FDR postponed and homeless

Hi I had my FDR which was adjourned as STBX had not supplied the info required, however court order was made to pay £400pm and to supply info by a certain date.
Question is what do i do about the house, we have run outof mortgage hol and he wont pay there is not enough equity in house to do anything with (9k) and housing will not rehouse me because i have made myself intentionally homeless, and i cannot find an agent to take me on as i work part time and the rent/ratio is to high a salary what do i do? please any advice would be appreciated my barrister advised me to take house off the market as i have a buyer but no where to go.

Since nobody else has replied, I suppose I better had !

I am a little reluctant to offer advice when you have a barrister acting for you. But can you tell me, for a start, in whose name is the mortgage ? Both of you or just your x2b?

You clearly need to consider your housing options. I would say, madam, that one thing you need to avoid is a forced sale if you can. The costs can escalate dramatically.

You are afraid you might be found intentionally homeless. The most important thing you need to do is to establish a priority need. If you have dependent children living with you or if you're expecting then you have one. But if you don't have a priority need the local authority are under no obligation to rehouse you. They have to offer ' advice and assistance ' and some authorities can be helpful and some are not.

' Intentional homelessness ' has a precise definition in the Housing Act, and authorities often 'try it on ' in the hope you won't challenge it.

There are 4 elements to intentional homelessness:

1. A deliberate act or omission on the part of the applicant ;
2. which was the cause of the homelessness ;
3. but for the act you could reasonably expect to continue to occupy the accommodation ; and
4. It must be reasonable for you to continue to live there.

Rent/Mortgage arrears are often regarded by authorities as
equal to intentional homelessnesss. This is not necessarily so. If the arrears are caused, say, by redundancy, or by your husband's default, it may not be.

If you have a priority need, the Council has to offer you temporary accommodation even if you are homeless intentionally. It is usually for 28 days.

Have you considered whether you are entitled to housing benefit ? It is in any event worth getting a benefit check with a CAB.

So I think you need to be clear as to your position re homelessness and whether you have a priority need or not.
So you need to let me know - send a private message if you like - whether you have children, or are expecting one, or whether you have a disability. That is the first question.

I think it is possible that you could put up a decent case for arguing that your homelessness is not intentional, if it is clear you could not hope to keep up the payments.
I need to know whose name the house is in.

Mike 100468

I'm in a similar situation, the family home is on the market, the mortgage being in my ex husbands name, we were married for 6 years together for 7. we have a 5 year old daughter and i have 13 & 15 yo from previous partner. my concern is if house sells before divorce and financial settlement is in place how will i stand do i have to get out? can i refuse to move? i have my name on land registry and have asked for the house to be taken off the market and things sorted out, but my solicitor says he probably won't agree to that. my son sits his gcse's in may i'm worried this will have a massive effect on him. the equity is around 160k .

Tracey,

The whole point of registering matrimonial home rights is that it stops you being evicted without the leave of the Court ( section 30 Family Law Act 1996 ) so if you just sit tight and refuse to budge - who's going to buy a house with matrimonial home rights registered against it unless there's a clear undertaking on your part to vacate ???? So you could, if you wanted to, throw one great big spanner into his works.

Another nice little arrow in your quiver is section 37(2) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 which, in plan English, gives you the right to ask the Court to stop the sale.

You do realise, madam, don't you, that with dependent children there's a quite reasonable chance that you could stay in the house while the children are still dependent ????

Don't want to comment in too much detail on your own circumstances, but - - - I think your position is a heck of a sight stronger than you think it is.

Mike 100468

Tracey68,

Take Mike's advice! Sound as a pound...worry not, with a dependent 5 year old you will be fine.