Rent arrears: a landlord's guide to recovering unpaid rent | August

Rent arrears: a landlord's complete guide to recovering unpaid rent

Rent arrears are one of the most stressful situations a landlord can face. Whether a tenant has missed one payment or built up months of debt, knowing what you can do, and in what order, is what protects both your income and your legal position. Act too slowly and the arrears mount. Act without following the correct process and you weaken any later claim. This guide takes you through every stage, from the first missed payment to recovering the property and the debt if it comes to that. For the timescales involved, you may also want our guide to how long eviction takes in the UK in 2026.

When a tenant falls into arrears, and why the amount matters

A tenant is in rent arrears the moment rent is not paid on the date it falls due under the tenancy agreement, so even a single missed payment counts. Most landlords allow a short grace period before acting, but that is a courtesy rather than a legal obligation. The dictionary entry covers the definition in full; this guide is about what to do once arrears arise.

The level of arrears matters because different routes open up at different thresholds. Three months of unpaid rent is now the key trigger for mandatory possession under Ground 8, which is the change most landlords need to be aware of in 2026. Knowing exactly how much is owed, and for how long, is the foundation of everything that follows, which is why an accurate payment record from day one is so valuable.

Step 1: contact the tenant promptly

As soon as rent is missed, make contact, having first checked your rent records so you know precisely how much is owed. A phone call, text or email is appropriate at this stage. Keep the tone neutral and factual: the rent due on a given date has not arrived, and you want to understand whether there is a problem.

From working with landlords across the UK, we find most missed payments turn out to be a banking error, a forgotten standing order, or a short-term difficulty the tenant fully intends to fix. Treating first contact as a neutral enquiry rather than an accusation usually gets a faster response. Keep a written record of every contact attempt, including the date, the method and any reply, because that record matters if the case later reaches court. If the tenant explains a short-term difficulty, it is often worth agreeing a repayment plan in writing; doing so does not waive your right to pursue the arrears, and it demonstrates that you behaved reasonably, which courts view favourably.

Step 2: send a formal written reminder

If there is no response, or the arrears keep growing, send a formal written reminder by email and, where possible, by post or hand delivery so you have clear evidence it was sent. The letter should state the exact amount owed and the dates it relates to, a deadline for payment of usually seven to fourteen days, and that you will take further action if it is not addressed by then. Where you need to reconstruct the figures, our pro-rata rent calculator gives the correct opening figure for a tenancy that started mid-month, and the rent payment term calculator shows the daily rate alongside weekly and monthly equivalents for precise arrears on a part-period.

Do not threaten action you are not prepared to take. If you say you will serve a notice by a certain date, do so, because inconsistency weakens your position.

Step 3: check whether the tenant is on Universal Credit

If your tenant receives Universal Credit, the housing element may be paid to them rather than to you. Our guide to managing tenants on Universal Credit and housing benefit explains how the system works and how to apply for managed payments. Where arrears reach at least two months, you may be able to apply for an Alternative Payment Arrangement through the DWP, which routes the housing element directly to you as a Managed Payment to Landlord. This is not automatic, but it is worth pursuing in parallel with other action: contact the tenant's work coach or use the landlord portal to flag the arrears. This also matters legally, because, as explained below, arrears caused only by a delayed Universal Credit payment are treated differently under Ground 8.

Step 4: serve a Section 8 notice

If the arrears persist and informal resolution has failed, the next step is a formal Section 8 notice, which tells the tenant you intend to apply to court for possession. It must be served on the current prescribed Section 8 form and must specify the grounds relied on. Since the Renters' Rights Act 2025 came into force on 1 May 2026, Section 8 is the only route to possession for rent arrears, because Section 21 no-fault evictions have been abolished. Our full guide to grounds for possession sets out every ground in detail.

Ground 8: mandatory possession for serious arrears

Ground 8 is mandatory, meaning the court must grant possession if the conditions are met. Under the Renters' Rights Act, in force from 1 May 2026, those conditions changed:

• The tenant must owe at least three months' rent both when the notice is served and at the date of the hearing, up from the previous two months. For weekly or fortnightly tenancies, the equivalent threshold is thirteen weeks.

• The notice period for Ground 8 has doubled from two weeks to four weeks.

• When calculating the arrears, any amount unpaid only because the tenant had not yet received a Universal Credit payment they were entitled to is disregarded, so a delay in benefit payment cannot be used to reach the threshold.

Because the three-month level must be met both at notice and at the hearing, a tenant who makes a part payment to drop the arrears below three months before the hearing can defeat a Ground 8 claim. For that reason it is sensible to cite the discretionary grounds below as well.

Grounds 10 and 11: the discretionary fallback

Grounds 10 and 11 are discretionary, so the court grants possession only if it considers it reasonable. Ground 10 covers some arrears outstanding at the date of notice and proceedings, and Ground 11 covers persistent late payment even where no arrears are currently outstanding. Citing them alongside Ground 8 gives you a fallback if the tenant pays the arrears down before the hearing but continues a pattern of late or repeated arrears. The treatment of repeated and intermittent arrears changed during the Act's passage, so check the current grounds in our grounds for possession and Section 8 guides before relying on a particular one. All the arrears grounds now carry a four-week notice period.

You cannot apply to court until the notice period has expired and the date specified in the notice has passed. A defective notice can be challenged and will delay the case significantly, so make sure it is completed correctly. For what serving notice means in practice, see our entry on serving notice.

Step 5: apply to court for a possession order

Once the notice period has expired, you can apply to the county court for a possession order. With Section 21 abolished, the accelerated paper-based procedure no longer applies to these cases; a Section 8 arrears claim is made on Form N5 with the particulars of claim set out on Form N119, and you pay the court fee, which is currently in the region of £390 and should be checked before filing as fees change.

The court will list a hearing unless the matter is dealt with on paper. The judge considers your evidence, any defence the tenant raises, and whether possession is appropriate. Where the Ground 8 threshold is clearly met, the court must grant possession. The order usually gives the tenant a date to leave, typically fourteen to twenty-eight days after the hearing. Our guide to evicting tenants in arrears and court timelines covers this stage in more depth.

Step 6: enforce the possession order

If the tenant does not leave by the date in the order, you cannot remove them yourself. Self-help eviction is unlawful and can lead to criminal prosecution and civil liability, regardless of the tenant's own conduct. Instead you apply to enforce the order, by one of two routes:

• County court bailiffs: you apply for a warrant of possession using Form N325, and court-appointed bailiffs attend the property to carry out the eviction. This route is usually cheaper but can be slower depending on local court availability.

• High Court Enforcement Officers: you can apply to transfer enforcement to the High Court, where it is carried out under a writ of possession. This can be faster, but the fees are higher and the court has discretion over whether to allow the transfer.

Once enforcement is complete and the property is empty, you can lawfully re-enter and begin re-letting.

Recovering the outstanding debt

Gaining possession does not recover the arrears. Once the tenant has left, you have several options for the debt itself. You can include a money claim for the arrears in your possession application or make a separate claim; a successful claim produces a county court judgment that can be enforced through means such as an attachment of earnings or a charging order. You can propose a deduction from the protected deposit for unpaid rent, following the scheme's process. And for smaller sums where court action is not cost-effective, a debt collection agency may be instructed, though recovery is not guaranteed.

Can you use the deposit to cover rent arrears?

Yes, subject to the rules of the scheme holding the deposit, because unpaid rent is a legitimate reason to deduct from a tenancy deposit. You must still follow the process: propose the deduction, give the tenant the chance to dispute it, and let the matter go to the scheme's adjudication if they do. Our guide to how the tenancy deposit scheme works sets out the rules on deductions. You cannot simply keep the deposit without following this process; doing so breaches the deposit protection rules and exposes you to penalties.

What the Renters' Rights Act changed for arrears cases

The Act reshaped the possession landscape, and three points matter most for arrears:

• Section 21 is gone. No-fault notices can no longer be served, so every arrears case now runs through Section 8, which makes accurate, up-to-date arrears records more important than ever.

• The Ground 8 threshold rose to three months. Mandatory possession for arrears now requires three months' rent (or thirteen weeks) owed both at notice and at hearing, up from two months, and the notice period is now four weeks rather than two. In practice a landlord will already be three months without rent before serving notice, then wait a further four weeks.

• The PRS database. As the Private Rented Sector database is introduced, landlords will be expected to register, and a court may be less willing to grant possession to a landlord who has not complied.

For a fuller overview, see our post-commencement landlord guide.

Can rent guarantee insurance protect against arrears?

Rent guarantee insurance pays out if a tenant falls into arrears, usually up to a monthly cap for a defined period of six to twelve months, and often covers legal costs for possession. It is not a substitute for tenant referencing, as most policies require evidence the tenant was properly referenced beforehand, and policies typically have a waiting period before a claim can be made. For a mortgaged buy-to-let, a spell of unpaid rent can quickly create cash-flow pressure, so it is worth considering as part of your wider risk management, particularly for higher-value properties.

Alternatives to eviction

Eviction should be the last resort. It is expensive, slow, and leaves the property empty while you find a new tenant. Before going to court, consider a written repayment plan, where the tenant pays the current rent plus an agreed amount each month until the arrears clear, which works where the difficulty is genuinely temporary. Mediation through a neutral third party can sometimes reach an agreement that avoids the cost and delay of court. And where the tenant is struggling and wants to leave, a mutual agreement to end the tenancy can be faster than possession proceedings and in everyone's interest. For the earlier stages, see our guide on how to handle late rent payments.

Keep clear records throughout

Your documentation is your most important asset, because courts, adjudicators and insurers all rely on evidence. At a minimum, keep a complete payment history showing every payment and shortfall with dates; copies of every communication with the tenant; copies of any notice served, with evidence of service; records of any repayment plan and whether it was kept to; and the original tenancy agreement showing the rent due date and amount.

From working with landlords who have had to take possession proceedings, the strongest cases are always the ones with an unbroken payment history, every payment logged, every shortfall recorded, every reminder kept. Software that logs payments automatically and generates rent statements produces exactly those records: August's rent tracking connects to your bank through Open Banking and keeps a live ledger for every tenancy, with a full arrears history ready to export for a hearing.

Frequently asked questions

What should I do if my tenant stops paying rent? 

Contact them promptly and neutrally, check the exact amount owed, and agree a written repayment plan if the difficulty is short-term. Keep every communication in writing, check whether Universal Credit managed payments can help, and escalate to a Section 8 notice only when reasonable alternatives are exhausted.

How many months of arrears are needed to evict a tenant? 

For mandatory possession under Ground 8, the tenant must owe at least three months' rent (or thirteen weeks for weekly tenancies) both when the notice is served and at the hearing. Below that level, possession is discretionary under Grounds 10 and 11, and the court decides whether it is reasonable.

How much notice do I have to give for rent arrears? 

The notice period for the arrears grounds is now four weeks, doubled from two weeks under the Renters' Rights Act.

Can I keep the deposit to cover unpaid rent? 

Yes, unpaid rent is a valid deduction, but you must propose it through the deposit scheme and allow the tenant to dispute it, with adjudication if they do. You cannot simply retain the deposit.

Does a late Universal Credit payment count towards the arrears? 

No. When assessing Ground 8, arrears that exist only because a Universal Credit payment the tenant was entitled to had not yet arrived are disregarded.

Can I still recover the money after eviction? 

Yes. A money claim for the arrears can be included in the possession application or pursued separately, producing a county court judgment you can then enforce. You can start tracking arrears and payments for free with August.

This article is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or professional advice. Landlord and tenant law is subject to change, and the information in this article reflects the position at the time of writing. You should always seek independent legal or professional advice before taking any action in relation to your property or tenancy.