CHAC’s support saves pensioner from threat of eviction
CHAC Case study
Shirley’s story
Support provided by the team at Canterbury Housing Advice Centre saved a pensioner with rent arrears from the threat of facing eviction.
Shirley was a secure Canterbury City Council tenant who was struggling to pay off her rent arrears. She lived with her adult son who was neither working nor in receipt of benefits. Shirley had been unable to keep to the payment arrangements she had previously made with the Council and a Notice of Seeking Possession was served when her rent arrears reached just over £1,700.
How CHAC helped
When Shirley came to see CHAC, her benefit payments had stopped because the Council required her to submit a Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support Entitlement form.
We helped Shirley complete the form and emailed it to the Council. We followed up the email to ensure both her Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support were put back into weekly payments of £95 and £26 respectively. We also negotiated with the Council, securing an agreement for Shirley to pay £50 every fortnight towards her rent arrears.
When Shirley revealed to CHAC that she was struggling with making the required rent payments, we suggested that a fortnightly standing order would make it easier and helped her set it up with her bank.
As part of our negotiations with the Council we also said we would apply to the Council’s Household Support Fund for a grant of up to £300 to reduce Shirley’s rent arrears. This application was successful.
The outcome
In view of the support provided by CHAC, Canterbury City Council agreed not to apply to court to evict Shirley on the understanding she continues to pay £50 every fortnight towards her rent arrears.