Terrible State!

[Lea_HTH]

how to i post on here... it asked for web url which it obvo doesnt have

 

Okay, don't worry about it. Just answer these questions instead.

 

1. What date is your rent payable on - and is it weekly or monthly?

2. What dates are provided on the notice - there should be two, one giving the date the notice is effective from, and one giving the end date - i.e. 2 months apart?

3. What date is given next to the LL/agent's signature?

4. What date was the notice served on you, and how was it delivered?

[pinkcob]

so does that mean that despite being evicted , as it's a non fault possession not stating arrears that even though i have them they can't find me intentionally homeless... hope you got budget and can see pics

[Lea_HTH]

Your jpegs are far too small to read. See above post.

[Lea_HTH]

so does that mean that despite being evicted , as it's a non fault possession not stating arrears that even though i have them they can't find me intentionally homeless... hope you got budget and can see pics

 

Well, no - the actual possession proceedings are likely to be no fault - but whether the local authority sees it this way will probably depend on whether or not they lose their deposit due to your rent arrears.

[pinkcob]

Okay, don't worry about it. Just answer these questions instead.

 

1. What date is your rent payable on - and is it weekly or monthly?

2. What dates are provided on the notice - there should be two, one giving the date the notice is effective from, and one giving the end date - i.e. 2 months apart?

3. What date is given next to the LL/agent's signature?

4. What date was the notice served on you, and how was it delivered?

 

1. monthly the first of each month

2.dated 6th jan requiring possession on 11th march no other dates

3. no date by agents signiture just letter dated 6th jan

4. was received as sign for letter persumably on the 7th but can't remember and no date on envelope

[pinkcob]

1. sorry 12th of each month states first day of each rental period so 12th

3. the letter isn't dated at top of page in date space... it's dated at end on details above agents signiture 6th

Edited February 8, 2012 by pinkcob
more info

[Lea_HTH]

Without getting too technical, if the notice states what you have said it does regarding the dates, then it is incorrectly served, as the notice must END on the day before a rental period - in your case, on the very last day of the month - so it should be 31st March, not 11th, at the very earliest.

 

The notice must also state that possession is required AFTER the specified date.

 

 

EDIT: Okay, based on your subsequent post, the notice is valid as you indicate rent is due on 12th.

[pinkcob]

thank you for your reply,,, as you will see i ammended info above,,, rental period starts on 12th and rent payable on 12th so hence they state 11th to leave by, sorry i misread... the only difference i can see is notice says on or before 11th march and not after

[Lea_HTH]

I haven't got your budge sheet - but you have a bit of time in any case as court proceedings haven't been instigated as yet.

 

Clearly your focus should be on trying to reduce your rent arrears between now and the point at which you are actually evicted (there is no defence to a s21 notice if it is validly served - which yours appears to be).

 

Let us know how the meeting with the council goes and we'll take it from there.

[Lea_HTH]

thank you for your reply,,, as you will see i ammended info above,,, rental period starts on 12th and rent payable on 12th so hence they state 11th to leave by, sorry i misread... the only difference i can see is notice says on or before 11th march and not after

 

Okay, this is why I asked to see the notice - shame the jpeg was too small. To be valid it has to say AFTER, not before or on.

 

By virtue of what you have stated (I cannot be conclusive as I haven't see it), the notice is invalid. Take it with you to the local authority and ask them if they can check it out for you - they should have someone with some knowledge of correctly served notices in the department.

[pinkcob]

thank you ! off in a mo and will update later

[pinkcob]

Didn't go well, council irritated, annoyed and unhelpful at this stage not on council housing list and they are also 'considering' homeless application, by the mood and questioning will class me as intentionally homeless... they said it didn't look good..

Does anyone know how long until they have to reply? They are looking into it and making investigations... Weren't interested in my mountain of debt... said I shouldn't pay bailiffs but what can you do when they will take car and then husband can't work at 3am?

[Lea_HTH]

They're right - you shouldn't pay bailiffs, and your husband should simply park his car three or four streets away and walk home. If they don't see it on the drive so they can check ownership, they can't threaten to take it.

 

Entirely pointless in the council staff behaving in an irritated annoyed fashion - what's done is done and frankly they know they have a duty to help your children if they become homeless, so ultimately, unless they want to take them into voluntary accommodation (care), then they are going to have to help you find somewhere else to live.

 

Okay - let's get cracking with the facts.

 

How much rent do you owe?

How much is the monthly payment?

How much income do you have coming into the household? (Include EVERYTHING).

How much in total are your unsecured debts that you are currently paying - and how much are you paying on a monthly basis?

[Lea_HTH]

Are there any benefits you are entitled to, which you are not currently claiming? Housing benefit, working tax credit, child tax credits etc?

[pinkcob]

but the only duty they have apparently if intentionally homeless is to temporarily house us in B&B or something until WE find somewhere... so could be in B&B months as no one will take us I've enquired ith every local agent !!!! ...

 

Have to collect children - will type up required info on return

[pinkcob]

we have taken a means average of my husbands ages over a 16 week period to make a monthly figure, we sometimes get housing benefit at £40 pw and sometimes nothing if income goes over threshold... so don't know what to put for that so put an average of £120..

monthlys: all income

wage £1412.20

working families £50.00

child benefit £188.40

child tax credit £632.16

Housing benefit £120.00

 

outgoings:(some include arrears or on meter)

rent £795

council tax £124.77 (again some weeks less)

water £55.00

Gas £94.50

Electric £112.50

tv licence £12

car insurance £80-79

school meals inc. son £225.00

cat £23-50

Food/housekeeping £465.00

birthdays/xmas £80.00

buses inc son £87.00

petrol £270.00

car service/repairs/mot £73.33

clothes/shoes £75.00

household essentials/repairs £30

health £16

Provident credit £90

son's train £47.25

Son's academy fee £35

phones/mobile £90.00

cigarettes £55.20

haven't done entertainment/holidaysschool trips or pocket money etc.... because we don't

 

we owe 3 months rent.

 

''How much in total are your unsecured debts that you are currently paying - and how much are you paying on a monthly basis?''' - what is this???

[Lea_HTH]

The local authority cannot just blindly state you are intentionally homeless without looking at the factors leading to it. Not paying the rent is obviously a contributory factor - but as I indicated in an earlier post, if a s21 notice has been served it is, by nature, a no fault eviction...your issue is that if you have rent arrears the deposit may be required to cover that. The local authority will then take that into consideration in deciding whether or not you are intentionally homeless.

 

If push comes to shove and the housing department refuse to assist you in rehousing, then social services will usually step in to assist - you will need to approach them - they also have funds which can be used for a deposit.

 

The biggest issue here is not really getting you rehoused, it's ensuring you stay housed, and to do that it is quite clear that you are going to have to submit to some debt counselling of some description in order to get your finances in order.

[Lea_HTH]

we have taken a means average of my husbands ages over a 16 week period to make a monthly figure, we sometimes get housing benefit at £40 pw and sometimes nothing if income goes over threshold... so don't know what to put for that so put an average of £120..

monthlys: all income

wage £1412.20

working families £50.00

child benefit £188.40

child tax credit £632.16

Housing benefit £120.00

 

Okay, I can immediately see that you are calculating on a four weekly basis for some things - e.g the child benefit. If you are getting that for three children, then it would be 204.10 per month, not 188...and if your older child is still in education, you ought to still be getting CB for her too.

 

Please post up the weekly amounts for the benefits - or the four weekly amounts if that is how you receive them.

 

outgoings:(some include arrears or on meter)

rent £795

council tax £124.77 (again some weeks less)

water £55.00

Gas £94.50

Electric £112.50

tv licence £12

car insurance £80-79

school meals inc. son £225.00

cat £23-50

Food/housekeeping £465.00

birthdays/xmas £80.00

buses inc son £87.00

petrol £270.00

car service/repairs/mot £73.33

clothes/shoes £75.00

household essentials/repairs £30

health £16

Provident credit £90

son's train £47.25

Son's academy fee £35

phones/mobile £90.00

cigarettes £55.20

 

Okay, some of the adjustments are going to seem quite harsh, but I will point out the reasons for them. I will get to these in my next post.

 

haven't done entertainment/holidaysschool trips or pocket money etc.... because we don't

 

They would have been the first things to go.

 

we owe 3 months rent.

 

Is that three months in addition to the two months the council paid in advance, or are the two months in advance reducing that to owing one month?

 

''How much in total are your unsecured debts that you are currently paying - and how much are you paying on a monthly basis?''' - what is this???

 

You said that you were paying other debts - what are they, how much in total are they, and how much do you pay each month towards them? For example, you have above "Provident 90' - what is the outstanding debt that you are paying that towards?

[pinkcob]

I don't get CB for my eldest at uni obviously and they have reduced it to 188 .40 even though my son in full time education, i have queried it before but they say it is correct. No we owe just three months outright..... but still owe the council 'some' of the two months approx £475.

debts - unsecured - 40 k's worth to many many different people who basically we mostly don't pay anymore because there is just not the available funds... so end up with bailiffs who hen have to be paid to go away and then fail behind some more... viscous circle

[Lea_HTH]

Okay, I have gone over your budget - just a quick question - is there any reason whatsoever that your children have to have school meals? The reason I ask is that you are paying 225 per month for school lunches - that is nearly HALF your monthly budget for food for the entire family!

 

Two simple cuts in your budget will enable you to afford all your outgoings with a small sum over, and those are to give your children packed lunches instead of school lunches, saving 225 a month, and to inform Provident that you will be reducing their payment from 90 per month to 25 pounds per month*. This brings your budget back into line with your income (leaving about 40 quid a month).

 

Now, even if you make those changes, it still doesn't give you much towards reducing the rent arrears between now and the time you are likely to be in court - so what other areas in your budget do you think you could realistically reduce?

 

*Write to Provident and explain that whilst you accept that the usual payment is 90 pounds per month, you are currently facing repossession proceedings due to rent arrears and you have no choice but to reduce their payment to 25 pounds a month until such time as the arrears have been cleared. They might not like it, but there's not a whole lot they can do about it.

[Lea_HTH]

Child benefit is 20.30 for the oldest child and then 13.40 for each subsequent child - so the amount you have put down is four WEEKLY - which is different to MONTHLY (204.10)...which means that the amounts you have put in for housing benefit, child tax credits, working tax credits etc are probably also four weekly - we need to calculate them as monthly, so can you check if they are in fact four weekly.

[Lea_HTH]

Are the mobile phones on contracts?

 

You're using the internet - so where is that payment?

[pinkcob]

oh I see my mistake in calculations... ill do them in a mo... ..................oh sugar!!! gave those figures to council!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I have spoke to son and he is willing to cycle which will cut bus... and try and get cigs knocked on the head but easier said than done atm and could do a few other things but can you explain how cutting arrears will help me for court? isn't it just get evicted... bailiffs onto me?

[pinkcob]

I log onto neighbours, she's my friend.... I stopped phone and internet as couldn't afford... one phone is contract others payg

[pinkcob]

I will cut out school lunches