Homeless hassle
Question
My landlord has defaulted on his mortgage payments and I am now facing eviction. I have already been told that I could come home to find all the locks changed and not be able to collect my belongings. I am very worried about this as I have two young children.
Answer
If you rent your property privately and your landlord doesn't live there with you, you probably have an assured shorthold tenancy. Most people who rent this way do.
Unfortunately the mortgage company's (also known as 'lender') right to repossess the property will normally override your right to live there. However this can be a complicated situation and your rights, including any right to remain in the property, will depend on the specific circumstances.
There are certain situations that would allow you to stay in the property after the lender takes possession. These situations are quite rare but you may have the right to stay if:
- Your tenancy began before your landlord took out the mortgage
- or your tenancy began after the mortgage was taken out and the lender has agreed to the tenancy
- or the lender takes over the position of your landlord - they do not have to agree to this but it is worth contacting them to ask
A tenancy granted after the mortgage was taken out can become binding on the lender if they do something to recognise you, the occupier, as a tenant - for example if they ask you to pay rent directly to them. Lenders will usually avoid this by refusing to accept payment of rent or by calling it something else.
If a tenancy is not binding on the lender, and they repossess the property, they can evict the tenant without a court order. The lender will be able to take action to have any occupiers evicted as part of the action to repossess the property.
So unfortunately, unless one of the situations outlined above applies to you, when the mortgage company takes possession of the property they will be able to evict you as well, even though you haven't done anything wrong and have a valid tenancy.
If your landlord's mortgage lender has a possession order and intends to take possession, you should receive a notice from the court informing you that bailiffs will be coming to repossess the property. This notice (form N54) should be addressed to the defendant in the possession proceedings (i.e. the landlord) and 'any other occupiers'. It tells you when bailiffs will be coming and may only give you a few days' notice.
You may want to start looking for another property to rent. If you are worried about your belongings, you could ask if family members, friends or colleagues can take care of them for you or, if you can afford it, you might want to consider paying to put them into storage.
If you are evicted and have nowhere to live you can ask your local council's housing department for help because you are going to be homeless. Anyone who is homeless, or who soon will be, can ask the council for help. This is called making a homeless application.
A homelessness application is different to going on the council waiting list as it's a way of getting help in an emergency. So try to make sure the council understands that you need help because you are going to be homeless. If you are homeless and you have dependant children, the council should provide you with somewhere to stay straight away while they look into your situation.
Once they have looked into your situation they may have a duty to provide you with on-going temporary accommodation until they can offer you a suitable permanent home. However this does not apply to everyone who is homeless so they will want to check a few things out.
If the council say that they won't help you they have to give you a letter explaining why. You should then have the opportunity to challenge this decision. A local housing advisor or a solicitor should be able to help you apply for housing and deal with the council if you have any problems. Many advice services are free and if you are on a low income or receiving benefits then you may be able to get assistance through legal aid.
You can find details of local advice centres in Shelter's Advice Services Directory. Community Legal Advice also run a national helpline on 0845 3454 345 offering specialist advice and support on housing rights and problems for people on a low income.
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Updated: 15/04/2010
Question answered by Shelter
