Is your tenant struggling to pay their rent? Do you know what to do about it?
A tenant who has fallen into rent arrears can be a distressing time for both them and you as the landlord, and chasing people for money is never nice. So, take a deep breath and make a plan.
First things first, try to make contact with your tenant to try and ascertain what the problem is. A phone call or text reminder will suffice. Remember to be polite and courteous, these issues can be sensitive, you want to keep lines of communication open and encourage your tenant to tell you the truth and not just tell you what you want to hear.
If the tenant is having money trouble you may be able to arrange a payment plan to ensure they can pay back what they can afford for the short term. Long term you may want to guide them towards applying for the housing element of universal credit if they haven’t done so already.
Make sure anything you agree is confirmed in writing so there can be no confusion over expectations in the future.
Procedurally there are things you should and shouldn’t be doing. Whilst you are able to make contact with the tenant you must not harass them, for example, continually calling and texting or turning up their property or place of work is not acceptable, regardless of whether they are responding to you or not.
Send a formal rent demand letter at 7,14 and 21 days and at the same time continue to try and contact them for answers. Try and arrange a face to face meeting and be realistic about what you expect them to pay if they are experiencing problems.
Remember, if your tenant is in receipt of universal credit you can apply for this to be paid directly to you, or if the tenant has a guarantor, make sure you are also contacting them at regular intervals to request payment of the rent. Even if a payment plan is agreed the guarantor is entitled to be kept in the loop of developments.
If you have landlord rent protection insurance read the terms of your policy ASAP and understand how and when to make a claim should you need to.
Most tenants do want to pay their rent, and hopefully a plan can be put into place. If, however your tenant wont pay you need to take swift action. Serve the demand letters as previously stated and a section 8 notice as soon as the tenant is 2 months in arrears. A section 8 notice has a 14 day notice period and as long as its serviced correctly is likely to be the quickest way for you to achieve vacant possession (bear in mind the tenant needs to be 2 months in arrears on the service date as well as the court date) Should the tenant clear their arrears or be less than 2 months in arrears on the court date the section 8 notice would be invalidated. A section 21 notice can be served in addition to the Section 8, although this has a 2 month notice period and cant expire before the end of a fixed term tenancy.
Most rent arrears can be sorted, and payment plans can be agreed, if however you are struggling or need some help and advice please do not hesitate to contact the office.
We are here and ready to help.
Gemma Scott-Davies, Lettings Manager,
01474 321957