How to deal with rent arrears
Rent is one of your most important monthly payments.
If you pay late or miss payments, it's called being in rent arrears.
Take these steps if you owe rent:
Step1Contact your landlord
Always try to contact your landlord or letting agent about missed rent payments.
If you're not sure what to say, just let them know:
you will pay what you owe as soon as you can
you are getting advice and taking steps to deal with the arrears
Guide for private renters
We have advice and letter templates about late or unpaid rent in a private tenancy.
Even private landlords may let you stay if problems can be sorted out.
Advice for council or housing association tenants
Tell your landlord if you have money problems. They should help.
Ask them to explain any letters you do not understand.
Find out how social landlords should help tenants with rent arrears.
Step2Get a benefits check
You can do this for free with an online calculator or through a helpline.
You could get money that you did not know about.
Find out how to check your benefits.
Step3Apply for discretionary housing payments
Discretionary housing payments (DHPs) are extra money to help with rent.
You can apply for DHPs from your local council if you get:
universal credit
housing benefit
You have to give information about your income and spending when you apply.
Find your council's DHP team with our tool.
Step4Look for other money help
You could get more help to pay rent, other living costs or debts.
A grant or interest free loan could help if you need to pay off rent arrears quickly.
Grants are best because they are extra money that you do not have to pay back.
Some councils give money from their homeless prevention fund. For example, if you're at risk of eviction and this would help you stay in your home.
Find out about:
Avoid payday loans and doorstep lenders
These loans are expensive and often make your debt worse.
Step5Use an online budget tool
These websites have tools or templates and are a good place to start:
Money Helper budget planner
Record your spending. Get tips on getting out of debt or starting to save.National Debtline advice tool
Create an account. It helps you work out a budget and gives you debt solutions.StepChange budget templates
Excel spreadsheet or PDF to download and print out. These resources are not accessible for people using screen readers.
You need information about your income and spending to use these tools. If most of your money goes through your bank account, a lot of this information is on your statements.
Step6Make a repayment plan [video]
Video transcript
Follow these steps to make a realistic, clear repayment plan to help you pay off rent arrears.
1. Write a budget
A debt adviser can help you with a budget.
You can use online tools like the one on the National Debtline website to make your own.
Record your income and all your monthly spending, like rent, utility bills, council tax and food.
This helps you to see if there's anywhere you can make savings. It also helps you to make a realistic repayment plan if you're behind with rent.
It's really common for people to underestimate how much we spend on some things.
For things like clothes or car repairs, work out roughly what you would spend in a year and divide it by 12 to get a monthly figure.
That way, you won't miss anything when you're working out what you can afford to pay towards your rent arrears.
2. Check what you can afford to pay
Use your budget sheet to look at where you can make savings and if you could have any money left over.
The sheet needs to show you can afford to pay your monthly rent plus an amount towards your arrears.
If it doesn't, ask your debt and benefits adviser if they can help you to claim benefits, get money help or deal with debts.
3. Write down your repayment plan
Note down what you can afford to pay each month.
Don't agree to higher payments that you can't afford.
If you do end up missing payments it might be difficult to get the landlord to agree to another repayment plan.
4. Send it to your landlord
Send the repayment plan and the budget to your landlord in a letter, email or message.
Keep a copy of what you send and their reply.
Keep your plan up to date if things do change.
Shelter adviser Hayden explains how to make a repayment plan for rent arrears.
[Video length: 01:43]
Step7Send a repayment offer to your landlord
You can make a repayment offer if your budget shows that you can afford to pay:
your normal monthly rent
an extra amount each month towards the arrears
Step8Find a debt adviser
Get debt advice if:
you have other unpaid bills or debts
you cannot see how to pay off your arrears
your budget shows you cannot afford your rent
it's hard for you to take any of the other steps without help
you are being evicted for rent arrears
Breathing space
A debt adviser can talk to you about breathing space.
This scheme pauses debt recovery for up to 60 days while you get debt advice.
It can also pause the eviction process if your landlord is evicting you for rent arrears.
Find out more about breathing space.
Step9Deal with an eviction notice
A notice from your landlord is the first legal step towards eviction.
Your landlord still has to apply to court. They might not do this if you can sort out your money or benefit problems.
Get free legal advice
Anyone with a notice can get free legal advice and help at court.
You could also get legal aid help if you're on benefits or a low income.
Find out where to get free legal advice.
Check what the notice means
Find out what to do if you get a:
A notice from the bailiffs means your landlord has already got an eviction order.
Last updated: 27 November 2024
