What to do when facing eviction 

I got the dreaded call out the blue from the estate agent. We were a family of 5, being given notice on our home of 4 years. Our landlord wanted the property back as it was their holiday home. There was precious little on the market and it was a scary time for us with two children in infant school and a baby. How would we find a home near to the school, within our budget with just 4 weeks in which to be packed and be ready to move out? 

Being at the mercy of a landlord can be a vulnerable place to be. Many people can end up homeless or threatened with homelessness when the landlord has given notice. Often times, it’s because they need to sell but other times it can be for no good reason at all.

There is some great advice on Shelter’s website should you find yourself in this position. You have rights and there are certain processes that your landlord will have to go through and help that the council should offer you.

Looking back over the years, here’s been a running theme throughout our life, where God has answered our property prayers many times. Some have been more desperate cries of ‘help!’ than others, but this one came close to the wire. In the end, there were several ‘coincidences’ that came together and we moved into a much larger house, that was a blessing to us, just in the nick of time. You can see our cheesy smiles not long after we moved in. Prayer really does work.

There are also times when Green Pastures Partners have properties with landlords that become vulnerable. We are delighted to be able to purchase the property  on occasions when they are looking to sell, just as we did last week for Happy Days UK. When we purchase property for our Partners, there is a deep sense of security for the future as we stand together for the long haul for the benefit of the residents. You can breathe a deep sigh of relief. 

If you’d like to discuss how Green Pastures could help your homeless project, we’d love to talk with you. Click here to start the conversation.