Tenant rent arrears: information to gather

A rent arrears schedule should show each charge, payment and allocation. Comparing the landlord's total with the tenant's bank balance does not explain which rental periods remain unpaid.

Rebuild the account by period

Record rent due dates, the agreed amount, transfers, credits and any benefit payments received. Identify payments sent to an old account or carrying an unclear reference. Keep repair complaints and compensation demands separate unless an adjustment has actually been agreed or ordered.

Provide the schedule to the other party with transaction evidence and request specific corrections. Mark disputed entries instead of silently deleting them.

Assess repayment and possession separately

A repayment proposal should reflect current income and ongoing rent, not only the historic shortfall. Record whether acceptance changes any proposed enforcement step. Official renting guidance identifies the routes for rent problems and possession. ^[1]

If a notice has arrived, use possession advice alongside reconciliation. Rent increase checks may explain a disputed charge, but do not assume every disputed increase permits stopping all rent. Keep new payments recorded while the older balance is investigated.

Reconstruct the account from charges and receipts

Choose an opening date and establish the balance at that point from evidence both parties can inspect. Enter each rent charge on the date it became due, then each payment on the date received, showing how it was allocated. Monthly rent and payments made every four weeks are not the same cycle, so avoid comparing totals from mismatched periods. Keep the running balance visible and state the closing date. A figure headed current arrears is difficult to assess if it does not say when it was calculated.

Check transfers against the landlord's account as well as the tenant's outgoing records. A payment may have used an old reference, reached a former agent or been returned by the bank. Identify the recipient, transaction date, amount and reference before treating it as unpaid or credited. Redact unrelated bank information when sharing evidence. Where the landlord cannot find a payment, describe it as an entry under investigation and retain the tenant's proof, rather than deleting the dispute from the account or counting the sum twice.

Separate rent from other sums being demanded

Show service charges, utility reimbursements, alleged damage and fees separately from contractual rent. Their legal basis and recoverability may require different questions, and simply entering them in the rent column does not decide the issue. Link any rent increase to its supporting notice and effective date. If the tenant challenges that increase, calculate the disputed element distinctly while obtaining advice about payment obligations. The resulting account should allow an adviser to see both the landlord's claimed balance and the specific entries the tenant contests.

Do not treat a protected tenancy deposit as an automatic payment of the final month's rent. If the parties propose applying it to an agreed debt, establish the lawful arrangement and the scheme procedure before changing the account. Equally, record any concession, credit or payment by a guarantor so an amount already recovered is not demanded again. A brief note should explain each adjustment and identify the supporting agreement. This is particularly useful when an agent takes over a tenancy with a balance carried forward from older software.

Explain the cause and expected duration of a shortfall

Prepare a concise account of why payments fell behind and what has changed. If benefit administration is involved, distinguish an application, a decision, a payment due and money actually received. Keep relevant correspondence and explain which rent periods it concerns. Government guidance identifies advice and support routes for tenants in arrears and notes that possession rules depend on the tenancy. ^[1] An expected payment may be relevant to a proposed solution, but it should not be entered as cleared funds before it arrives.

Work with a debt or housing adviser where necessary to distinguish an affordable proposal from a hopeful promise. A repayment discussion needs to address ongoing rent as well as the historic balance and other essential commitments. Give only financial information reasonably needed to support the proposal and explain assumptions, such as an anticipated return to work. If a figure depends on uncertain income, say so. A smaller sustainable commitment may be more credible than an unsupported promise that immediately creates another missed instalment.

Record what a repayment agreement actually changes

A written plan should identify the balance used, instalment amounts, payment dates, allocation and a review point. Clarify whether the landlord agrees to pause a particular enforcement step and what happens if circumstances change. Do not assume that accepting an instalment automatically withdraws a notice or court claim. If proceedings exist, take advice on how any agreement should be reflected in them. Keep the procedural position separate from the payment calendar so compliance with one does not conceal a deadline in the other.

Update the account after every payment and contact the landlord promptly if an agreed instalment cannot be made. Preserve evidence of attempts to resolve a disputed figure, including a reasoned correction sent to the agent. A tenant facing a notice should seek housing advice rather than rely solely on reducing the balance; the grounds, dates and remaining debt can all matter. The objective of the account is to make the debt and proposed solution intelligible, while ensuring that disputed, expected and received money remain distinguishable throughout.