It is your responsibility to pay your rent or make sure you are claiming the right benefits to cover this.
Getting into rent arrears can be distressing and you can end up losing your home.
If you are a council tenant read our policy on rent arrears.
If you are struggling to pay contact us immediately.
Private tenants
It is your responsibility to make sure that your landlord gets the rent in time - this applies whether you pay all your rent yourself or whether it is paid through Housing Benefit.
If you are getting into arrears, don’t wait until they build up - contact your landlord and let them know that you are having difficulties.
- Write a letter explaining why you are having problems (i.e. if you have lost your job or have a delay with a benefit claim)
- Ask if you can have more time to pay or if you can pay a reduced amount of rent for a certain period of time. Make sure you keep a copy of this letter
- Check that you agree with the amount of rent that your landlord says you owe - check your rent book or ask the landlord for a breakdown of figures, then compare it with your own records (i.e. your bank statements)
- If your landlord wants to evict you because of your rent arrears, there are rules about how this can be done - see eviction and harassment.