Almost every landlord meets arrears eventually. The ones who come out well aren't the toughest — they're the most consistent. A calm, documented process recovers more rent, keeps good tenants, and builds the evidence you'd need if it ever reaches court.
Day one: catch it fast
The single biggest factor in recovering arrears is how quickly you notice. A payment that's a day late is a conversation; one that's a month late is a problem. Reconcile rent promptly so you know the moment a payment is missing.
A simple, fair escalation
- 1Day 1–3: a friendly nudge. Often it's a forgotten standing order or a bank delay.
- 2Day 7: a clear written reminder stating the amount and the due date.
- 3Day 14: talk. Understand the cause — a job loss and a refusal need different responses.
- 4Where appropriate: agree a written payment plan to clear the arrears over time.
- 5As a last resort: consider a Section 8 notice, taking advice first — remember Ground 8 needs three months' arrears.
Document everything
Every reminder, call and agreement should be dated and saved. If arrears ever reach a possession hearing, your contemporaneous record is the evidence the court relies on — and under the post-Section 21 regime, evidence is everything.
Payment plans that work
- Keep them realistic — an unaffordable plan just fails twice.
- Put the plan in writing, with amounts and dates.
- Confirm each instalment as it arrives, and follow up the day one is missed.
How Rentwire helps
Arrears handling lives or dies on noticing early and keeping a clean record. Rentwire matches incoming rent automatically and flags a missed or short payment the day it happens, tracks any payment plan instalment by instalment, and keeps the dated history — so you can ask "who's behind, by how much, and for how long?" and act before a small gap becomes a court case.
This article is general information for UK landlords and letting agents, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules change and individual circumstances differ — check the latest guidance from GOV.UK or a qualified professional before acting.