Rent arrears process
- When your account is in arrears, you will have received letters from Ealing Homes notifying you of this.
- Your Housing Officer-Rents will also have attempted to contact you by phone or by home visit to come to an agreement to repay the outstanding balance.
- If your account is still in arrears despite the above, it may become necessary to serve you
with a
Notice Seeking Possession, which is the first step in the Legal process to
repossess your home.
Guide to legal action - Leaflet
The stages for Legal Action For Rent Arrears are as
follows:
- First - You will receive a Notice Seeking Possession (A legal notice advising you we will be going to court if the debt is not paid)
- You will be invited to attend an interview with your Housing Officer to discuss repayment of the arrears
- Then - If you do not clear the arrears as per the agreement, your case will be referred for Legal Proceedings, and you will then receive Notification of a Possession Hearing at the County Court.
- Then - Depending on the payment history going up to the Court Hearing, one of the following outcomes will be sought at Court:
- If you clear the arrears prior to the court hearing we will withdraw possession proceedings, and seek an order for court costs only
- If you reduce the arrears significantly to a low amount we may consider requesting the matter be adjourned on terms (with Liberty To Restore if you default on payments)
- If you have not reduced your arrears significantly we will seek a Postponed Possession Order so you have to pay your weekly rent plus an appropriate amount off the arrears or we will seek an Outright Possession Order-which when the order comes into effect will end your tenancy
- An order for court costs of approximately £150 will be sought, and this debt will be added to your rent account.
- Finally - If you do not make payments as ordered by the Court we will seek a fixed date for Possession of the property, which means we can then apply for a Bailiff to attend and execute a warrant to evict you from your home.
Consequence of Rent Arrears
How else can Legal Action affect my Tenancy and me?
- If we refer your case for Legal action-you are likely to incur court costs of £150 or more –t his is an additional debt you will owe and will be added to your rent account
- If you do not pay as ordered by the Court you are likely to be evicted from your home
- You will not be allowed to rent a Council Garage
- You will not normally qualify for a transfer
- If you are evicted from your home for rent arrears-the Council will not normally re-house you
- A Possession Order is normally sought with a money judgement for the arrears-this may affect your credit rating in future.
- If the Court has granted A Suspended Possession Order, a Postponed Possession Order with a fixed date for possession or an Outright Order you will lose security of Tenure meaning you no longer have the rights of a secure tenant, and become a Tolerated Trespasser.
- This means you will lose all rights associated with a secure Tenancy such as the Right To Buy, and Right To Transfer/ Mutual Exchange.
Once the Court has granted a fixed date for Possession, we can apply for a warrant for
eviction. The Bailiffs Office will notify both you, and us of the time and date for the
eviction. On that day a Housing Officer will attend with the Bailiff and Locksmith to gain
entry and change the locks.
Occupants are advised to remove all possessions by the eviction date. In cases where
items are left in the property, they may be stored for up to 12 weeks only, after which they will
be disposed of.
Eviction
If you receive an arrears letter from Ealing Homes do not ignore it-you must respond to an arrears letter. Your Rents Housing Officer will try and assist you if you are having difficulties paying your rent. However, if you ignore attempts to contact you, or break an agreement to pay your rent and arrears, further legal/eviction action will be taken. This is because not paying your rent breaks your tenancy agreement.