What happens if you don’t pay your rent

It is important to keep your rent payments up to date. If you fall behind and do not contact us, there are a number of steps we will go through to help you get back on track and avoid losing your home.
 
If you are behind with your rent you can contact our Income Maximisation team on 01438 242666.

Set out below is what will happen, step by step if you don’t pay your rent.

Stage 1 - Information

• Letter 1 - Sent after your first missed payment
• Letter 2 - Sent after your second missed payment and after we have tried to contact you by phone
• Letter 3 - Sent if you continue to not to pay rent and if you haven’t contacted us about your payments

What you should do

If you receive any of these letters you should contact us as soon as possible.

We can take payments over the phone or discuss other ways that you can catch up and we can also check to make sure that you are getting the right benefits.

The sooner you call us the easier it will be for us to help

Stage 2 - Warning

• Notice of seeking possession (NOSP) - This is a legal notice informing you that we are about to start court proceedings to recover unpaid rent
• Court referral - This will be issued no less than 28 days after you receive a NOSP if you haven’t contacted us about your rent account

What you should do

It’s not too late to contact us.

You can stop us taking you to court by contacting our income maximisation team to discuss how we can help you get your rent account back in the clear.

Stage 3 - Danger

• Court hearing - Orders that may be granted by the court could include: Immediate possession, where you will lose your home straight away
• An order suspended for 7, 14 or 28 days on the condition that you resume paying rent and make an additional payment to start paying off what you owe

• An adjournment on terms – for example an arrangement to make payments

• Eviction warning letter - You are now at serious risk of losing your home

• Application to enforce the Possession order

What you should do

Even if we’ve taken you to court we can still help if you contact us.

Remember that if you are evicted the court may also give us right to recover any unpaid rent you owe, even after you have left your home.

A court order can also affect your credit rating, meaning that you will find it more difficult to get a loan, buy goods on hire purchase agreements or get services like mobile phones on a contract.

Stage 4 - Eviction

Eviction date set and carried out