Rent Arrears
If you are having problems paying your rent, you should contact your landlord straight away and explain your difficulties.
If you cannot get the situation under control, you are at serious risk of losing your home. In most cases, if you lose your home because of non-payment of rent, the Council is not required to treat you as homeless under the current law.
Some people get into rent arrears because of an unexpected, but temporary, change of circumstances - such as losing a job. In cases like this, it may simply be a short-term problem. For many others on low incomes, rent arrears may be due to several regular debts, that have to be juggled in order to keep your head above water. There could be five things that need to be dealt with:
- Balancing your budget.
- Sorting out Housing Benefit payments.
- Working out how you can repay the debt.
- Making an arrangement with your landlord.
- Court Action.
You can get specialist advice from the organisations listed under contacts.
Balancing your budget
If your arrears are not just a one off, caused by some unusual and temporary circumstance, then you need specialist advice on balancing your budget. This involves looking at all your income and expenses, including any other regular repayments you have to make for hire purchase agreements or other borrowings.
It is also important to ensure that if you are borrowing money, you are not paying more interest than you need to. You may have seen advertisements for companies that will reschedule all your debts. You should not respond, until you have taken independent advice.
You can meet an advisor at the Citizens Advice Bureau, or discuss your position over the phone with the National Debtline or the Consumer Credit Counselling Service.
Sorting out Housing Benefit payments
Sometimes arrears are caused by late payment of Housing Benefit.
If your landlord is the Council or a housing association, they are expected to work closely with the Housing Benefit Team to sort out any problems with late payment of benefit. You should contact your housing officer.
If you have a private landlord, and have problems with late payment, you will need to talk to the Housing Benefit Team yourself.
Working out how you can repay the debt
If your arrears are a one-off, and you expect to be able to repay them soon, then aim to make repayment a priority against non-essential expenses. The sooner they are cleared, the less trouble they will be in the long run.
If your arrears have built up because you find it difficult to balance your budget, you will need to change your spending priorities enough to make a regular repayment, however small. If you cannot do this, you are likely to lose your home, and may have great difficulty getting another.
Making an arrangement with your landlord
Keep in touch with your landlord. Open and read their letters. Tell them what you are thinking of doing. In general, it is better for your landlord to come to a new arrangement with you to regularly pay back the full rent and/or arrears than it is for them to force you out. They are less likely to get a possession order from the Courts if you are making realistic proposals about how to get the situation under control.
There are three things you must do -
- Work out how much you are going pay off each week or month from the arrears.
- Put your proposal in writing to your landlord, setting out how you have worked out what you want to do.
- Make a regular repayment, however small, in addition to the full rent due. This will show that you are willing to solve the problem, and may count in your favour if the matter goes to Court.
Court Action
If you are in rent arrears and you do not make a satisfactory arrangement to clear them, your landlord may seek a Possession Order through the Courts, so that you can be evicted. We have a separate leaflet, which explains what happens, and what you can do, if you are being taken to Court for housing debts.
If you are worried about Court action, or how to deal with your landlord, you can get advice from the Shelter Somerset Housing Aid Centre.
Contacts
Citizens Advice Bureau
44 Station Road, Taunton
Tel: 01823 282235
www.tauntoncab.org.uk (external link)
Provides advice on budgeting, debt counselling and benefit entitlement.
National Debtline
Tel: 0808 8084000
www.nationaldebtline.co.uk (external link)
Gives advice on managing debt.
Consumer Credit Counselling Service
Tel: 0800 1381111
www.ccs.co.uk (external link)
Provides realistic advice on credit and debt problems.
Shelter Somerset Housing Aid Centre
Tel: 0800 1690317
www.shelter.org.uk (external link)
Provides advice on housing problems.
Housing Benefit Team
Tel: 01823 356356
benefits@tauntondeane.gov.uk
 Rent Arrears (120 KB)
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