I'm behind on rent can I get any financial help?

It’s distressing being overdue on your rent, but there are options available to you, and often or not you can come to a solution with your Landlord. In most cases, it’s best to be open and honest early on as Landlords can use small claims courts to try and recover overdue rent and can also take action to evict a tenant from the property.


Courts don’t have to award possession to the Landlord (i.e. evict the tenant) unless the rent for the whole property is 8 weeks overdue. A landlord can make a case based on any amount of arrears or persistent late payments. You can also defend some of these cases, if for example if you have experienced financial difficulty and are taking steps to manage it.


Often making an agreement with the Landlord to cover rent arrears in smaller payments along with the rest of the rent will satisfy the Landlord. 


It may be possible to find financial help if you’re behind on rent, for example via the Access to Learning Fund if you are a UK student or having a chat with LUU Advice if you are an International Student.  


There are other ways of managing situations with overdue rent, so pop into LUU Advice where you can have a chat and figure something out. 


Shelter also has some more details information on rent arrears.