withdraw offer to overpay rent once arrears have been cleared. Use this 'overpayment' to increase your bank balance to ensure you have enough in credit to meet rent SO on due date, thus smoothiing gaps between rent due date and later benefit payments ideally keep 1 month rent in your acount at all times.

Also ask CAB to appoint a personal budget/debt management adviser who will talk you through your income/outgoings and advise you what are your priority debts and what you can afford. It may be painful but no more than the financial CCJ & pot eviction abyss you are facing.

[Rich44]

Hi

 

We've gotten all our debts and budget stuff all sorted out now, my job was just moved up a scale at work that has also helped. It is a direct debit as I have filled the form in off their website and have posted it off to them, can't setup a standing order with the bank online at the moment due to a mess they have created with this OTP system but that's another story...

 

We'll call CAB today and get an appt to see someone.

 

I appreciate that a DD is not a guarantee of being paid but surely it shows more willing as it costs them less to administer and in the absence of the payee cancelling it should you have insufficient funds available you're going to get a huge bill from the bank. It was just a thought anyway.

 

Thanks

[Rich44]

Hello Rich44

 

Assured tenancy or HA Secure tenancy ?

 

Can i ask the date you moved into the ordinal property before you did the exchange ?

 

1990 something I think that was a local council before we exchanged

[45002]

1990 something I think that was a local council before we exchanged

 

Thanks,I was just checking to see if it was Actually a Assured tenancy sounds like it was !

 

who's was the named tenant on tenancy agreement/rent book when you 1st moved in ?

[Rich44]

Everything is in my wife's name (we weren't married when we moved in)

[Rich44]

Ok just heard back from the Housing Officer they are dropping the court case as of Monday as we're now in credit with them. They are going to put that in writing to us as well. Thanks for all the advice, can't tell you what a relief it is.

[45002]

Everything is in my wife's name (we weren't married when we moved in)

 

It may be worth you noting,that Assured tenants in some cases can challenged a rent increase via RCA- Rent assessment committee

 

http://www.justice.gov.uk/tribunals/residential-property#rent

 

http://www.justice.gov.uk/contacts/hmcts/tribunals/residential-property

 

If you wish to challenge any future rent increase must be within 28 days of the notice of rent increase and in writing to RCA,they will then assess your claim !

 

Ok just heard back from the Housing Officer they are dropping the court case as of Monday as we're now in credit with them. They are going to put that in writing to us as well. Thanks for all the advice, can't tell you what a relief it is.

 

Thats is good news

Edited October 5, 2012 by 45002

[stu007]

Hi

 

Also with the Rent Increase as they will be a Registered Social Landlord they should consult the Tenants about any proposal to increase rents something to bear in mind for next time is to respond to the rent consultation.

[citizenB]

Excellent news

[Rich44]

Regarding the rent increases:

 

We got some paperwork thru the post last Feb time advising that the rent will be going up by £38 which is the government formula for social landlords rent increases which is RPI + 0.5% + £2 per week.

 

We didn't have any form of consultation as such and we did think about but the paperwork said a tribunal could decide the rent could go up even MORE than that so we didn't dare appeal the increase as we live in a very high value area 70% or so of the village is owned by second homers and as such there's v little private rents available which in turn has driven the cost right up (2 bed home £800 pcm). The paperwork intimated that the tribunal would look at this and decide that the rent could go up a lot more as the cost of private rent is so much higher as it would still be affordable in comparison.

 

Can't believe that in 2007 our rent was £53 per week and it's now £81 per week - wish my wages had kept up with that

[stu007]

Hi Rich44

 

"We got some paperwork thru the post last Feb time advising that the rent will be going up by £38 which is the government formula for social landlords rent increases which is RPI + 0.5% + £2 per week".

 

That is interesting as firstly the Government does not set Social Landlords a formula for rent increases and if they did it would be all social landlords that would have to implement this.

 

This I would question and ask for further evidence from the housing association to justify this claim (housing policy, legislation, acts of parliment etc) as this is actually what the Housing Associations Board has approved the rent increase to be and not the Government as it is part of the Housing Association Business Plan.

 

Oh almost forgot you could also write to the association and request a copy of their "Rent Setting Policy".

 

With my own HA everytime there is a proposed rent increase all tenants recieve information on this proposal with the full reason for the decision giving tenants the opportunity to respond to this proposed increase whether they agree or disagree this is generally done 4weeks before it then goes in front of the HA Board with the outcomes of the consultation period for their discussion and or approval.

Edited October 7, 2012 by stu007

[mariner51]

Depends if you did the wages calc.

2007 rent = £53 p wk, 2012 = £81 p wk, increase = £28 / wk, not the £38 increase qouted earlier. I assume this is the first rent increase since 2007.

What are the true figures?

[45002]

Regarding the rent increases:

 

We got some paperwork thru the post last Feb time advising that the rent will be going up by £38 which is the government formula for social landlords rent increases which is RPI + 0.5% + £2 per week.

 

We didn't have any form of consultation as such and we did think about but the paperwork said a tribunal could decide the rent could go up even MORE than that so we didn't dare appeal the increase as we live in a very high value area 70% or so of the village is owned by second homers and as such there's v little private rents available which in turn has driven the cost right up (2 bed home £800 pcm). The paperwork intimated that the tribunal would look at this and decide that the rent could go up a lot more as the cost of private rent is so much higher as it would still be affordable in comparison.

 

Can't believe that in 2007 our rent was £53 per week and it's now £81 per week - wish my wages had kept up with that

 

Rich44

 

Do you know or can you find out exactly the date you moved/tenancy started in the previous property ?

[Rich44]

Depends if you did the wages calc.

2007 rent = £53 p wk, 2012 = £81 p wk, increase = £28 / wk, not the £38 increase qouted earlier. I assume this is the first rent increase since 2007.

What are the true figures?

 

I never said there was no change between those years just stating the start and finish points. My wages are significantly less than back then but that's not really important, I was just saying that IMHO over that time frame it is a very large rent increased (but still cheaper than private rent)

[Rich44]

Rich44

 

Do you know or can you find out exactly the date you moved/tenancy started in the previous property ?

 

I can find out I'll post back when I've got the papers out.

 

Interesting about the rent as they replied with a similar answer to my mp when I complained to him (believing it to be governments fault). I will take that further as they'll be trying the same in 2013 as inflation is still high....

 

Thought I'd read this before

 

http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/SN01090.pdf

 

That's the formula and that's what they claim is the maximum they can put the rent up each year until they reach the target rent

Edited October 7, 2012 by Rich44

[mariner51]

What is the 'target' rent for your property?

What is the the applicable LHA (HB) for your property/size of family unit (Ts)?

As your link suggests, the target rent should have been achieved in 2012, convergence has ben delayed to 2015.

The annual increase in Social Housing rent is enshrined in formulaic Statute, along with some rail fare increases and private rent-controlled Ts. As you say, your social housing rent appears to be below local private reent for much of the UK, I would suggest you may have cause for complaint if it exceeds rel local LHA average.

Many social benefits and allowances are currently avail as overal income to provide essentials, food warmth shelter.

[EveOwes]

I've worked with HA's in the past as an internal auditor, and most of them take their tenants to court loads of times, and tenants stay because they agree to a payment plan. It's only when they don't pay that eventually a judge will authorise the eviction order. HA's often complain about how hard it is to get tenants out. However, in your case, you've bent over backwards to pay your rent despite the huge hardship you and your family must be going through at times. Just make sure they don't go to court behind your back, whatever happens. And best of luck.

[Rich44]

Latest update is:

 

I have in writing via email that the HA were not going to continue court action after we managed to clear the arrears off. Today we received a phone call just before 5pm that they were going to continue to court to recover their costs and that we don't need to submit a defence nor do we need to attend court.

 

Does anyone have any further advice on this? Do we submit a defence, send the email in saying there was no further action?

 

We only have 6 working days before court now, we didn't seek any legal advice prior to this as we were told that they weren't going to do this.

 

V worried now.