Housing Association persuaded not to evict family
CHAC Case study
Janine’s story
Janine and her partner had two children and were joint assured tenants of a local Housing Association. As they had failed to keep to agreed repayment arrangements for rent arrears of just under £3,000, their landlord had applied to Canterbury County Court and their case was listed for a face-to-face hearing.
Janine worked full-time but her husband was ill and could not work so they were also in receipt of a small monthly amount of Universal Credit (UC). On several occasions, Janine had to take time off work to visit her husband in hospital and to care for him when he was discharged home.
How we helped
We advised Janine on her rent arrears and on the possession order sought by the landlord. Initially we negotiated a new monthly arrears repayment of £55. We also gained the landlord's agreement to a suspended possession order with the tenants paying the landlord's legal costs of £325. A subsequent and successful application for a Discretionary Housing Payment of £2,795 cleared most of Janine’s rent arrears.
The outcome
We persuaded the Housing Association to agree to adjourn the court hearing with liberty to restore. This was on condition that Janine and her husband paid £55 each month off their remaining small rent arrears and paid no legal costs.