Rent arrears

Sometimes, you can find yourself in rent arrears. If you do, it is very important that you speak to us as soon as possible, before the debt grows too much. We will always try to come to an arrangement to clear the arrears, and our Welfare Services Officers may be able to help you with your household finances.

However, if you accumulate arrears and do not speak to us to arrange to clear them, then we will make an application to court.

We will contact you with your hearing date, the County Court will also write to you with the date.

You MUST make an arrangement to pay, and stick to it. If possible try to clear the arrears and the cost of the court application fee, which you will be liable for too. We also urge you to seek independent legal advice e.g CAB

We will try and come to an agreement with you on how to clear the arrears, we will also contact the benefits team at AVDC to confirm if housing benefit has been applied for.

If no arrangement to pay is made, at court we will request a money judgement for the arrears so that even if you leave the property we can still claim the arrears from you. We will also seek a Possession Order.

There are 3 types of  Possession Order that we can obtain against you.

Suspended Order – This is when the judge makes an order for the current to be paid plus an amount for the arrears. If the terms of the  order are broken we can apply for an eviction warrant.

Adjourned Order – These orders are usually granted where the arrears outstanding are of a low amount or housing benefit is pending. However if the terms of the order are not kept then the case can be brought back to court and a suspended order can be granted.

Outright Possession Order – This order is usually applied for when the arrears are very high. The judge can grant an order for possession immediately, or  in 14 or 28 days. Once the time is up we can apply for an eviction warrant.

We will request the court costs to be added to all of these orders, which need to be paid off once the arrears are cleared.

We only resort to eviction when we have exhausted all other avenues of action. If you have any worries about your ability to pay your rent, please contact the Rents team.