Sick with worry

Eglantine; 'If you are made homeless the council have a duty to find you accommodation "appropriate to your needs".' This is partly true, and in the case of Lin1959 definitely so because of her husband's disability. In general however homeless people have to be 'in priority need' according to strict criteria before the council have a duty to house them. This is why there are so many visibly homeless people on the streets. (See below*.)

Lin I would very strongly advise you to go along to your next MP's surgery (times and location will be on their website) and tell them your story. This will most likely be the quickest and simplest way to get the help you need. They may be able to talk to the council about the mix-up and get you reinstated on the waiting list, but if the council has no available (and suitable) properties you may well end up being offered private accommodation again.

*Councils carry out a 'part VII assessment' and to meet the criteria for re-housing applicants must pass five all tests.
They must be:
• Eligible for assistance
• Legally homeless (there are several definitions of homelessness)
• In priority need, for example with dependent children, with physical or mental health problems or expecting a child
• Not made homeless intentionally, through a failure to pay rent or mortgage (as well as other factors)
• Possess a local connection with the council, usually a former resident themselves or with close family who are residents

I am a Landlord and you have to be given 2 months written notice. As a tenant you will then need to inform council you have been formally served notice. Take a photocopy of letter with you. You don't say if LL already has a buyer or intends to put up for sale. You could ask LL if he would sell property with you as a sitting tenant. I have bought one property with a S T with 11 months left on their lease and they are good tenants and I renewed it recently for a further year.

I am a Landlord and you have to be given 2 months written notice. As a tenant you will then need to inform council you have been formally served notice. Take a photocopy of letter with you. You don't say if LL already has a buyer or intends to put up for sale. You could ask LL if he would sell property with you as a sitting tenant. I have bought one property with a S T with 11 months left on their lease and they are good tenants and I renewed it recently for a further year.

I used to work in social housing. If you are made homeless you will come under the priority need legislation. Make a personal appointment to see one of the professionally qualified housing officers - not one of the admin assistants - in the homelessness section of your council housing department to explain the situation. There should be a housing advice office in your area or you can ask someone to come and see you if you are housebound.

Also, make another appointment to talk to a qualified social worker in the elderly and physical disability division of your local social services department.They should link with housing to plan to provide you with suitable and affordable alternative accommodation and support. Also, contact SHELTER as others have advised. They will ensure your landlord complies with housing law.

Sheltered housing sounds like a good idea too. Such schemes will take people below retirement age with disabilities. You can apply direct to housing associations supported by a letter from the GP and/or social services or go through the council with the support of the homelessness officer. S/he will have links with all providers of these.

CAB people are great - as are MPs - but most will not be professionally qualified housing people so do try these other avenues first.
Don't worry more than you have to. You are people for whom provision needs to be made according to statute because you would be vulnerable. You will not be out on the street. Good luck.

Lin1959 I'd talk to your local Councillor, to be fair most of them work very hard to sort out problems and they have good local knowledge. Most hold some sort of surgery or you should be able to ring or email them, you'll get their detail on your local council's website. Really hope things work out for you, when people go on about a thriving private rented sector they don't seem to understand the lack of security for many tenants.

I think these council and government places deliberately don't send out letters and pretend they did. The more people they can take off their lists or sanction the better their budgeting appears to be to the auditors.

Contact CAB, your Local Authority Councillor and your local MP now.

Your landlord will need to get a section 21, if you cant move in the 2 months he has given you, not sure how it works but it gives you longer to sty there he cant force you onto the streets,
You can google it, and get a better idea than I can give you
Also go and explain to the council, that you didn't receive that letter

Also I'd encourage you to speak to a local Councillor. (Tel no. Available from your Town Hall)

We can break through the walls of unanswered calls and waiting times to make things a little easier for you.

Councillor Wendy

Straight to your local Councillors whether District or Local Authority. Send an urgent e mail and ask them to visit you as a priority as you would like them to meet your partner who cannot easily attend surgery. Write also to the Head of Adult services just as you have written here. Ask they send an Assessor. Do it asap. Mark both e mails urgent. Let us know how you go.

You need to contact the council and tell them that you are a disabled household and under threat of eviction/
homelessness so that they come and assess you.

Most times you will have to wait until you are actually evicted before the council will act. Get advice from CAB but don't be tempted to move out/in with family as you may loose some of your priority status

Have you considered applying for sheltered accommodation? As your husband is disabled and you are his registered carer you should be in a qualified position. As others have suggested, definitely go to Citizens Advice and also do you have a designated social worker, if so, they should be able to help with rehousing you in a suitable property. Best of luck and I hope everything is sorted soon for you

The landlord is unlikely to be able to sell quickly if prospective buyers view and see a sitting tenant who is likely to have difficulties finding alternate accommodation quickly so I expect he wants you out before he puts it on the market. I can see you are in a very difficult position but you don't know the landlord's situation either. If you have been a good tenant, could you ask him for more time?

This is one of the problems of renting and it should encourage as many people as possible to buy their own property. Even if it's a struggle financially, you are much more master of your own destiny then. However, if you did have to stay at your overcrowded daughter's house in the short term that would , hopefully, put you very high on a rehoming list.

Try contacting Anchor housing they are not social housing they are retired housing. Friends of ours were only waiting six weeks before they were given a ground floor flat, in any event all Anchor flats have lifts. The rent is inclucisive of all utilities. They pay £530 per month. Anchor have property all over the UK. I wish you well.

Excellent advice above from posters, see CAB, sort out the application to the council who will want a letter from your land lord. They should then give you a housing officer. And as someone said sheltered accommodation might be just right for you. could even be that this crisis is your opportunity. Do hope so. All the best.

Can't give any more advice but hope you get sorted soon ?

CAB ...MP ...Charities ...immediately ! Anchor Housing and similar schemes usually have someone who can advise you on your rights and go through all the benefits you may be entitled to that perhaps you are not claiming ..... the local CAB will probably know of all the schemes in your area ...some have the criteria that you are local ad not moving into an area from outside ......but PLEASE, as soon as possible, take action ...oh and you could also demand a certified copy of the letter the Council SAID it sent you which you never received .....good luck !

If you are on Facebook sign into tenancy matters they are excellent in the advice they give. They constantly recommend shelter as they are far better with legal matters and housing problems than CAB. They say that CAB often give the wrong advice.
I hope you find a solution soon, it’s a very worrying time for you.

Anchor housing sound like a good first try. Everyone being a little harsh on the house owner here, s/he may be in financial trouble and needs to sell up, not all landlords are Rachman types! Landlords can suffer ill health, job losses like everyone else. It may be inadvisable to dig your heels in or wait until you are evicted; it is a very distressing experience for all concerned, and may not look good on your record when it comes to applying for new accomodation. Really sorry for the position you find yourself in, so worrying for you, but hopefully this will lead to a secure housing association tenancy and no further worries.

The fact that you have been given notice to leave helps your council application. Get on to the council again. Does your husband have a social worker, if so get in touch and ask for help. The very best of luck to you.

Jacee’s Advice is absolutely accurate. go and see your local Citizens Advice or contact Shelter for assistance and remember you will be priority need for housing

Hi Lin
I work for Anchor Trust, they are a sheltered housing association.depending on where you live, you could put your name down for a 2 bedroom apartment. There will be a waiting list I am sure, but it is worth a try and in your circumstances, you never know.
You can find their number on the internet.
Anchor Trust
Hope it works out for you and I agree that it would be a good option for you.

Thank you for your feedback, the house is already on the market. Less than an hour after the Landlord phoned us to say he was selling we had the estate agents phoning to book an appointment to come round and take photos etc, this has all happened far too quick and to top it all off we are still waiting for our written notice from Landlord, after phoning him twice this week to get him to sort it, he says he will and then we hear nothing.

Keep nagging all the above. Good luck

jenpax please do not take this the wrong way, but can I point out that lots of posters before Jaycee recommended going to the CAB, including the first 2 posters? I agree Jacee's advice is correct and I mean absolutely no disrespect to Jacee, but it seems to me a bit rude to ignore the same advice given by the other posters (particularly when the thread is only one page long).

Lin1959 just a quick note to say contact CAB sooner rather than later because you might need an appointment and there can be a bit of a wait. It depends on your local CAB, so I would give them a call. The sooner you start the process to get advice, the more in control of what is happening you will be.