| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Can't Pay? We'll Take It Away | Channel 5 | |
| Posted by: | Caroline Carney | |
| Date/Time: | 21/10/14 13:04:00 |
| In order to secure a Notice order seeking possession (NOSP) A landlord would have to show the court that they had made all efforts to seek payment and allow time for payment of monies owed. Then they can issue a NOSP which gives a court date and 28 days for the tenants to find new accommodation or go to court at the NOSP date where a tenant can argue their case. If they loose then a court appointed bailiff will attend the property on a court appointed date which can be anything the court sets. The problem comes when a landlord tries to usurp the process by using non court appointed bailiffs to evict before the date or tries to gain access to the property without writing to the tenant to ask for it. If a court appointed bailiff can see that their enforcement on the appointed date would be detrimental to the tenants health they are allowed to give the tenants more reasonable time at their discretion. Before my health deteriorated I was an emergency housing officer for a London council and dealt with many such cases. I was also a tenant of a Housing Association who was evicted because the properties were to be demolished. Two days before my eviction which I was sorted out for, I broke my ankle. When the court appointed bailiff arrived they told my landlord they were going to give me 7 more days to sort myself out. I was really grateful for their intervention. My Housing Association could not re house me as I am disabled and they had no suitable property for me so I applied for social housing and was taken on by LBH but not housed immediately having to spend time in B&B. There is plenty of advice out there if you need it but people tend to rely on friends and family and hearsay which lands them in a mess. Any local authority housing department can give private tenants advice on these matters |