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Arrears

If you have rent arrears it is important to act quickly. If you do not pay your rent it may lead to you being evicted from your home.

Dealing with rent arrears

To clear the arrears you will need to pay your monthly rent payment and something towards the arrears each month.

Produce a household budget making sure that you list all of your income and expenditure. We suggest that you do not include your unsecured creditors in your spending as the consequence of not paying these is not as significant. Any money left over will show you how much you can afford to pay to your mortgage arrears and other priority debts.

If you want to keep your home you must always pay your rent before you pay other unsecured debts such as unsecured personal loans, credit cards or catalogues. This is because the consequence of not paying your rent is greater than that of not paying unsecured creditors. Unlike your rent, failure to meet the payments on unsecured creditors would not normally put your home at risk.

Once you know how much you have left each month you need to contact your landlord to arrange repayment of your rent arrears. If they ask, you can also send them a copy of your budget to provide proof of your situation.

You may also find it useful to look into increasing your income or reducing your expenditure where needed.

Help and advice

If you would like help in dealing with your rent arrears, please ring our Helpline on 0800 138 1111. Our advisors can give you specialised advice and help you to solve your rent payment problems.

For more free debt advice, an assessment of your situation and help with creating a budget, visit our online debt counselling service, CCCS Debt Remedy.

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FAQs

My landlord won’t accept my arrears payment, what should I do?

If you have offered your landlord something towards the arrears each month and they won’t accept it, you should first look through your budget to see if you can afford to pay any more towards the arrears. Make sure you are not paying your unsecured debts rather than your arrears. If you cannot afford to pay any more towards the arrears, show your landlord a copy of your budget to demonstrate that you are paying all you can afford.

If your landlord still will not accept the payment, keep paying it anyway. This will show that you are trying to do all you can to sort the arrears out.

Can I get Government help towards my rent?

If you are struggling to pay your rent you may be entitled to some Government help. If you have a low income or receive certain benefits you may be able to claim Housing Benefit or Local Housing Allowance. Depending on your situation this may pay all or part of your rent.

To check what benefits you can claim you could visit Turn 2 Us, a website with a benefits calculator. If you are struggling with other debts and would like to speak to someone about what benefits you can claim please call our helpline. One of our specialist advisors will be able to help you.

How do I find out what type of tenancy agreement I have?

If you are not sure what type of tenancy agreement you have you should contact your landlord or check your tenancy agreement. All landlords have to supply a tenancy agreement to their tenants and this will say what type of tenancy you have.