Short Term Arrears

Found Yourself In Arrears With Your Rent?
Here’s What to Do In the Short Term

If you fall behind on your rent or mortgage payments, then this could lead to some serious problems further down the line. You could soon find yourself evicted from your home, and have a lot of trouble finding somewhere else to live. Even worse, your local council might decide that you have made yourself “intentionally homeless” by getting yourself into this situation- and therefore cut off any support that you could otherwise claim. People often get themselves into rent arrears because they are struggling with multiple debts. If this is the case for you, then your best option is to speak to a financial expert who can help you manage your debts and make them easier for you to pay off. However, this process can take time and meanwhile, your landlord might take action to evict you. For that reason, you’ll want to make some short-term steps to avoid this situation- and to help you do just that, we’ve put the following article together. Read on, and discover what you can do to take action against arrears right away.

Your First Steps with Rent Arrears

First of all, you should make sure that you really do owe the full amount that your landlord is asking for. Start off by looking at what type of tenancy agreement you have with your landlord. If you have a joint tenancy agreement (i.e. where two or more people signed the same document), then the landlord can demand that one of you pays if the other falls behind with their rent. However, if you and your housemates signed separate agreements, then you won’t be responsible for their share of the rent. If that’s the case, then speak to your landlord to clear up the issue and ensure you aren’t paying money that you don’t actually owe.
Once you’ve examined your tenancy agreement and checked that your rent arrears are yours to pay, you should then take a look at the amount your landlord is demanding. It may be the case that you have actually already paid some of the money- when you owe money, the last thing you want is to be overcharged. If you pay your rent weekly, then you should have a rent book which logs all the payments. Otherwise, you will need to look over your bank statements, or check your receipts if you pay in cash. Don’t worry if you can’t find this information- your landlord will have a copy if you ask them.

Give Yourself Some Breathing Space

Finally, when you’re completely clear on just how much you owe, it’s time to take action to change your situation. At the end of your day, your landlord would rather get the money they are owed than evict you, since the latter option will leave them out of pocket. It’s therefore worth speaking to them and seeing if you can figure out a payment plan between you. This will save you from having to take any further action, and ensure your landlord gets what they are owed, so everyone is kept happy. One thing to note, though, is that you shouldn’t offer to pay back money that you know you can’t afford. This will only end up getting you into even more trouble, and you can safely assume that your landlord won’t be so cooperative next time if you have already messed them around once.

Get Help From the Professionals

While many landlords are happy to work with you to find a better way forward, others won’t be so forgiving. In that case, you may want to seek expert advice on debt management, so that you can get on top of your debts as quickly as possible. Although debt can be an extremely stressful and even scary thing to deal with, remember that there are options available to you that can help. Don’t struggle with debt alone and get yourself into even deeper trouble. Instead, try our short-term solutions- and if they don’t work, bring in the professionals.