What should you do if you have rent arrears?
If you have arrears on your rent account you can take one of the following steps:
- Where possible make a one-off payment to clear your arrears in full
- Agree on a repayment plan to clear your arrears within a reasonable time scale
- Remember your dedicated property manager is there to help you, so please get in contact if you are experiencing difficulties
What happens if you do not clear your rent arrears?
If you don`t pay your rent and fail to get in touch with us, we will make every attempt to contact you and help with any difficulties that might be stopping you from making payment. However, if you do not work with us and reduce your arrears, we will serve you a “Notice of Seeking Possession”. This is the first stage of legal proceedings, which may result in you losing your home.
We will continue to try and help, but if you do not pay your rent, or if you continually fail to keep to a repayment plan to clear any arrears, you may end up being evicted from your home. If it does become necessary to refer your case to court, you will be responsible for paying all court costs. These are currently several hundred pounds.
What happens if I withhold rent due to disrepair?
You do not have the right to withhold/stop paying rent because of a landlord’s failure to do repairs. If you do, then a ‘Notice to Seek Possession’ can be served against you because you will have rent arrears, which will put you at risk of losing your home.
If your decision is to do this then you should keep the money in a separate bank account. This way, if proceedings for possession are started against you then you have the money to pay off the arrears immediately. However, you can still be evicted.