Stage 1: Before you start court proceedings (rent arrears)
If your tenant(s) has failed to pay rent and is in arrears, you can use this pack to help get them to pay back the rent, or as the first step in the process of starting court proceedings if they do not pay. This pack is suitable for use where you have an assured shorthold or an assured tenancy agreement with the tenant(s).
You should begin the process by sending your tenant(s) our 'Initial letter to tenants regarding rent arrears'. If you have not already done so, you must also send our ‘Notice to tenant(s) of deposit protection scheme’ (for use with lettings using an ‘assured shorthold tenancy’ only). If the initial letter does not have the desired effect then you should use our ‘Notice under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988’ along with its associated covering letter ‘Covering letter for section 8 notice’ to prepare and serve a formal notice seeking possession upon the tenant(s). You can use our ‘Form N215 - Certificate of service’ to record how and when the section 8 notice was served.
If it is unlikely that the tenant(s) will pay the rent arrears (due to their financial circumstances) then you may want to consider obtaining a possession order using the accelerated possession procedure as this is quicker, but does not order the tenant(s) to pay the rent back. Start with our pack 'Stage one: Before you start court proceedings (accelerated possession)'.
Pack documents:
• Notice to tenant(s) of deposit protection scheme
• Initial letter to tenants regarding rent arrears
• Notice under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988
• Covering letter for section 8 notice
• Form N215 - Certificate of service
Stage 1: Before you start court proceedings (rent arrears)
If your tenant(s) has failed to pay rent and is in arrears, you can use this pack to help get them to pay back the rent, or as the first step in the process of starting court proceedings if they do not pay. This pack is suitable for use where you have an assured shorthold or an assured tenancy agreement with the tenant(s).
You should begin the process by sending your tenant(s) our 'Initial letter to tenants regarding rent arrears'. If you have not already done so, you must also send our ‘Notice to tenant(s) of deposit protection scheme’ (for use with lettings using an ‘assured shorthold tenancy’ only). If the initial letter does not have the desired effect then you should use our ‘Notice under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988’ along with its associated covering letter ‘Covering letter for section 8 notice’ to prepare and serve a formal notice seeking possession upon the tenant(s). You can use our ‘Form N215 - Certificate of service’ to record how and when the section 8 notice was served.
If it is unlikely that the tenant(s) will pay the rent arrears (due to their financial circumstances) then you may want to consider obtaining a possession order using the accelerated possession procedure as this is quicker, but does not order the tenant(s) to pay the rent back. Start with our pack 'Stage one: Before you start court proceedings (accelerated possession)'.
Pack documents:
• Notice to tenant(s) of deposit protection scheme
• Initial letter to tenants regarding rent arrears
• Notice under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988
• Covering letter for section 8 notice
• Form N215 - Certificate of service
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Use this document to meet your legal requirements after a tenant (or contract-holder in Wales) pays a deposit.
You must protect the deposit using one of the government-approved schemes (set out in this document) and then give the tenants this notice and the scheme documents, within 30 days of them paying the deposit. This will give them the prescribed information that's required by law.
You must do this each time:
- There's a new landlord or a change in tenants.
- The terms of the tenancy have materially changed.
- The deposit moves to a different protection scheme.
At the same time, you must send this notice and the scheme documents to anyone who paid the deposit for the tenant, and their guarantors (if any).
In Wales, if a fixed-term is renewed with the same landlord, tenant and property, rather than moving to a periodic tenancy, check the rules of your chosen schemed provider to see if you need to re-protect or re-serve the prescribed information.
Use this as a covering letter when serving a notice seeking possession under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 against a tenant with an assured tenancy agreement solely on the grounds that there are current rent arrears.
This document creates an initial letter from a private landlord to a tenant who is in rent arrears. It should be used for residential properties rented under an assured tenancy agreement in England, or a standard occupation contract in Wales.
You must not send this letter to a tenant if you're told that they've been granted formal 'breathing space' from the rent arrears debt under the Debt respite scheme.
You can use this document (also known as Form 3A) to create the formal, legally required notice telling tenants that you're going to seek possession of your property due to rent arrears. It also includes a schedule of rent arrears to accompany the notice.
The document is suitable for a single landlord operating as an individual or business entity, or up to 4 individual (joint) landlords.
You should only use it if:
- The property is in England and let under under an assured tenancy agreement
- The property has no more than 4 tenants
- You are currently owed rent.
You can use our document Covering letter for section 8 notice to send it.
You must not use this notice if you're:
- Told that the tenant has been granted formal 'breathing space' from the rent arrears debt under the Debt respite scheme, without first getting a court's permission.
- Seeking possession on any grounds other than rent arrears.