I am behind on my rent

If you fall behind on paying your rent, you will find yourself owing rent arrears. If this happens, take action as soon as possible:

• Talk to your landlord if you can't pay your full rent on time
• If you can’t afford to pay everything on the day, you must pay as much as you can and plan to pay off any arrears. You can use the Money Helper Budgeting Calculator to help with planning your spending.
• Find out what benefits you may be entitled to.

If you don’t do this, your landlord may issue you with a formal eviction notice (Section 21 or a Section 8). This means that you may be taken to court and face eviction.

Repayment plans

If you have rent arrears and are homeless, or looking to move properties, it is essential that you have a repayment plan so that you can lower your rent arrears and prevent them from getting larger.

Repayment plans:

• show that you are committed to paying off your debts,
• will give you a much greater chance of being re-housed.

Ensure that the rate of repayment is affordable to you, you can discuss this with your landlord. You may find it helpful to seek financial/debt advice. The advisors may be able to recommend an affordable amount and how you can fit this into your budget.

Landlords, including housing associations, will usually check if you have historical rent arrears from past tenancies, and will also check to see if you have any other outstanding debts from those tenancies. If you have historical debt from past tenancies, it is important that you declare this as part of your repayment plan so that this cannot be used against you later down the line.

Third-party deductions

A third-party deduction is when you have rent arrears and are in receipt of income-related benefits. You can apply for an amount to be deducted from those payments which will be paid directly to your landlord.

Third party deductions can be made from the following benefits:

• Universal Credit (UC)
• Pension Credit
• Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA)
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

Getting a third-party deduction would mean your rent arrears would be paid off automatically and you will not have to worry about making extra payments to the landlord yourself. Third party deductions are usually only very small amounts, which is why it is important to deal with arrears as soon as they begin to build up.

You can get more advice from:

• Bradford Citizens Advice
• Shelter
• Step-Change

Extra help from the Council

Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) are additional payments to help with rent or housing costs.

You must be in receipt of either Housing Benefit or the Housing Element of Universal Credit to be eligible.

Discretionary Housing Payments can be used to help with:

• rent shortfalls
• rent arrears
• rent deposit, bond or rent in advance
• other eligible housing costs

How much can I get?

The council will make a discretionary decision based on you and your household’s income, savings and expenditure and your reason for needing this help. The amount you receive will also depend on how much you already receive in Housing Benefit or the Housing Element of Universal Credit.

Claim a Discretionary Housing Payment now