CHAC stops Tenant with health problems from becoming homeless
CHAC Case study
Kim’s story
The team at Canterbury Housing Advice Centre (CHAC) negotiated with Canterbury City Council’s Housing Department and Housing Solutions Team to ensure a secure Council tenant with health problems - and rent arrears in excess of £2,000 - was able to stay in her home .
Kim was in receipt of Employment and Support Allowance due to health problems but had failed to keep to a court order to pay off her rent arrears. Her landlord was about to apply to Canterbury County Court for a warrant for possession to get court bailiffs to evict her. Some years earlier, Kim had successfully applied (with help from CHAC) to stop a previous warrant for eviction. The Council’s Housing Department agreed to hold off on condition she make a homelessness application to the Council’s Housing Solutions Team (and in the hope that the Team might pay off some of her rent arrears).
Kim had a two-bedroom property but was the only occupant. She was desperate not to move to a one-bedroom property as this would mean she would have to move away from her essential support network. With one spare bedroom she was subject to the bedroom tax of £15 per week - a cost she could afford to pay.
How CHAC helped
The CHAC team helped Kim make an application, at the request of the Housing Solutions Team, for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) by obtaining the necessary form and securing an appointment for Kim with Citizen’s Advice Bureau to help with completing the form. We also helped Kim complete the online forms needed for an Income and Expenditure breakdown. The resulting breakdown provided the Housing Solutions Team with evidence that Kim could pay her bedroom tax as well as £5 off her rent arrears every week.
We also told the Council that we would make an application to the Council’s Household Support Fund for a grant of up to £300 to reduce Kim’s rent arrears.
The outcome
As a result of our work with Kim, she was no longer at risk of becoming homeless - the Household Support Fund agreed to pay £300 off her rent arrears, and the Housing Solutions Team agreed to pay off the rest of Kim’s rent arrears and to clear her outstanding court costs.