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Take action if you are behind with your rent

If you are behind with your rent, or are worried that you’ll have difficulties paying in future, take action immediately by following these three steps:

• find out what kind of tenancy you have
• get advice and plan a budget to tackle your debts
• try to find a solution with your landlord

If your landlord sends you letters about rent arrears, make sure you read them. The letters will contain information about how much rent you owe and action your landlord is going to take.

1: Find out what kind of tenancy you have

A tenancy is a written legal agreement between a landlord and tenant about renting a property. The kind of tenancy you have will make a big difference to what may happen if you have rent arrears.

Find out what kind of tenancy you have by following the link below.

• Tenancy checker - Shelter Opens new window

Or, see the section ‘Help and advice’ in ‘Rent arrears’ to contact an adviser who may be able to say what kind of tenancy you have.

• Rent arrears (money, tax and benefits section)

The difference your tenancy will make

If your landlord takes you to court, the judge will look at the kind of tenancy you have when making a decision. The kind of tenancy you have can mean the judge decides either:

• when, and not if, you must leave your home
• when and how rent arrears are paid and whether you can stay in your home

Follow the link below to find out about some of the different kinds of tenancy.

• Types of tenancies - private renting

2: Get advice and make a budget

If you have rent arrears, follow the link below to find out contact details for organisations with advisers that can give help on tackling debt.

• Rent arrears - help and advice (money, tax and benefits section)

You can get a solicitor or legal adviser from Community Legal Advice.

• Find a legal adviser Opens new window

Help an adviser can give

Speak to an adviser to get help with:

• what your legal rights are
• what you should say to your landlord
• finding a new place to live if you can’t afford where you live now
• planning a budget
• checking if you are eligible for any benefits

• Benefits adviser - check your eligibility

Planning a budget

You can work out a budget by looking at:

• how much you earn
• what you spend
• what your debts are - rent arrears are a ‘priority’ debt, which means it’s important to pay off first

• Dealing with priority debts - National Debtline (PDF, 264K) Opens new window

• Help with PDF files

Find out everything you need to know about dealing with debt, including benefits you could claim and tackling credit card debt, by following the link below.

• Dealing with debt - National Debtline (PDF, 2380K) Opens new window

• Help with PDF files

3: Try to find a solution with your landlord

You should contact your landlord and try to come to an agreement with them urgently. If you are a council or housing association tenant, speak to your housing officer.

Your landlord may not want you to leave because it means they will lose money and need to replace you with someone else. If you don’t try to come to an agreement, your landlord may have no option but to take action against you.

Make sure you get any agreement with your landlord in writing so that you both have the same understanding of what has been decided.

Video: rent arrears – dos and don’ts

Watch a video explaining what you can do if you are in rent arrears by following the link below.

• Video: rent arrears - dos and don'ts

Telling you about your arrears

The kind of tenancy you have will decide what your landlord can do about your rent arrears. Follow the link below to find out:

• what kind of notice your landlord has to give you about your arrears
• what steps your landlord has to take before taking court action

• Tenants and lodgers in arrears - what happens

How you know your landlord is taking you to court

You’ll know your landlord is taking you to court because you’ll be sent court papers that will include a date for your court hearing. You’ll need to get advice and prepare for court.

• Preparing to go to court for rent arrears

Make sure you go to court

It’s very important you attend your court hearing. It will be your chance to explain to the judge why you have rent arrears. If you don’t go, it’s very likely the judge will decide that you’ll lose your home. Find out about getting legal advice and what happens in court on the day by following the link below.

• Going to court for rent arrears - what happens on the day

Take action if you get an eviction notice

It’s vital to get legal advice if you get a notice from the court saying you are going to be evicted. Find out what decisions a judge can make in court and what you should do next by following the links below.

• Rent arrears - what the judge can decide

• Rent arrears - what happens after a hearing and what you should do

Appealing against a judge’s decision on rent arrears

If you think the judge made a mistake in your original hearing, you might be able to appeal.

• Appealing against a judge's decision on rent arrears

Useful contacts

• Home and community useful contacts

• A-Z of local councils

• Communities and Local Government Opens new window