Mesne profits is an alternative terms for what you call rent. Put simply, the council is not allowed to claim "rent" off you from the date of the possession order (which you need to find out if you do not know, is the order suspended or not? If suspended, then it wil be on terms that you pay £x per week off the arrears plus the ongoing weekly rent) - the council claim mesne profits instead (in other words, the ongoing rent each week but as I explained, it is called mesne profits after the possession order date.(posted 7361 days ago)You need to urgently contact the council and find out what the status of your matter is because if you don't, and the order is not suspended, the next thing you will get is bailiffs calling to evict you!
You might well find that since the council probably have a duty to rehouse you because of your 4 children, they are not going to be too hasty to evict you, and an approach to the council's housing officer will probably result in an agreement for you to pay the arrears off over a period of time - so long as you keep to this, you will not lose your home.
Find the papers from the court and phone the council today. Also, call in the local beneifits office and see if you can get help - and apply to the local housing benefits office to see if you might qualify for HB. Also, are you getting child tax credit - are the CTC office aware of your current circumstances - are you owed any arrears.
One or all of these approaches might get you enough money to sort the arrears out.
Best of luck.
David