This guide will help you understand what happens if you get evicted from a council house, explain the steps you can take to try to prevent the eviction and tell you how to get emergency housing if the eviction goes ahead.
What Happens If You Get Evicted From A Council House?
Reasons For Being Evicted From A Council House?
The main reasons for being evicted from a council house are
- not paying rent
- antisocial behavior
- property damage
- breaking other terms of the tenancy agreement
Councils can also evict tenants who haven’t done anything wrong if the council is going to demolish the housing or make major repairs.
The death of a partner or close family member is another reason you could be evicted from a council house. If the deceased person held the tenancy and you don’t have tenancy succession rights, the council can ask you to move out. Most council tenancies can only be “inherited” once.
Council House Eviction Process
Councils have to follow specific steps when they want to evict a council house tenant. The process starts with a written notice and ends with a court order. Court-appointed bailiffs will enforce the court order if you fail to move out.
The eviction process usually takes several months, and you don’t need to move out until the court grants the order for possession.
- The council will send you a written notice telling you why you’re being asked to leave and giving you a date to move out. They have to give you at least 4 weeks’ notice.
- If you haven’t moved out by the date on the notice, the council must get permission to evict you from the court. To do this they apply for a possession order.
- At the court hearing the council will ask the judge to approve the eviction. The hearing is your opportunity to give your side of the story and convince the judge you should be allowed to stay.
- The judge may give the council a possession order (permission to evict you), decide the eviction shouldn’t go ahead, or issue a suspended possession order giving you the right to remain in your home as long as you keep certain conditions—like paying your rent and sticking to a payment plan to clear the arrears.
- If the judge approves the eviction, you’ll be given a date to move out. You can ask the court to delay the move-out date for up to 6 weeks if leaving earlier would cause you hardship because you’re ill or have young children.
- If you don’t move out by that date, the council can ask the court to send a bailiff to make you leave. The bailiff must give you 2 weeks’ notice of the final eviction date.
- When the bailiffs arrive, they don’t have to give you any time to pack so be ready to leave.
A possession order is not the same as a County Court Judgment (CCJ) and it won’t affect your credit rating. However, if the council applies for a CCJ for unpaid rent, that will appear on your credit report.
How To Stop Eviction From Council House
A government-backed scheme provides free expert legal advice to tenants facing eviction. As soon as you receive notice from the council asking you to move out, you’re eligible for help from the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service.
Enter your postcode here to find an advisor.
A housing advisor will work with you to try to resolve the issue with the council and provide free representation at the court hearing.
Check The Council Followed The Rules
Before sending you an eviction notice because you haven’t paid your rent, the council must follow their pre-action protocol. This includes:
- Contacting you about your finances and why you’re behind with your rent
- Giving you full details of your rent arrears
- Trying to agree an affordable payment plan with you
- Helping you apply for Housing Benefit or Universal Credit
- Contacting you again about your arrears after they’ve sent the eviction notice
- Suggesting you get independent advice
If the council hasn’t followed these steps, write to them to challenge the eviction (keep a copy of the letter you send). You should also let the court know the council didn’t follow the correct procedure when you fill out your defense form.
The council shouldn’t go ahead with court action if you:
- Applied for benefits and expect to get them
- Are sticking to an agreement to pay off your rent arrears
Reduce Your Arrears
Pay off as much of your rent arrears as you can. Talk to a Citizens Advice debt advisor to find out if you’re eligible for the government-backed breathing space scheme. The breathing space scheme gives you protection from any further action for 60 days.
Learn more: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/rent-arrears/dealing-with-rent-arrears/
Ask For A Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP)
If you get Universal Credit or Housing Benefit you can apply for a DHP to help cover your rent arrears. You don’t have to pay this money back. Ask your council for a DHP claim form.
Your council might also have a homelessness prevention fund that helps people pay rent arrears.
Attend The Court Hearing
Don’t skip the court hearing, this is your last chance to get the eviction stopped. The judge will hear both sides of the story in a hearing that lasts about 10 minutes. When it’s your turn to speak, tell the judge:
- How much you think you owe
- Why you missed rent payments
- What you’ve done to catch up on the missed payments
- How much extra you can pay to clear the arrears. Shelter UK says you should offer at least £4.53 a week
Will The Council Rehouse Me If I Get Evicted?
The council must offer to rehouse you if you’re being evicted because your council house is:
- Overcrowded
- Being demolished, refurbished, or sold
- Adapted for disabled people but no disabled people live there
- Too big for the number of people living there after the original named tenant died
If none of those conditions apply to you, the council might offer to rehouse you, but they only have a statutory duty to find you alternative accommodation if you’re going to be legally homeless and have a priority need.
You’re considered to have a priority need if:
- You’re pregnant, elderly, or disabled
- Have dependent children living with you
- You’re vulnerable due to a mental health or medical condition
If you qualify for help, the council will offer you emergency accommodation. This means you’ll have somewhere to go as soon as you’re evicted.
Emergency accommodation is usually a bed in a hostel, a room in a bed and breakfast hotel, or a bedsit. The place you’re offered could be in a different area, meaning your children may need to change schools.
Emergency accommodation must be affordable and suitable for your situation. If you’ve got children or you’re pregnant, you shouldn’t have to stay in emergency accommodation for more than 6 weeks.
Don’t refuse the accommodation offered. The council doesn’t have to offer you anywhere else to live unless the accommodation is unsafe for you.
Getting Longer Term Housing
The council will work with you to find suitable longer-term housing. This could be a private rental or a housing association or council property. They usually take at least 8 weeks to decide if you’re eligible to get long-term housing.
Councils don’t have to help you get longer-term housing if you made yourself intentionally homeless.
What does making yourself intentionally homeless mean? For housing purposes, it means you could have avoided being evicted. For example you:
- Didn’t pay rent you could afford to pay
- Failed to apply for benefits to help pay your rent
- Didn’t stop the overcrowding in your household
- Didn’t address anti-social behavior
Next Steps
If you’ve received a notice from your council telling you to move out, get free, expert legal help from the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service. You should also find out if you’re eligible for the 60-day Breathing Space scheme.
Read Also: How Long Do You Have To Move Out After Eviction?
Alex Graham is a co-founder and manages high-quality content that helps once evicted/ex-felons find a place to call. home. Alex believes even if he can help one person return to a good, wholesome life it is well worth the effort.