(no subject)
Was in the CAB yesterday and did another supported interview (just need 1 more and then I am apparently allowed to go solo). This was another housing issue, and although it was ostensibly about a guy who wanted to get his ex-landlord to return his deposit, it turns out that said landlord had been claiming he lived in the same house as his lodgers in order to make it easier for him to throw them out. Actually he retained one room but just used it for storage.
I discussed this with other advisors and they suggested passing it on to a housing specialist (to decide if the contract was valid, among other things) so I told the guy we'd get back to him. Our housing helpline is NHAS who offer specialist support to advice agencies (such as the CAB). And they were fantastic. I spent about 45 mins on the phone talking to one of their advisors and reading out bits of contract, then faxed him all the details. And he faxed me back later the same day with a really detailed summary of the conversation we'd had, and a bullet point of items to raise in any letter to the landlord. So I wrote back to the original client, with some options and offered that we could write to the landlord on his behalf if he wished.
I discussed this with other advisors and they suggested passing it on to a housing specialist (to decide if the contract was valid, among other things) so I told the guy we'd get back to him. Our housing helpline is NHAS who offer specialist support to advice agencies (such as the CAB). And they were fantastic. I spent about 45 mins on the phone talking to one of their advisors and reading out bits of contract, then faxed him all the details. And he faxed me back later the same day with a really detailed summary of the conversation we'd had, and a bullet point of items to raise in any letter to the landlord. So I wrote back to the original client, with some options and offered that we could write to the landlord on his behalf if he wished.