The BBC has reported that, the rent of “12% of all private tenants went unpaid or was paid late,” further emphasising the problem of rent arrears in the UK.

Using statistics provided by property company LSL, the BBC said that, “Rent arrears in the private sector now amounted to £276 million, the highest since December 2009.” Extrapolated across the public sector means that rent arrears in the UK are pushing many people into serious levels of personal debt.

Tenant rent arrears, whether private or local authority (council), are deemed to be priority debts in the eyes of the law and as such would not be included in any debt management programme that allowed debtors to repay a reduced amount to their creditors. These programmes would include: Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs), Protected Trust Deeds or any form of personal bankruptcy.

Rent arrears therefore are a serious problem and can mean that the tenant will be evicted from their home and pursued, through the courts, for the outstanding amount.

Rent Arrears Help

Help with housing rent arrears can be had from a number of sources. For council tenants who have fallen behind with their rent the first stop should be the council advice centre to tell them there is a problem. In many cases the council will suggest a rent arrears repayment programme, which will allow the tenant to ‘catch up’ without recourse to the courts.

Many local authorities have an Introductory Council Tenancy for new tenants that generally lasts for one year. This type of agreements allows easier eviction of those with rent arrears. However after a year without any problems most tenants will progress to a Secure Council Tenancy, which gives them much greater protection from eviction. However, depending on the severity of the problem and other factors, it is still possible to evict after an attempt at rent arrears recovery.

Private Tenants with Rent Arrears

For private tenants with rent arrears, the situation may be more problematic although it does depend on what type of tenancy agreement is in place. If for example it is an Assured Shorthold Tenancy a tenant cannot be evicted without the landlord applying for a court order. However providing the correct procedures have been followed it is unlikely that the court would refuse an order to evict the tenant.

Rent Arrears Recovery

Those with other forms of private tenancies including Periodic Tenancies and Fixed Term Tenancies face slightly different eviction criteria for rent arrears. In essence however, in most cases, a landlord can take court action to force an eviction and press for rent arrears recovery

Tenants who live with the landlord as a lodger will be classed as an Excluded Occupier and if asked by the landlord to leave must do so within a period that is equal to the rental period. That means for rent paid monthly, a month’s notice must be given.

Rent Arrears Advice

The advice from most debt experts is to get help before rent arrears becomes a major problem. There are a number of agencies that will help:

  • Citizens Advice
  • Shelter
  • Local authority advice centres
  • National Debtline.
  • Consumer Credit counselling Service (CCCS)

Note:

The information included in this article applies only to England. the agencies listed above will advise on regional variations.

Sources:

Directgov, Rent arrears, site accessed 26 January 2011

Shelter, Private tenancies, site accessed 26 January 2011

Shelter, Council tenancies, site accessed 26 January 2011

BBC News, Rent arrears rise again say letting agents, 20 January 2011

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