Legal advice, trusted for 50 years
Save 50%, £49.50 for a year.From neighbour disputes to shoddy service, we show you what to do, no hidden extras. Happy 50th to us, happy 50% off to you.
Subscribe and saveUsually £99, offer ends 30 September 2026
What to do if a tenant has fallen into rent arrears
Learn about your options if your tenant falls behind on paying their rent
Sam covers personal finance topics, from the best savings rates to the reasons mortgage lenders say no. He enjoys crunching the numbers to help consumers get ahead.
Missed payments and rental arrears can be extremely stressful for both landlords and tenants.
Often, the easiest way to resolve the problem and get back on track is to speak to your tenant directly, but in some cases further steps will be required.
This guide explains how to deal with arrears and what to do if your tenant misses a payment.
What to do if you can't pay your rent
If you're a tenant and you're struggling to pay your rent, see our what to do if you can't pay your rent guide for advice on the options available, including government help for rent arrears and specialist housing charities.
1. Talk to your tenant
If rent remains unpaid after several days, start by calling your tenant or sending a text message or email to check in.
If you don’t hear anything back, send a formal letter by first-class or hand-delivered mail.
Your letter should request that the outstanding arrears be paid immediately and ask the tenant to ensure future payments are made in full on or by the due date.
You should explain that unpaid arrears could result in court action being taken against the tenant and state that you may make an application to the court for possession of the property should more than three months' rent (or 13 weeks if rent is paid weekly or fortnightly) go unpaid.
Ask your tenant what is causing the outstanding arrears. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025, which came into force on 1 May 2026, prevents a landlord from seeking possession of a property in England for rent arrears if the reason for those rent arrears is late payment of benefits (different rules apply in Scotland and Wales).
It’s important to treat the matter of a missed payment or arrears sensitively and to be polite throughout.
If you show unreasonable behaviour, this could affect the outcome if the issue ends up going to court.
If your tenant is struggling financially, you could direct them towards a charity such as Step Change or Shelter for advice.
Consider offering your tenant a repayment plan
Another option for resolving arrears is to arrange a repayment plan with your tenant.
This could be through spreading the amount of money owed to you across future rent payments, for example.
There is no obligation for you to do this, but it may be easier than going through the eviction process.
2. Contact your insurer
Many landlord insurance policies will cover missed payments and tenant arrears.
If you have insurance, your provider should be able to tell you how this works, how much it covers, and how to claim.
If a tenancy comes to an end with money outstanding, you may be able to apply to take this from your tenant’s deposit by registering a claim with the relevant tenancy deposit scheme.
- Find out more: best landlord insurance
Keep a record of payments
As a landlord you should keep a record of when rent payments are due and when they are paid by your tenants.
If you know some part of the rent is unpaid due to delayed payment of benefits, keep a record of which proportion of the rent is due to late payment of benefits and which part is not. You may wish to contact the local authority to make enquiries to see if any issues with late payment of benefits can be resolved.
Send receipts to your tenants detailing the date the rent was paid, the time period it refers to, the amount paid, and the amount outstanding.
If it’s a joint tenancy, remind tenants they are equally responsible for paying the rent and for clearing any debt owed.
If you do decide to make an application for possession against a tenant (or tenants) based on them not paying rent, you will be required to provide a copy of all rent payment transactions and communication between you and the tenant.
3. Send a follow up letter or contact the guarantor
If you still haven't received outstanding rent 14 days after it is due, send another letter explaining that if your tenant doesn’t pay, you'll be forced to take the matter further and commence court action after having complied with the relevant pre-action protocol.
If your tenant has provided a guarantor, send the guarantor a letter advising them that the tenant hasn't paid the rent in line with the tenancy agreement.
4. Consider action to claim possession of your property
If, after three months (or 13 weeks if rent is paid weekly or fortnightly), you still haven’t received any rent from your tenant for a property in England, you should send a third letter to the tenant and (if applicable) their guarantor.
This should be the final step before considering legal steps to reclaim your property.
Use this letter to confirm your intention to take legal action if the rent isn’t paid.
You can use our free letter template to demand outstanding rent that’s been owed by a tenant for at least eight weeks.
If your property is in Scotland and you haven't been paid rent for three months, action can be taken to evict the tenant. The landlord must give 28 days' notice and it does not matter how long a tenant has lived there.
If your property is in Wales, action can be taken after two months or eight weeks if rent is paid weekly.
5. Serve a notice of eviction
If you haven’t received any rent at this point, and your tenant hasn’t tried to communicate with you or to resolve the situation, you have the right under the Housing Act 1988 to take action to claim possession of your property if it is in England through a Section 8 notice (separate rules and timeframes apply in Scotland and Wales).
A Section 8 notice informs your tenant that you intend to take them to court if they don't pay within a further 14 days.
To serve a Section 8 notice, a landlord needs a legal reason for doing so, such as rent arrears, which they need to prove at a court hearing. Other grounds for possession include anti-social behaviour, wanting to sell the property or the landlord or their immediate family wanting to move into the property.
A Section 8 notice needs to be given using the Form 3A. A claim for possession could be dismissed or delayed if the notice of possession is incomplete or inaccurate. The length of notice will depend upon the ground relied upon.
A landlord will need to give the tenant the right amount of notice - and comply with the other legal requirements - for the grounds they have used.
It is important to note that the 2025 Act amended the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 to introduce a new power for local authorities to impose a civil penalty (up to £40,000) for unlawful eviction or harassment, where previously only prosecution was possible. It is now a specific offence to attempt to regain possession of a property by relying on a possession ground knowing (or being reckless as to whether) the landlord cannot obtain possession (e.g. lying about the length of time rent needs to be unpaid for and suggesting possession proceedings could be made sooner than legally allowed).
6. Go to court
If your tenant doesn’t respond to your demands for rent, or challenges the possession notice, you are entitled to take legal action to seek possession of your property.
You may also ask the court to make a judgement against your tenant for the arrears of rent and reasonable costs incurred.
The judge will dismiss your case if there is no reason for the tenant to be evicted or if you haven’t followed the right process.
Rent arrears court actions
The court can order the tenant to do one of the following:
- Leave the property before a specified date stated in the order.
- Stay in the property as long as they pay or obey the conditions of the order.
- Pay you a specified amount.
- Leave the property and pay a specified amount to cover rent arrears, court fees and legal costs.
A judge can also add a money judgement to cover rent arrears, court fees and legal costs.
A separate county court money claim for repayment of rent arrears can be pursued even if you are not seeking possession of the property.
If you do get a money judgement against the tenant, you will have six years in which to enforce it.
Need a mortgage?
Find the best mortgage for you, with expert help provided by L&C Mortgages
Get advice now