If your tenant has missed a rent payment, acting quickly, but calmly, can significantly improve your chances of recovering the money and avoiding a lengthy court process. Missed payments, if not addressed promptly, can escalate into overwhelming amounts, so having a clear process and plan in place is essential to prevent things turning heated and sour.
Since the Renters’ Rights Act came into force in May 2026, landlords can no longer rely on Section 21 to regain possession. Every rent arrears eviction now follows the Section 8 process, making early intervention, good record-keeping and proper documentation more important than ever.
This guide explains exactly what to do from the day rent becomes overdue through to court proceedings and debt recovery. It aims to help you reach an agreement that satisfies both parties and minimise losses, even when the situation looks precarious.
If a tenant misses a rent payment:
Each of these steps is explained in detail below.
Rent arrears is a legal term for any money owed after the due date.
Any money owed after the due date is considered a rent arrear. Even if a tenant makes a partial payment, the remaining sum is still considered a rent arrear. Late payments can be grounds for legal action and eviction under Section 8 (grounds 8, 10 & 11). As soon as a payment becomes late, starting a process for arrears is essential.
We have compiled this guide to be an expert aid should you ever ask “What should I do if my tenant falls into rent arrears?”
This can be a vital part of the process that shouldn’t be overlooked. Collect evidence that can work in your favour if you end up in court. Hopefully, court can be avoided, but it is always best to be prepared. The very fact that you show you are organised and prepared is a deterrent, considering the idea of being prepared for court, along with the idea that they could be too. This is why it is important to approach the situation courteously and sensitively. Any unreasonable actions or behaviour can work against you if the situation starts to escalate. This guide is intended to provide an overview of the rent arrears process and is not a substitute for legal advice. We advise seeking professional advice.
The first step to take when a tenant misses a payment is to let them know a payment has been missed. There are lots of genuine reasons why a tenant may have missed a payment, and opening a line of communication with them will help you find out why. Maybe payroll at their work was late, they’ve changed bank providers and the standing order didn’t transfer, or they just lost track of the date. A polite call, text or email will be sufficient to inform them and allow them to explain their situation.
If the tenant hasn’t paid or responded to your communications, then send them a first-class letter or hand-deliver one.
The letter should inform them you have already attempted to contact them regarding a payment request for outstanding arrears and payment should be made as soon as possible.
If you have been able to open a line of communication and the tenant looks to be in a precarious financial position, it is reasonable to direct them to places and organisations where they can get help, advice and funding.
Debt Advice
Cost of Living
Civil Legal Advice
Benefits Calculator
If the tenant has a guarantor and you have been unable to contact the tenant or agree on a repayment plan, it may be worth contacting the guarantor. Inform the guarantor that the tenant is behind on arrears, and without a solution, further actions will be taken against the tenant.
At this point, it may be worth contacting your insurance provider and checking if you are covered, how to claim and how much you are eligible for.
As a landlord, you should be able to demonstrate how you have exhausted all your options before serving notice.
Offering a repayment plan is not a necessity nor obligatory; however, it is a gesture of goodwill and can be enough to get your tenant back on track. If you are open to a repayment, make sure it works for both you and the tenant. Get the tenant to agree to the new terms and have them sign the agreement. Keep the document safe and make copies for backup.
There are multiple ways you can set up a repayment plan for tenants in arrears:
Important update: Since 1 May 2026, Section 21 “no-fault” evictions have been abolished under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. Landlords can no longer serve notice without giving a reason. Every eviction, including for rent arrears, must now go through Section 8 and rely on one of the specific legal grounds below. A Section 21 notice can only still be relied on where it was validly served before 1 May 2026 and court proceedings were issued by 31 July 2026 at the latest; that transitional window has now effectively closed for most landlords.
You can serve a Section 8 notice at any point during the tenancy, as it is based on breaches of the tenancy agreement. Rent arrears are covered by one mandatory ground and two discretionary grounds:
The tenant must be at least three months in arrears (or 13 weeks if rent is paid weekly or fortnightly), and the arrears must still be at that level both when the notice is served and on the day of the hearing. If a tenant only falls short of this threshold because a Universal Credit housing payment hasn’t yet come through, that amount is disregarded when calculating the arrears, worth keeping in mind before you rely on this ground.
The tenant has some level of rent arrears, even if it’s below the Ground 8 threshold. Because this ground is discretionary, the court decides whether it’s reasonable to grant possession.
The tenant has persistently been late paying rent, even if they aren’t currently in arrears. This is a useful fallback alongside Ground 8: if a tenant pays off enough of the arrears to defeat Ground 8 before the hearing, a clear pattern of late payment can still support possession under Ground 11.
Landlords often cite Grounds 8, 10 and 11 together in the same notice, so that if arrears drop below the Ground 8 threshold before the hearing, the discretionary grounds remain as a fallback.
The notice period you need to give depends on the ground for eviction. For rent arrears grounds 8, 10 and 11, you now need to give four weeks’ notice. This doubled compared with the previous two-week period, when the Renters’ Rights Act’s reforms took effect. If you don’t give enough notice, it will invalidate the notice, so it’s essential to calculate this correctly. As with all the steps in this post, you need to record your actions for proof.
Tensions will have risen at this moment, and it is important to remain level-headed. We mentioned earlier how unreasonable actions will hinder progress. Actions such as changing locks, removing tenants’ belongings from the property, and turning off utilities could even result in legal action against the landlord.
To serve a Section 8 notice, you need to complete the current prescribed form: Form 3A – Notice seeking possession of a property let on an assured tenancy. This replaced the older Form 3 once the Renters’ Rights Act’s tenancy reforms took effect.
After providing notice, you need to provide proof. The government provides a specific certificate for this with an N215 form.
This, hopefully, is the final step. But this is also a reminder of some of the previous actions, because at this point, you should have:
You serve the notice by:
The notice should have a date for when you expect the tenant to vacate the property, and this must respect the four-week minimum notice period for arrears grounds.
Yes. A notice can be challenged, and possession proceedings prolonged, if it wasn’t served on the correct prescribed form, doesn’t correctly state the grounds relied on, or contains errors such as a misspelt name or the wrong address. Given how document-heavy Section 8 claims now are, it’s worth double-checking every notice carefully before it’s served.
If a tenant doesn’t leave by the requested date on the notice, the landlord can begin a ‘possession claim’ and ask the court to order the tenant to leave. Where the claim is based solely on rent arrears grounds (8, 10 or 11), this can be started through Possession Claims Online.
It’s worth knowing that the accelerated possession procedure that used to accompany Section 21 no longer exists, so even a straightforward arrears case now goes through the standard court process. Landlords should expect this to take longer than it may have done previously, potentially several months from notice to enforcement if a tenant contests the claim or doesn’t leave voluntarily.
If the court rules that the tenant must leave, they will have a minimum of 14 days to do so. If the tenant doesn’t leave on their own after the court notice, the court will send bailiffs to the property.
Yes. If the tenant’s circumstances change, such as they regain work and benefits start coming through, or they pay a proportion of the arrears off, the court may accept an appeal. If the court accepts the tenant’s appeal, then the possession order can be suspended or postponed.
Once the tenant has vacated the property, the arrears become fixed, meaning no further debt will accumulate. At this stage, your focus shifts to recovering the outstanding amount. There are a few options available for pursuing unpaid rent:
Debt Recovery Services: Specialised businesses can assist with recovering unpaid rent. These companies are experienced in dealing with delinquent payments and can help you recover the money more efficiently. However, these services typically charge a fee, which may reduce the overall amount you recover. Assessing whether the potential recovery justifies the additional costs and time involved is important.
Small Claims Court: For amounts under £10,000, you might consider taking the tenant to small claims court. This straightforward process can be a cost-effective way to recover smaller sums. You can begin your small claims case through the UK government’s official portal here. When preparing for a small claims case, ensure that you have all necessary documentation, such as proof of the debt, communication records, and any agreements made with the tenant.
Considerations: Before deciding on a recovery method, weigh the costs and potential outcomes. Debt recovery services may be more suitable for larger amounts, while small claims court is ideal for smaller sums. Also, consider the likelihood of the tenant being able to pay the debt; if their financial situation is dire, the recovery process might be more challenging, drawn out, and even end without recouping the debt.
As you can see from this guide, the process of managing rent arrears can be very lengthy, particularly now that every eviction has to go through the full Section 8 court process. Because of this, it is better to start the ball rolling sooner rather than later, as you have more chance to resolve the issue. If it all looks to be going south, at least you are in a position where you can reduce the time and stress of the process.
Every case is different, but it helps to know roughly what you’re looking at once arrears turn into a formal notice and, if necessary, court proceedings.
| Stage | Typical Timeframe |
|---|---|
| Communication and formal reminders | Days to a few weeks – largely within your control. |
| Section 8 notice period (Grounds 8, 10 or 11) | 4 weeks (statutory minimum). |
| Waiting for a court hearing date | Roughly 8–16 weeks after the claim is issued, depending heavily on the individual court’s backlog. |
| Hearing to possession order taking effect | Tenant given a minimum of 14 days to leave. |
| Enforcement (bailiff warrant), if the tenant still doesn’t leave | Around 6 months nationally once the order has been granted, and up to 7–8 months in London. |
Put together, the median time from issuing a court claim to actually regaining possession has been running at around 26–27 weeks (roughly six months) nationally. and that’s before accounting for the extra volume Section 8 is now absorbing now that Section 21 has gone. In cases with significant arrears, a contested hearing, or an enforcement backlog, the full journey from the first missed payment to regaining possession can approach 12 months. It’s another reason the earlier chapters of this guide keep coming back to the same point: start the process as soon as a payment is missed, don’t wait.
Ground 8 requires the arrears to still be at the mandatory threshold both when notice is served and at the hearing. If a tenant pays enough to bring the arrears below three months (or 13 weeks), Ground 8 will fail, which is why it’s common practice to cite the discretionary Grounds 10 and 11 alongside Ground 8, so you still have a route to possession even if the tenant reduces the debt right before the hearing.
A tenant who won’t answer calls, texts or letters isn’t a barrier to the process. It just means you keep following the same steps and documenting every attempt. Continue the formal reminder and repayment-plan stages as usual, and don’t let silence stop you moving on to a Section 8 notice once the arrears meet the relevant grounds. If the case reaches court and the tenant still doesn’t engage, proceedings can carry on in their absence. An unopposed claim is often more straightforward than a contested one. It’s still worth trying to make contact at every stage, including through a guarantor if there is one, since a tenant who re-engages can sometimes be brought back to a repayment plan even quite late on.
Don’t assume the tenancy has ended just because you can’t reach the tenant; this creates a serious legal risk. If a tenant can’t be traced, courts can, in some circumstances, allow you to serve notice or proceedings by an alternative method, such as post or email. Take reasonable, documented steps to establish what’s happened before treating the property as vacant, and get advice before re-letting.
Only treat a tenancy as ended without a court order if you have clear, unambiguous evidence that the tenant has genuinely left for good, such as the return of keys and written confirmation. If there’s any doubt, it’s safer to obtain a possession order first. Acting too quickly on an assumption of abandonment can expose you to a claim for unlawful eviction, even if the tenant genuinely has moved out.
Any arrears that exist only because a tenant’s Universal Credit housing payment hasn’t yet come through are disregarded when calculating whether the Ground 8 threshold is met. This means a benefit delay on its own can’t be used to reach the mandatory three-month (or 13-week) threshold. The discretionary grounds may still be available if there are genuine underlying arrears.
A guarantor who has signed a valid guarantee agreement is contractually liable for the debt, so if they refuse to pay voluntarily, you can pursue them through the same debt recovery routes used against a tenant, including the small claims court, for amounts under £10,000. Keep a copy of the signed guarantee agreement, as you’ll need it as evidence.
Rent arrears become a debt in the tenant’s insolvency, and you’ll typically need to register as an unsecured creditor rather than recovering the debt directly, which usually means recovering only a portion of what’s owed, if anything. Bankruptcy alone doesn’t automatically end the tenancy or give you a ground for possession; you’d still need to rely on the arrears grounds if the rent isn’t being paid. Get specific advice, as insolvency and tenancy law interact in ways that vary case by case.
This has become significantly more complex under the Renters’ Rights Act, because assured tenancies now carry statutory succession rights. If someone else was living in the property as their main home immediately before the tenant died, the tenancy may pass to them automatically, and you may not be able to regain possession at all. Where succession doesn’t apply, Ground 7 allows you to seek possession, but you must start court proceedings within 12 months of the death (or of becoming aware of it), and the minimum notice period is two months. Because the rules depend heavily on the individual circumstances, this is one area where it’s worth getting legal advice early.
Joint tenants are usually “jointly and severally liable,” meaning each one is responsible for the whole rent, not just their share, so you can pursue any or all of them for the full arrears. A Section 8 notice needs to be validly served on every joint tenant, so make sure your notice and proof of service cover each of them individually.
Good record-keeping from the very first missed payment makes a real difference if a case reaches a hearing. Keep hold of:
The more complete and organised this evidence is, the stronger your position. Both for reaching an agreement with the tenant and, if needed, for demonstrating the arrears and your conduct to the court.
Decorus has specific features within the Credit Control Module to help deal with rent arrears.
Automate Reminders: Decorus can automate the sending of reminders for outstanding rent. Users can customise and set their own rules and schedules for when tenants receive reminders.
Record keeping: Decorus provides an ideal safe place to keep, store, and upload any records or documents associated with a tenant sent during the process.
Templates: Decorus also provides a set of templates for users to utilise. Users can also customise or upload their own templates.
