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When a tenant stops paying rent, arrears can quickly affect a landlord's cash flow and expose them to further financial loss. Acting promptly can help you understand your options and improve your prospects of recovering unpaid rent.
At Stephensons, our specialist rent arrears solicitors act for residential landlords seeking to recover money owed by tenants and guarantors. We can advise on the most appropriate recovery strategy, from an initial demand for payment through to issuing court proceedings and obtaining judgment.
Where the tenant remains in the property, we can also advise whether the rent arrears provide grounds for possession and, where appropriate, deal with the possession process alongside the recovery of the debt.
Whether you are dealing with a single tenant or arrears across a property portfolio, our landlord and tenant specialists can provide clear, commercially focused advice.
To discuss rent arrears recovery or landlord debt recovery, call us on 0161 696 6170 or complete our online enquiry form.
Rent arrears arise when rent remains unpaid after it has become due under the tenancy or occupation contract.
If arrears continue to increase, a landlord may need to consider taking formal action to recover the unpaid rent, pursuing any liable guarantor and, where appropriate, seeking possession of the property.
Keeping an accurate rent statement or schedule of arrears, together with supporting tenancy documentation and records of payments received, can be important when pursuing a rent arrears claim.
Where a tenant owes rent, a landlord may be able to pursue the tenant for payment of the outstanding debt.
The appropriate course of action will depend on matters including:
Our rent recovery solicitors can assess the circumstances and advise whether pursuing the tenant, guarantor or other available route offers appropriate prospects of recovery.
Where there is a tenancy guarantor, it may be possible to pursue the guarantor for unpaid rent, depending upon the terms and enforceability of the guarantee.
We can review the guarantee agreement, advise on the extent of the guarantor's potential liability and, where appropriate, pursue payment from the guarantor alongside or instead of the tenant.
Potentially, yes. However, rent recovery and possession are separate issues, and the correct possession procedure will depend upon where the property is located and the circumstances of the tenancy or occupation contract.
Our landlord solicitors can advise you on both recovering the rent arrears and regaining possession of your property, where required.
Our specialist landlord solicitors can assist at every stage of the rent arrears recovery process, including:
Where required, we will instruct a trace agent to identify the tenant's or guarantor's current address.
We will review the available information and documentation and advise you on the prospects of recovering the rent arrears before further legal costs are incurred.
This allows you to make an informed decision about whether to pursue the debt.
Where it is appropriate to proceed, we will prepare and send a formal Letters of Claim to the tenant and/or guarantor setting out the sums owed and the basis of your claim.
We will monitor the deadline for response and advise you on the next steps following any response, repayment proposal or failure to engage.
If payment is not made and court proceedings are appropriate, we can prepare the claim form and particulars of claim and issue proceedings to recover the outstanding rent from the tenant and/or guarantor.
Our fixed fee covers the claim through to obtaining judgment where no defence is filed.
If the claim is defended, we will advise you on the issues raised, the next steps and the likely additional legal costs before progressing the matter further.
When rent remains unpaid, you need clear advice about whether the money can realistically be recovered and what it will cost to pursue it.
Our specialist residential landlord team can deal with both the debt recovery and possession aspects of a rent arrears case, allowing us to advise you on the overall strategy rather than viewing the unpaid rent in isolation.
We offer:
For specialist advice about recovering unpaid rent from a tenant or guarantor, call us on 0161 696 6170.
Successful possession and rent recovery claim
Ms. A initiated possession proceedings under Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 against three tenants occupying her property, one of whom was a qualified solicitor.
The solicitor tenant sought to defend the claim by raising unfounded allegations of disrepair and issuing a counterclaim on the same grounds.
The matter was listed for a directions hearing, during which we presented compelling arguments that led the court to dismiss both the defence and counterclaim. As a result, Ms. A's claim for possession was successful, and the court ordered the tenants to pay costs in the sum of c£11,300.
Following recovery of possession, Ms. A pursued the outstanding rent arrears. This led to a further payment of c£14,800 by the solicitor tenant in full and final settlement of the arrears.
This case highlights the importance of asserting legal rights, even when the opposing party is a legal professional. It demonstrates that landlords should not be deterred from pursuing valid claims due to the perceived status or expertise of their tenants.
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