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Eviction from a temporary accommodation - can client appeal? Cl has 10 days
Hi All,
I have a cl in a desperate situation, our housing team has absolutely no capacity and I cannot give her housing advice. I was wondering though if I could just check with you guys what is the correct procedure here
Cl in a temporary accommodation since May 2022 (was homeless, pregnant, placed in TA, lost the baby, mental health issues, stopped working, did not put a new HB claim, did not pay the rent, UC refused- failed HRT).
Cl received a letter from the Housing Options
The letter reads: ‘Provision of accommodation in accordance with Part VII Housing Act, (address) nightly let
I am closing your accommodation placement with effect from 29.02.24. Your last night at (address) will be 28.02.24.
The managing agent has been informed of the closure date and will contact you to arrange collection of the keys’
Only now she contacted us. I am trying to get her HB reinstated and recalculated which would clear out half of the arrears, she failed HRT on UC (but is a retained worker, so fingers crossed) so working on those two, and planning to ask the Housing Options for more time.
Cl contacted the Shelter and was told this letter is not a proper notice, she should be given an eviction notice with her appeal rights. Contacted the solicitor, and was told no help under legal aid until UC is resolved. If she is evicted in 10 days and made herself intentionally homeless, she will end up on the street. This 10 days is dooming and the DWP and Benefits Team (LA) will not reconsider my MR requests within 10 days. It appears that none of the teams knew about her mental health deterioration.
NB She did show me multiple emails to her rent officer where she wanted to arrange the payment plan and apparently, for whatever reason, that was never done. I may not have the full story. She is seeking a housing solicitor.
My question:
what can the cl do in terms of the letter if that is not a notice of eviction? Can they appeal it? It is after all a decision, isn’t. Can she simply email them explaining she is working on HB issue, needs more time and is willing to start paying? Will she have to vacate the property on the 29th? What happens if she does not?
There is a different procedure with an eviction form the temporary accommodation than with the private one, but I do not know it so I would appreciate some insight into the matter of the letter versus a notice, please.
I would greatly appreciate your thoughts,
This is not housing advice but I would get on the phone with Housing Options, outline the ways in which you can reduce the arrears, emphasise the babyloss and do some begging to see if they will allow a pause on the eviction action. I’d also do new HB claim. This is probably all known to you but just my two cents!
I think Tim(othy Seaside) and Elliot have some background in homelessness cases, hopefully one of them will see this. I would suggest editing the thread title to attract their attention, or send them a link in a DM.
I am just wondering whether the arrears are not the main issue here - obviously she doesn’t want debt if she can avoid it, but I’m not sure that clearing the charges will get her homeless file reopened. I think the problem might be that the Council no longer considers that it has a duty, for either of two reasons:
- she is not eligible for assistance because of her residence status - this can be dealt with in the same way as benefits
- potentially a larger obstacle is that she is not in priority need as she is not pregnant and does not have a child. Her MH issues might be relevant in that case.
There should certainly be a right of review under s202 of the HA 1996, unless there has already been one
Hi Rebecca,
Thank you, I am liaising with the Benefits team who are very helpful and considering recalculating the previous HB claim and backdating the new one based on nil income (HB was already put in), so that’s already good news. I will speak to the HO, I was wondering though what is the correct timeframe for their action, because depending on that, I will change my strategy. I know a bit about private sector, so obviously S21 Notice does not equal to moving out; this knowledge is so helpful when discussing the rent arrears, etc. With the TA though, it might be different, I would imagine, presumably easier to evict someone, and knowing the cl’s realistic deadline (as opposed to the one on the letter - maybe?) would help me to a lot. But thank you anyway!
I think the problem might be that the Council no longer considers that it has a duty, for either of two reasons:
- she is not eligible for assistance because of her residence status - this can be dealt with in the same way as benefits
- potentially a larger obstacle is that she is not in priority need as she is not pregnant and does not have a child. Her MH issues might be relevant in that case.There should certainly be a right of review under s202 of the HA 1996, unless there has already been one
That crossed my mind, although I would expect some kind of a decision on her HRT, whereas the letter only reads about her rent arrears. I am trying to obtain more info, although difficult within such a short time.
I also agree with the priority matter and informing the HO team on her mental health issues.
Thank you so much for the s202, this is so helpful!
Not really enough information to advise.
People accommodated under homelessness duties do not enjoy the same levels of security as tenants and can, in principle, be evicted without any court process at all. There are authorities to the effect that reasonable notice should still be given, but what exactly that means in a given case is not altogether clear.
As Peter hints at, your client’s eviction is more likely to be a symptom of a decision which has been taken in the course of their homelessness application than an independent event. There are many reasons why that could happen and, in part, they will depend on what legal duties she was actually being accommodated under to begin with.. What that decision is should have been notified to your client in writing and will usually carry the right to seek a review.
If the eviction doesn’t relate to any homelessness decision and the council is evicting her due to rent arrears instead, I would be concerned as to whether the council has discharged its obligation to provide suitable accommodation, given that if she cannot afford it and they refuse to pay her benefit, it is hard to see how it would be suitable.
I am not sure we can go much further than that without understanding the actual reason for the eviction.
I would be suggesting that the first step is that she needs to consider any letters she has received from the homelessness team and/or contact the homelessness team and ask for and explanation and copy of these letters.
Thank you Elliot, I wrongly assumed that there is a certain process, e.g. a particular notice on a specified form, later application to the court within certain time limits, etc, etc. I do not know much about the housing law. It appears that a different approach must be taken and proper understanding of what led to this stage, etc, etc which would be a matter for the Housing Solicitor to assist with, although I will encourage the client to obtain SoRs, and all of the decisions made in the process.
I hoped it would be a simple (silly of me, it is never simple) matter along the lines of ‘the client has x weeks to act’, which would give me more time, whereas that’s not the case.
Thank you All for your contribution!