Rent Arrears / No Heating or Hot Water?

Question

I have been given notice from my landlord due to rent arrears and I have 2 months to find somewhere to live.

I was claiming housing benefit up until I found a part time job at the end of May this year and informed the benefits dept of this. I still thought I would qualify as I only work pt and have a very small wage.

I have 4 children at home and am 5 months pregnant. I do claim tax credits for my childcare etc... I was informed at the end of June that from 2nd June I no longer will received any housing /council tax benefit at all, but by this time I already owed a months rent as I was not to know it would be stopped. This is the reason I am being evicted.

My 6 month tenency ends on 31 July and my landlord has already told me he wanted the house free as he has guests coming during the summer so I have a feeling I was going to be given notice anyway.

Due to not receiving any benefit at all now though I cannot possibly pay the full rent as it is too high and my whole wage would be taken up by the rent and council tax so really there is not point in me working.

The landlord has also told me that if I apply for council housing he will give me a bad reference which would mean I cannot be re-housed.

I already have mental health problems due to stress/anxiety and am currently having counselling and seeing my GP and on medication, and all of this is making things 20 x worse to the stage where I just feel at the end of my tether now.

Besides all of this I have had no hot water/heating for 6 days now as the boiler has broken and the landlord is saying until I pay the rent I owe he has not got the money to fix it. He said he would need to inspect it himself first, even though he is not a heating engineer, but he is "taking a 2 week vacation" in a few days time so cannot look at it before then.

Could someone please advise me what to do as being pregnant and having children I really need hot water if not heating too. I have no family at all to go to even to bath my children, and boiling the kettle 30+ times is getting a little too much for me.

Thank you so much in advance.

Answer 1

OK - firstly, bollox to everything your landlord has said.

1) The council would not request a reference from a former landlord, so whatever he says in neither here nor there

2) He is breaking the law by refusing to fix the boiler. He can legally be compelled to - contact environmental health TODAY. Any rent areas are irrelevant

3) Also be aware that you DO NOT have to leave the property when your notice in 2 months is up. If you are still there, he can apply to the courts to evict you. It'll take about 6 weeks to get to court, and the courts will give you 2 weeks notice. THEN, if you still don't go, your landlord will have to ask a court appointed bailiff to evict you, and that's likely to take another month.

Under no circumstances whatsoever can your landlord take steps to evict you himself - if he does you can call the police and he would be risking prison time.

So, regardless of your situation, you still have another 5 months or so in the property - time enough to find somewhere else.

ALSO: be aware that it is a criminal offence for your landlord to harrass you, including writing unpleasant letters, making any kind of threat, turning up whenever he feels like it - once again, he could be put in prison if he does anything like that. Your rent arrears are considered completely irrelevant, that in itself gives him no particular rights.

Good luck

Answer 2

citizens advice......sounds like my landlord  (total ****)

Answer 3

Ms Minger is correct. Your landlord is completely clueless.

Firstly, until your landlord gives you the correct notice, the process can not begin, so if I were you I would not ask for notice again, your 2 months only start when he gives the notice to you, as long as he has completed it correctly. As soon as you receive this, go to your housing officer or the CAB, they will give you help and support you need, you don't have to do this on your own.

All the time the landlord is paying stupid games, he is not getting his house back. Contact him to say if you have been without hot water for 6 days, and if he does not sent a heating engineer with-in 48hrs you will be calling one yourself and taking the cost from the rental. He is not allowed to hold your arrears as a reason not to repair. Nor has he any say in your getting a new property.

If he continues to harass you via email, keeps copies of it all and report him to the police, it is harassment.

Good luck