The government is being encouraged to do more to prevent tenants building up rent debts, not allow them to get bigger as currently proposed.

The call comes as the Renters’ Rights Bill proposes increasing the amount of arrears a tenant can build from two to three months of rent before landlords can serve notice to repossess a property.

In addition, the Bill seeks to double the notice period landlords must give in such cases, before waiting an average of seven months for the courts to process and enforce such claims.

The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) is warning that allowing tenants to build yet more arrears will make it impossible for many to pay them off. It will damage tenants’ credit ratings, limiting their ability to access housing and other services in the future.

To ensure fair treatment for both tenants and landlords, the NRLA is calling for:

+ Landlords, and letting agents, to be required to work with tenants at the first sign of rent arrears building to tackle them early on. The government and the courts should adopt the NRLA’s ready-made ‘golden rules’ as the blueprint to help such discussions. These were cited as best practice by the government to help tenants with rent arrears during the COVID-19 pandemic.

+ Certainty for tenants and landlords by keeping housing benefit rates linked to market rents for the duration of this Parliament.

+ Confidence for responsible landlords that they can swiftly repossess properties where arrears build to two months of rent as at present, rather than allowing them to build indefinitely.

Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, commented: “Preventing rent arrears from building in the first place should be the priority for landlords and government, not allowing them to build yet further. Landlords should be making every effort to help tenants get on top of debts as early on as possible.

“However, landlords should rightly expect that they can swiftly regain possession of the properties they rent when tenants reach two months of arrears as at present. In no other walk of life would the government allow consumer debts to build for months on end with all the damage that can cause to their credit ratings.”

A tenth of private tenants struggle to pay rent