Arrears
Do you have problems paying your rent?
Your rent and service charges must be paid regularly and in advance. This is part of your tenancy agreement with us. If you run into financial difficulty, we will try to balance supporting you with the need to collect the rent which pays for the services we provide.
We have a clear, consistent and fair approach to recovering rent arrears. Persistent failure to pay may lead to eviction.
Stages in our rent arrears recovery procedure
Stage 1: Prevention
If you are struggling to pay your rent, contact us immediately on 0300 303 1010. It is important to seek help quickly to avoid debts piling up.
Stage 2: Prompt action
If you miss a payment and we have not heard from you, we will contact you. We will:
- check that any bank standing orders or direct debits are being paid and are for the correct amount
- check that all payments have reached your rent account.
If you cannot clear the arrears immediately we can make an agreement with you to pay in instalments.
Stage 3: Notice of Seeking Possession
If we do not hear from you, or if you fail to keep to an agreed plan to clear the arrears and there has been no change in your circumstances, we will have to consider legal action.
We may serve a ‘Notice of Seeking Possession’. This is the first step to asking the courts to make an order to require you to pay or to give us authority to evict you.
Stage 4: Application to court
If you still fail to stick to an agreed payment plan or the arrears continue to increase, we will apply to the county court to evict you. You will receive papers from the county court that you must complete and return.
We will write to you with details of the time and date of the hearing. You should also contact Citizens’ Advice, a solicitor or housing advice centre to get independent advice.
Stage 5: The court hearing
You must attend court as your home may be at risk. It will be your chance to talk to the judge, who will be deciding whether you will lose your home.
The judge may make an order requiring you to repay the arrears by an agreed amount each week. Alternatively, the judge may order that you give your home back to us, by a specified date, if the debt has not been repaid in full.
The judge may agree to adjourn the case if they are satisfied that matters will be resolved. You will need to pay the costs of the court hearing. They will be added to your rent arrears.
Stage 6: Failing to keep to a court order
If you fail to keep to the court order we can apply to the county court to end your tenancy. This means that you and your family would need to leave your home.
To stop the eviction, you would need to pay the arrears and court costs in full. You do have the right to apply to the court to ask for the eviction to be postponed (referred to as a ‘Stay’ hearing).
If you lose your home through not paying your rent the council may see you as being intentionally homeless. This means you won’t qualify for help until your debt is cleared. You may have to stay with friends or family or find private rented accommodation.
If we are asked for a reference for private rented accommodation we will let them know of any money you owe us.
Stage 7: Leaving your home
If you leave your home owing us money, including rent arrears, unpaid repair charges or void costs, we will make an agreement with you on how these will be repaid.
If you leave without making an agreement, we will write to your new address, using tracing agents if necessary. We will ask for all the money to be repaid within 28 days or for a repayment plan to be made.
If the debt is not paid or a repayment plan is not put in place and maintained, we will bring in a debt recovery agent.
County court hearings
If you still fail to stick to an agreed payment plan or your arrears continue to increase, we will apply to the county court to evict you. You will receive papers from the county court that you must complete and return.
Do I have to attend court?
Yes. It’s important you attend because it will be your only chance to talk to the judge who will be deciding whether you will lose your home.
We will write to you with details of the time and date of the hearing. You should also contact Citizens’ Advice, a solicitor or housing advice centre to get independent advice.
What will happen in court?
The hearing will be held either in the main county county court room or the less formal judges’ chambers. The district judge doesn’t wear a wig or robe and should be addressed as Sir or Ma’am.
When we go to court, we will ask the district judge for one or more of the following orders:
- An adjournment – giving you extra time to sort out issues raised during the court proceedings before the judge makes a decision.
- An adjournment based on payment terms – the judge will ask you to make payment to us and as long as you make them, nothing else will happen.
- A suspended or postponed possession order – we can repossess your home in the future if you do not pay the arrears as ordered by the judge.
- A money judgement – this is an official record that the county court keeps about your debt. It is also known as a County Court Judgment and it will make it hard for you to get credit (loans, credit cards and mobile phones) in the future. We can use this judgement to recover the debt, even if you are evicted, at a later date.
- An outright possession order – if you have not made contact with us and do not attend court we will ask for a final Order for Possession. In this case, the district judge will tell you to leave your home by a specified date.
Who pays the court costs?
We will ask the court to charge you for any court costs in addition to the money you already owe us. If you don’t pay or keep to the court order you will lose your home.
Will I get re-housed?
If you lose your home through not paying your rent the council may see you as being intentionally homeless. This means you won’t qualify for help until your debt is cleared.
Where can I get help?
We will always try to help you keep your home, but if you don’t tell us of any changes to your situation and allow arrears to increase, we will take action. Contact your rent recovery officer immediately on 0300 303 1010 if you are struggling to pay your rent.
Eviction
Your rent and service charges must be paid regularly and in advance. This is part of your tenancy agreement with us. If you don’t do this we can apply to the court to have you removed – or evicted – from your home. We can’t evict you without a court order.
What do I have to do when I get an eviction date?
You will either need to:
- Leave the property on or before the date given in the court possession order
- Make the payments as detailed on the suspended possession order
If you don’t do either of these things we will ask a bailiff to evict you.
When we receive the date and time of the eviction we will write to you and let you know. The letter will say that you need to remove all your belongings from the property, any outbuildings and garage.
The bailiff will also deliver a letter by hand, confirming the date and time of your eviction. It will include details of how you can apply to the county court to stop this action.
Can I stop the eviction?
Yes. You can stop the eviction if you pay all the money owed, including court costs. You will need to contact us urgently to make the payment. You can also contact Citizens’ Advice or a solicitor or housing advice centre to get independent advice.
If you can’t do this you can contact the county court to make an application to stop the eviction. This is known as a ‘Stay’ hearing. The court staff will send you an N244 form which you will need to complete and return. You may have to pay a fee for this.
If you need help completing the form you can contact your local Citizens’ Advice.
A date and time will be given for the hearing. You need to attend as this is your only chance to stop the eviction. The judge will decide at the hearing whether to stop the eviction and, if so, make an order of how you are to pay the arrears. He may agree that the eviction should go ahead.
What happens on the day of the eviction?
If you don’t contest the eviction or the judge orders it should go ahead, a bailiff, rent recovery officer and a locksmith will go to the property on the date and time set out by the court.
If you are at the property you will be asked to leave and the locks will be changed.
You must remove all your belongings from the property, any outbuildings and garage. We accept no responsibility for anything left in the property after your tenancy has ended. We will remove anything that is left and dispose if it in line with the ‘abandonment of property’ clause in your tenancy agreement.
Will the council rehouse me if I am evicted?
If you lose your home through not paying your rent the council may see you as being intentionally homeless. This means you won’t qualify for help until your debt is cleared. You may have to stay with friends or family or find private rented accommodation. If we are asked for a reference for private rented accommodation we will let them know of any money you owe us.
What will happen if I leave with money owing on my rent account and other outstanding charges?
If you leave owing us money such as rent arrears, void costs or recharges we will try to make an agreement with you to repay these.
If you leave without making an agreement we will write to you at your new address, using tracing agents if necessary. We will ask for all the money to be repaid within 28 days or for a repayment plan to be made. If this isn’t agreed we will bring in a debt recovery agent.
Former tenants
As a Paradigm tenant you signed a tenancy agreement. You agreed to pay your rent and service charge regularly. When your tenancy ended, we contacted you to let you know how much money was owed and what it was for.
This money could have been for:
- rent arrears outstanding on your former rent account
- services charges
- court costs
- rechargeable repairs
- a combination of the above.
If you have left your Paradigm property but still owe us money, you will need to pay this. The easiest and quickest way to make this payment is by contacting Customer Services on 0300 303 1010, quoting your former Paradigm address.
What happens if I cannot pay what is outstanding?
- Don’t ignore it. We check all accounts every week and we contact everyone who has not paid
- we will send you a first reminder letter or contact you by phone
- if you do not respond we will send you a final reminder letter
- if you do not respond, we will either start legal proceedings ourselves or bring in a debt collection agency.
If no response is received from you, we can apply to the county court for a Money Judgement Order which can then lead to an:
- order for information – you will need to attend court to provide information on oath to the judge of your income, expenditure, assets (i.e. property, shares or bank deposits) and other debts
- attachment of earnings order – if you are working, then money that you owe us will be deducted from your wages
- Third Party Order – if you are owed money by a third party we can apply for an order for the third party to pay the money directly to us.
Other consequences include
- not being offered a property by us in the future
- you may not be re-housed by other housing associations or local authorities
- your arrears will be detailed in any reference we provide, and could make it difficult for you to get loans, credit cards and mobile phones
- we may pass your details to a debt collecting agency or a tracing agency if you leave us without a forwarding address.
What can I do?
Contact us on 0300 303 1010. If you are not able to clear all the debt at once, we can make a repayment agreement.
How can I pay?
- if you have a bank account, the most convenient way to pay is by direct debit
- on our website at your local post office by phone to 0300 303 1010
- at any shop that displays the Payzone symbol.