A law firm specialising in the private rented sector has issued advice, saying that all communications to tenants should be headed: “Your home is at risk of repossession if you fail to pay your rent.”

Lawyers from Moore Blatch, a national specialist in tenant and mortgage lender repossessions, says that tenants should be clearly warned about the consequences of not paying rent.

The warning comes as landlords are facing a media backlash over the rising rates of evictions and the perception that landlords are taking advantage of tenants.

Propertyreclaim, a division of Moore Blatch, says it is issuing the advice after “numerous” examples of tenants claiming not to understand that they could be evicted.

Paul Walshe, head of Propertyreclaim, Moore Blatch, said: “While there will always be wording to the effect that failure to pay will result in eviction, it will often be hidden in the small print of a contract, and many tenants claim not to understand this.

“A similar issue was faced by mortgage lenders who adopted a much clearer policy on the failure to pay with a standardised wording.

“We would recommend the adoption of a universal wording to be used on all communications and for it to follow a similar format to the lender wording: ‘Your home is at risk of repossession if you fail to pay your rent’.”