Rent arrears

If you have missed one or more rent payments, the money you owe your landlord is called 'rent arrears'. Rent arrears is a type of debt. This is the same if your landlord is:

• your local council
• a housing association 
• a private landlord

You can get information and financial support to help you manage rent arrears.

You could get up to 60 days' respite from interest, fees and court action to reduce stress and give you time to deal with your debts.

Breathing Space, Debt Respite Scheme (StepChange)

You should not have to pay for debt advice. You can get free debt information and support from:

• StepChange
• Citizens Advice
• Debt Advice Foundation

Turn2us has an advice finder where you can find advice services in your area. Select 'debt' from the menu to find local services that can help you manage your rent arrears.

Find an adviser (Turn2us)

Debt can be stressful, but there is help available.

Managing your mental health 

There are places where you can get free or cheap food. 

Free food and food banks 

If you need support with energy bills, there is support available from government and local authorities.

Government help with energy bills

Contact Scope to arrange an appointment if you would like free phone or email support.

Contact Scope’s Disability Energy Support

Help with bills and the cost of living

Before you pay your landlord any money, check your tenancy agreement or occupation contract. This will say who is liable (legally responsible) for paying rent. It is usually the person who signed the agreement.

Ask your landlord or letting agency for a copy.

If you rent from a private landlord, you can also ask for help from the local council housing options and advice team.

Find your local council (GOV.UK)

If you rent with other people

If you have a joint tenancy with other people, everyone is responsible for paying the rent arrears. 

If one person is in arrears, all tenants must pay.

If you have separate agreements, the person who has rent arrears is responsible for paying.

Keep records of any letters, emails or conversations with your landlord about rent arrears and evictions. This can help if you need to check something later. Or if there is a disagreement about what someone said.

Ask for information to be shared with you in writing in a format that is accessible to you. You are entitled to ask for reasonable adjustments from your council or housing association. 

Asking for reasonable adjustments

It is also a good idea to take notes from phone calls or meetings.

You can:

• take notes during a meeting
• ask someone else to take notes for you
• record the meeting on your phone but you must get everyone's permission before you do this

How to record audio on your mobile phone (wikiHow)

If you speak to someone on the phone, ask for their name and job title and write it down in your notes.

Get help from an advocate 

Ask your landlord for information in writing that shows exactly how much money you owe them.

If you rent from your council or housing association

If your landlord is your local council or housing association, they must write to you if you have missed a rent payment.

They must try to agree a reasonable plan to help you pay off your rent arrears before taking steps to evict you.

If you rent from a private landlord

A private landlord might not write to you to tell you if you miss a rent payment.

They do not have to agree a plan to help you repay the rent. And they can try to evict you if you miss 2 or more months of rent. 

If you disagree with your landlord 

If you disagree with your landlord about how much you owe, find evidence that shows how much rent you have paid. 

If your rent is covered by Universal Credit housing element, contact the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Ask them to check if there have been any gaps in your housing element payments. You can call the DWP or write a note in your online journal.

Contact Universal Credit (GOV.UK)

If your rent is covered by housing benefit, contact your local council. Ask them for records of all the housing benefit paid towards your rent. Check if there are any gaps.

Housing benefit

Find your local council (GOV.UK)

If your rent is not covered by benefits, or if only some of your rent is covered by benefits, check your bank accounts. Check when your rent has come out of your account and if there have been any gaps. Keep a note of dates of payments you make.

Talk to your landlord or housing officer as soon as possible. This gives you more time to plan for repayment before another rent payment is due.

Write down your monthly income and spending, including any other debts you owe. 

For most people, Universal Credit has replaced most means-tested benefits (which are based on income and savings). This includes Housing Benefit.

When you move to Universal Credit, you may have to wait up to 5 weeks for your first payment.

Your Housing Benefit will continue for 2 weeks after you claim Universal Credit. This can leave a gap before your first payment of Universal Credit. You will still need to pay your rent during this time. 

You could get an advance payment to help you cover this gap.

Advance payments

Paying Universal Credit to your landlord 

Universal Credit is usually paid into your bank account. But you can ask for Universal Credit to be paid to your landlord to help you pay off your rent arrears. This may help if you find it hard to manage money. But it can take time to set this up.

If you are 2 months or more behind with rent, your landlord can ask for the housing element of your Universal Credit to go directly to them. This means you receive a smaller payment each month.

The maximum amount of Universal Credit that can go directly to the landlord for rent arrears is 15%. This means your Universal Credit could be reduced by 15% of your standard allowance.

Your landlord may not know how Universal Credit works. Talk to them about claiming:

• deductions to pay off your arrears
• a Landlord Managed Payment to pay your rent in future

Your landlord will need to apply to the Universal Credit service. You will need to explain why it will help you to have your Universal Credit paid directly to your landlord.

For example, if you have a mental health condition which means you are often anxious or stressed, you may find it harder to remember to pay priority bills.

Applying for a direct payment of rent as a landlord (GOV.UK) 

Alternative payment arrangements

You can also request alternative payment arrangements to help you manage your money.

When you are in rent arrears, you can apply to have your Universal Credit twice a month or 4 times a month. 

If you pay rent as a couple, you can split the payment with your partner. This means that you are not managing all the money yourself. 

If you have not started Universal Credit, ask for these payment arrangements at your interview.

Talk to your work coach at your Universal Credit interview (Citizens Advice)

If your Universal Credit includes a housing allowance, you could apply for an advance payment. 

Advance payments are loans to people who cannot meet their immediate, essential needs. Rent is an essential need. You can use advance payments to pay off rent arrears.

Advance payments are paid to you, not your landlord.

Advance payments are deducted at 15% of your award in most cases, or 25% if you have earnings.

If this causes you hardship, you can contact the Universal Credit Helpline and ask them to refer you to DWP Debt Management.

Contact Universal Credit (GOV.UK)

Advance payments are not a long-term solution to managing debt. You will have to pay back the loan through a reduction in your Universal Credit.

Universal Credit advances before your first payment (Shelter) 

Applying for an advance payment

Talk to your work coach or use your online Universal Credit journal to apply for an advance payment. You will need to provide evidence of your rent arrears, such as a rent statement.

Contact Universal Credit (GOV.UK)

Hardship payments

You can apply for a hardship payment if you cannot afford your rent, heating, food or hygiene needs because you have received a sanction.

Hardship payments (Turn2us)

Sanctions (Disability Rights UK)

Housing Benefit can be paid to you or directly to your landlord. If you have made a new claim for Housing Benefit, and there has been a delay in processing your claim, you could be in rent arrears. These delays are common.

Contact your council and find out why there is a delay. Ask them to prioritise your claim.

If the council takes longer than 2 weeks to decide your claim, you should receive an automatic payment to cover your rent. This is sometimes called a payment on account or interim payment.

If you do not receive this and have waited more than 2 weeks, contact the revenue and benefits team at your local council.

Find your local council (GOV.UK)

If you receive other income-related benefits, you may be able to use part of these to pay off your rent arrears. These payments are called third party deductions. They are available for council, housing association or private tenants. You or your landlord can apply for these if you get:

• Income Support
• Pension Credit
• Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA)
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

A small amount from your benefits can be paid directly to your landlord, if they agree.

You need to be sure that you can afford to reduce your other benefits to pay off your rent arrears. The DWP will only consider third party deductions if you have taken reasonable steps to agree a repayment plan with your landlord.

Contact your Jobcentre Plus (GOV.UK)

Send a repayment offer to your landlord (Shelter)

If you are waiting on a benefits decision or there has been a problem with your claim:

• contact the DWP for an update on your claim
• let your landlord know that there is a problem and ask if they can work out a repayment plan with you

If you are eligible for the benefit, your claim will be backdated. You could ask your landlord to wait until you get the backdated payment to pay them.

You can also look for financial support if your rent costs more than your benefit.

If your rent always costs more than your benefits, you can:

• check you are getting all the benefits you are entitled to
• apply for Discretionary Housing Payment
• apply for grants
• find ways to pay less rent

How to afford rent

If you need free benefits advice or support in person:

Find an adviser (Advicelocal)

Find a local benefits adviser (Turn2us)

If your rent is always more than benefits and any other income, you can look for ways to pay less rent.

If you rent from a council or housing association

If you rent from a council or housing association, contact your local council housing options team.

Find your local council (GOV.UK)

They can do a suitability review of your home. If it is not suitable, they can put you on the list for a different home that you can afford. 

If you rent from a private landlord

If you rent from a private landlord, you can explain that rent will always be more than you can afford. Show them how much you can afford and ask if they will accept that amount. If they do, make sure you get the agreement in writing. 

If your landlord does not want to reduce your rent, you might have to look for a cheaper home. 

Finding a new accessible home

We have more information to help you find a new home.

Housing options for disabled people

Your landlord can try to evict you if you have rent arrears. They can only try to evict you if they send you a valid Section 8 eviction notice. If this happens, you do not need to leave straight away.

Section 8 eviction notices (Shelter)

If you do not live with your landlord, they cannot make you leave the home without going through a court.

If you do live with your landlord, they do not need to take you to court. You can still challenge the eviction.

We have more information on your rights if your landlord tries to evict you.

Shelter has information on your rights if you live with your landlord as a lodger.

Lodgers (Shelter)