Hi, I'm in a terrible mess and need some advice. I live in a rented flat owned by a housing association. Due to a break up in my marriage I have been unable to pay the last 2 months rent payments and yesterday received a letter that they were applying to the courts on 21st July for a repossession order. I am a working single mother with 2 children, but I cannot afford a higher rent by renting privately. Help

Hello Acoyle,

I am replying using the assumption that you live in the UK.

If you have received a letter from your landlords saying that it is their intention to apply for a Possession Order from the County Court, I presume they have tried to work the problem out with you and failing that have issued you with a Notice of Eviction which sets out the reason why they want possession, together with your rights and details of where you can go to seek advice.

Your Housing Association must give you at least 28 days notice to vacate your home. If, after that 28 days you are still living in their property they have to apply to the County Court for possession.

The court will notify you of the time and date of the hearing and will give you the opportunity to contest the application or tell your side both in writing and in person at the court hearing.

In the UK hearings where possession of your home is sought are held 'In Camera' (No press or public are admitted)

The UK courts are normally extremely reluctant to issue Possession Orders to tenants, especially where young children are concerned and they should offer you the opportunity to start paying your normal rent and make a reasonable offer to pay off the arrears either weekly or monthly.

If you can offer to do this the court will very probably issue a Suspended Possession Order. This will be suspended as long as you continue to pay your current rent and the amount you agreed to pay in order to clear the arrears.

If you continue to make regular payments the court will set aside the Possession Order once the arrears have been cleared.

However, if you fail to make the agreed payments your landlord will be entitled to go back to the court and ask for the Possession Order to reinstated. You should again be given the opportunity to explain why you have failed to keep to your agreement but unless you have a really good reason, the order is likely to be given and you should be given at least another 28 days to vacate your landlords property.

Let us hope and pray it does not come to that.

The best advice I can give you is to:

1) Contact your landlords and ask for a meeting with their Housing Officer to try to find a solution which will prevent the need for them to take legal action.

2) Contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB). The CAB are excellent in dealing with problems of this nature and may well be able to act on your behalf with your Housing Association. The CAB is a free service and is totally confidential. They are very often extremely successful in helping people in your predicament;

Or,

3) Speak to a solicitor. You should be able to get a first consultation free and you may be entitled to Legal Aid.

4) If you can find and pay your weekly rent and a little off the arrears from now on, your landlords are likely to take this into consideration. So will the court, if it gets that far.

Personally I would contact the CAB before a solicitor.

One thing that I wonder is whether you may be entitled to benefits. Housing and Council Tax Benefit, Income Support and/or Tax Credit. You may be entitled to help even though you are working.

You should ask the CAB for advice on this too. Also contact your local Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) and request advice about claiming for Income Support etc.

With regard to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit, contact your local Council and apply for these benefits from them.

If you are on a low wage, you may well be entitled to help with your rent, council tax and/or state help.

My advice is to contact your local council and the DWP immediately, today if possible. Any claim you make starts from the date you apply.

Even though you are divorced or no longer live with your husband, he is legally and morally obliged to help to maintain your and his children. You may also be entitled to support from him for yourself. Again the CAB will be able to advise you about this.

If you can get financial help, I doubt it will cover the 2 months rent you already owe. You are still likely to be responsible for paying this, but if you do get any of the benefits I mentioned above, or financial help from you ex, this can go toward paying off what you owe.

I am sure your landlords do not want to see you evicted from your home but of course they also want their rent.

My apologies for the length of this reply but I wanted to cover as many bases as I could in order to help you.

The very best of luck and I hope this advice has been of help and everything works out well for you and your children.

Please post a reply once this has been sorted out letting us know how you got on.

Cy
(Poseidon)