Local authority tells tenants not to leave the property?

Reply to the comment left by A Whiteley at 09/07/2023 - 21:17
One of the worst local authorities I've had to deal with!
Ineptitude and maladministration abounds!....

Reply to the comment left by LL Minion at 09/07/2023 - 17:14
Yes I was frequently in the position of Tenant's being served a s21 Notice Requiring/Seeking Possession and the first thing I would do is to contact the Landlord to ascertain the reason why Possession is being sought and then work with the Landlord and Tenant to achieve a mutually satisfactory outcome whenever possible. I would not wait for the Landlord to contact me?!
For 'Prevention' to be successfully achieved, as a housing officer you should be proactively working with the tenant and landlord at the earliest opportunity.

When you say " duty of care " and "eligible" if you mean that the Council have assessed the tenant to be a vulnerable person where a 'priority need' has been determined, then I absolutely concur with your reasoning and personally no, I would not defend the Council's indefensible position in this situation.
"Paying off tenant rent arrears" IS a tool available to Council's housing/ homeless teams, however this is usually only done when A) It would be cheaper to do so than to accommodate the tenant in temporary accommodation and accept the full/ main housing duty to the tenant; and B) The availability of this 'tool' is known by council housing/ homeless officers and they actively use it...but in my experience, many officers are seemingly unaware of this as an option to Prevent the homelessness....
In some instances the Council can even purchase a property which is being sold by the landlord, if it would be cheaper to do so than to accept the full/ main housing duty to the tenant which would include the provision of temporary accommodation; especially where the tenant is a family.

I could not agree more that the 'Prevention' duty should kick in when a Landlord initiates contact with the council to notify them of a potential threat to the tenancy. That to me is a good and pro-active Landlord. A good and pro-active housing/ homeless officer would by default start working with both parties to resolve the issue ie PREVENT the homelessness from occurring!
This is what SHOULD happen but regrettably all too often this FAILS to happen and it is only the issuing of a s21 or s8 Notice which triggers the council's response.
But as the title of this post suggests 'local authorities will often tell the tenant to remain past the serving of a s21 Notice which is perfectly legal in accordance with housing legislation.
HOWEVER, this is where I deem, a housing/ homeless officer does some of their best work : in respectfully discussing with the Landlord the legal position and process for a lawful eviction to take place but assuring them that you will be intent on resolving the situation as stress-free as possible.

I agree 100% with your conclusive statement:
"Prevention should mean before it even gets to the point of a LL having to issue any notice. (especially when the tenant is mentally vulnerable)"

Reply to the comment left by Ma'at Housing Solutions at 10/07/2023 - 01:53
another quick question. The legislation states effectively the ball starts rolling once a 'valid notice' is given. I assume that is when the tenant shows the council what he/she has received.

Would the council not accept this if the LL shows it to the council at the same time as issuing to the tenant? Would the council then contact the tenant (or even the LL?) to try and find out more or wait till tenant then contacts the council stating they have received it?

Is there even a universal guideline that the council follow in this example?

Reply to the comment left by Rita P at 09/07/2023 - 20:50
6.5 months?

Reply to the comment left by Rita P at 09/07/2023 - 20:59This 'advice from Folkestone & Hythe and the Kent local authority is absolutely disgraceful and is a clear breach of their mandatory duties in accordance with : Homeless Reduction Act 2017; Part VII Housing Act 1996, The Code of Guidance for both legislation and various other Housing legislation!
I think its about time someone compiled a list of these dreadful local authorities who are behaving in this manner!
There should equally be a 'Rogue Local Authority List' as they now have one for Landlords !

Reply to the comment left by LL Minion at 10/07/2023 - 08:45
The council first have to ensure the Notice is valid and unfortunately there are numerous s21 Notices issued which are NOT valid usually for one of the following reasons:
• Failure to protect the tenant's deposit and or provide evidence of the deposit protection;
• Failure to provide tenant with the 'Prescribed Information
• Failure to provide the current government booklet:' How To Rent Guide'. This should be the current version at the time the tenancy commenced as well as any updates during the course of the tenancy.

The Council should be following the Code of Guidance for HRA 2017 and Code of Guidance for HA 1996 part VII.

I am in the same position.

The Tennant's lease expired in n April and the Local Authority told them that they should stay put, and even worse, that they did not even need to pay the rent!

We are now in arrears with the mortgage, the monthly payments for which, have more than doubled recently , exceeding rental income and we are being threatened with repossession by our mortgage lender.

We issued a section 21 notice. If you do that, make sure you send at least three copies of everything and collate the sets marking one the court copy. The Court sent our papers back twice already because we didn't know that to start with.

Local Authorities are shirking their responsibility to house homeless families and forcing private landlords to find do it j their stead, even without rental income, it is disgusting.

We urgently need the move back into our home to renovate and sell it.

Reply to the comment left by Raymond Foulkes at 10/07/2023 - 13:45
That's not nice. Anyone stops paying rent after 2 months should go on credit file unless they have a payment plan. Landlords are humans they have to pay bills.

Reply to the comment left by Ma'at Housing Solutions at 10/07/2023 - 11:48
What if for example the LL is confident that all info has been served, the S21 then sent to the tenant - but the tenant (upon receipt) tells the council, but can't provide evidence to the council to satisfy that the notice is valid - what happens then?

Do the council take a decision they cant be sure it it is valid and so ignore it and do nothing for 2 months until expiry?

I would have thought they HAD to take the S21 at face value as 'valid', and so the prevention duty period kicks in regardless a this point surely?. (The LL is not under any obligation to give reason for a S21 nor send any other paperwork to show the notice is valid to anyone other than the tenant).

That then gives the council 56 days of prevention duty and that duty requires an authority to take reasonable steps to help the person to secure that accommodation does not cease to be available to them. Essentially they are on notice to sort this out before it progresses.

And if a LL feels that the Housing Officer has not taken 'reasonable steps' within this period (and neither before the S21 was issued) - what do you suggest?

The Code of Guidance suggests an authority should first focus on steps which might allow the person to stay in their current home. Reasonable steps might include mediation with the person's current landlord.

Reply to the comment left by LL Minion at 10/07/2023 - 15:34
Even with the tenants support I have had one case stood out and the other struck out. Cannot even get pass the first stage of the accelerators process. My tenants are not objecting to anything. All the paperwork is in order there are no disrepair claims. . They want to leave! The are both over crowded with health issues. We are in agreement as tenant and landlord. Try telling that to Shelter and rhe other moronic tenant so called support groups. I have they do not reply!! I have written supporting letters for my tenants. . My tenants are not behind in their rent. (Well in one case initially) but the courts are just being swamped with cases - I am told. Legal system and Housing in the uk is broken.