Rent Arrears - Archive Only

Rent Arrears and Debt Counselling

Frequently Asked Questions

What are rent arrears?
What can I do if I owe rent?
I am having difficulty paying rent. What can I do?
I have just been sent a Notice of Seeking Possession. What does it mean and what can I do?
What happens if I leave my property still owing rent?
What happens at court?
If I pay could I still be evicted?
If I don’t pay, what will happen?
Debt Counselling

Download Hounslow Homes' Guide to Paying Your Rent & Managing Your Debt

What are rent arrears?
Rent arrears are what you owe in unpaid rent.

Sources of rent arrears:
Rent arrears are caused by:

Late payments
Missed payments
Part payments
Your claim for housing benefit has ended or has been reduced

What can I do if I owe rent?
Pay the outstanding amount by any of the pay methods listed in Paying Rent. If you are having difficulty paying your rent or your circumstances have changed, less us know as soon as possible. We may be able to assist you by arranging for the arrears to be paid in instalments.

I am having difficulty paying rent. What can I do?
If you are having difficulty paying your rent, you should:

Contact the Customer Service Centre on 0800 085 65 75. An advisor will give you advice on how to clear your debts by instalments
ask for a referral for independent confidential debt and benefit advice or refer yourself direct by calling Money Advice on 020 8583 5016 or 020 8583 5013 (minicom/textphone)

We can also refer you to your local Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) who provide confidential benefit and assessment advice and debt counselling

You can also visit your local housing office for advice. See Housing contacts for more details.

If you are having difficulty paying your rent and are not already on housing benefit, you may be entitled to claim. For more information on claiming housing benefit see Housing Benefit.

I have just been sent a Notice of Seeking Possession. What does it mean and what can I do?
You may have recently been served a Notice of Seeking Possession. This means that you owe money on your rent account and that we intend to go to court for a Possession Order.

If you do not contact us and arrange to clear the debt before the Notice of Seeking Possession runs out (usually in 28 days), you may be in danger of losing your home. If you receive a notice of seeking possession, contact the Customer Service Centre on 0800 085 65 75 information and advice on how you can clear your arrears.

What happens if I leave my property still owing rent?

When a person leaves a tenancy they become known as a 'former tenant'. If there are arrears at the end of the tenancy we will continue to pursue these. In practice, this may mean summonsing the former tenant to Court to get an Order for payment. However, the addition of court costs against the former tenant makes this an expensive option for the former tenant. In practice, we would much rather negotiate repayment by instalments if clearing the debt in a single payment is not possible. As always, it is important that people contact our Customer Service Centre and ask to speak to an Estate Manager to discuss these issues so that a mutually convenient solution can be negotiated.

What happens in court?
We will ask for a possession order on your home.

When the court grants this, it may not lead to you losing your home straight away. You could be allowed to stay in your home providing you pay your rent and the amount ordered by the court every week.

You will also be charged court costs which could add about £250 to your arrears. However, if you do not do this, you may lose your home.

If I pay could I still be evicted?
As long as you make payments every week, as ordered by the court, no further action will be taken.

If I don’t pay, what will happen?
If you don’t pay, you will be in breach of a court order.

You will lose your security of tenure. This means you will lose all rights as a Council tenant, including your right to transfer, your right to buy your Council home, etc. You will then become what is known as a “tolerated trespasser.”

You will also have a county court judgement against your name and this will make it difficult for you to get loans, credit cards and mortgage references.

The Council will be entitled to ask the court for your eviction from your home (an eviction order).

If you are evicted, you will normally be classed as intentionally homeless. This means that the Council will not re-house you after your eviction and will still continue, through the County Court, to recover the rent and costs you owe.

Debt Counselling
Hounslow Homes is here to help tenants who may be having problems meeting their rent payments. We can arrange a free confidential session with an independent money advisor for anyone with rent arrears.

Please contact the Customer Service Centre on 0800 085 65 75 for more details.