5
Apr
Councils told to stop telling tenants in process of eviction to
stay put
Local authorities must stop routinely advising tenants to stay
put until the bailiff arrives before they can be accepted as
homeless. Housing minister Brandon Lewis has written to all chief
executives of local councils saying that households should not be
put in this position, and clarifying the guidance about
homelessness. In his letter he says: “Authorities should not
routinely be advising tenants to stay until the bailiffs arrive;
there is no barrier to them assisting the tenant before this. By
doing this, local authorities miss a valuable opportunity to
prevent homelessness.”
The letter follows pressure from ARLA, whose managing director
David Cox has repeatedly raised the issue of local authorities
advising tenants to stay in their property beyond the notice
period, compelling the landlord to go to court to gain possession,
running up considerable costs.
In his letter, Lewis says: “Landlords and tenants continue
to raise concerns about local authorities advising tenants to stay
when issued with a Notice seeking possession of a property let on
an Assured Shorthold Tenancy under Section 21 (1) or (4) of the
Housing Act 1988.
He continues: “The statutory Homelessness Code of Guidance,
which local authorities are required by law to have regard to, is
clear on this matter.
“It contains guidance on how authorities should treat
homelessness applications in circumstances where a tenant has
received a valid S21 notice.
“It says that housing authorities should not, in every
case, insist upon a court order for possession and that no local
authority should adopt a blanket policy in this respect.
“The Guidance states that if the landlord intends to seek
possession and there would be no defence to an application for a
possession order, then it is unlikely that it would be reasonable
for the applicant to continue to occupy the accommodation.
“Unless a local authority has very good reason to depart
from the statutory guidance, then they should not be placing
households in this position.”
Source: Property Industry Eye http://bit.ly/1USJ6C0