What happens if you fall behind with your rent and what you can do to avoid this

We rely on rental income to pay for the services that we deliver to our tenants.  If rent arrears increase it does have a definite effect on the services that council tenants receive.  For this reason it is critical that rent arrears levels are kept to the minimum.

If you fall into arrears, we will be sympathetic and allow repayment of those arrears by instalments.  However, it is most important that you make contact with the housing team.

We can only assist in solving the problem if you contact us to let us know what the problem is.  If arrears continue to rise, and we can see no prospect of that changing, despite efforts to contact you and make agreements to repay the arrears, then we do have to take tenants to court.

At the court we will normally ask for what is termed a 'Suspended Possession Order'.  That is where the court orders that the tenant must start paying the rent and a small amount per week, fortnight, or month off of the arrears.  Tenants are encouraged to attend court if they are summoned.  Even at this stage we would much prefer to have the problem of the arrears resolved rather than have the tenant evicted.

If you have a Suspended Court Order against you and encounter any difficulty in making payments, we would wish to know.  We would exercise some discretion rather than just seeking to evict.

Regrettably, there does come a time when are faced with no alternative but to evict a tenant.  This is very much a last resort and it is not an action we take lightly.  If a person is evicted they do have a right to make an appeal to us as being homeless.  Whilst every case has to be dealt on its merits, we may well argue that if a person had the ability to pay the rent, but did not do so, then they may be considered to be 'intentionally homeless' and we would have no obligation to re-house them.  That would apply even where there are children in the household.  For this reason it is very important that tenants deal with arrears issues at an early stage. The Advice and Liaison Team are always happy to give help and advice at any stage in an arrears problem.

When a person leaves a council 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 summoning the former tenant to court to get an Order for payment.  However, the addition of court costs 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 Advice and Liaison Team to discuss these issues so that a mutually convenient solution can be negotiated.

Contact Details

Housing Services
South Derbyshire District Council
Civic Offices
Civic Way
Swadlincote
Derbyshire
DE11 0AH

Tel:  Contact the relevant Housing Officer
Fax:  01283 595852
Minicom:  01283 595849
Online: online enquiry form
Email: housing@south-derbys.gov.uk 

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