Haven’t paid rent in months!

[Uppoopcreek]

I’ve just realised I haven’t paid my rent in around 6 months! I don’t know how this could have happened?
ive lived here around 4 years. All I can think is I set up a standing order a while ago and it didn’t work properly?
now, I have pretty severe MH problems. Awful anxiety and depression(probable ADHD but still waiting for an appointment to start the process). I never check my bank, I’m behind with other bills, too. I’m a bury my head in the sand type of person, but worry constantly about everything, About a month ago I hit rock bottom. Won’t go into details, but it wasn’t great.
I have 3 DC, and I’m on benefits.
Help! What do I do?! Had a text from landlord last night asking me to call him, which is what’s just prompted me to look now. I was asleep when he text.

God your poor guarantor - and kids!

You need to scrimp together this money however you can. Can you get a loan from the bank or CU? Rent cannot be so cheap for a whole house that you didn’t notice you had several hundred pounds or even over a thousand extra every month?! If cost of living was crippling you so much you’d know where every penny was going and realise you had money left over.

@StevieNic not all landlords are a leech, I have been good to my tenant, fixed issues as soon as they are reported, didn’t increase the rent for years and ensured the standard of the property is one I would want to live in.

The tenant has been a nightmare, hasn’t cleaned the house in months, things have been left broken after she left and she’s damaged the brand new carpet we put in.

People are quick to point the finger at landlords but look at the tenants, how anyone can forget to pay their rent is beyond me.

Op I won't judge you as you've obviously got problems but please to miss rent like this and not realise suggests to me that you desperately need help for your mental health.

I bloody love my landlord. Despite being very busy and owning lots of properties, he's been wonderful. Has kept rent the same for 2 years. Only ever increased by 2% in the past. Lets me decorate. Fixes things immediately. I have afro hair and so does his wife, we had a chat about how the hard water in the area damages our hair - when my boiler broke he fitted a water softener with the new one. He fixes cosmetic things like peeling paint in corners and replaced the wood on the windows when he did an inspection and felt the draft coming through them. I've lucked out!

@saltinesandcoffeecups my first thought too I'm afraid

Love Monzo! It’s the only card I use now

@Squirrelz5 You sound like a lovely tenant, mine couldn’t even clean, forget decorating!

@@Uppoopcreek

Oh God you sound like me! I also bury my head in the sand.

Late last year i was struggling with bills/debts and ended up owing money in rent like you, I owed around £1000 I was able to clear some of it but it was too late and the HA ended up taking me to court. There was a risk they could evict me and I have two young children. The court costs were £350 too so I ended up owing that as well. I rang the HA and made a plan with them, I now pay back £10 a week extra on top of the normal rent I was anxious to call them but now there’s a plan in place I felt so much better. I think your landlord would really appreciate communication and then you can come up with a solution ignoring it always makes the situation worse. The debt is there now, you just have to find a plan that works for you. Good luck

Congratulations

Ten quid a month?

They will probably just turn to the guarantors in that case.

Your post reads as if the landlord has only two options - accept what the OP offers or get nothing. But the landlord also has the guarantor who is liable for the rent.

Right, completely understand not looking and tapping until the card stops working. I'm sure most people here can empathise with that regardless of whether or not they've experienced it themselves.

What people are struggling with is how someone - on the breadline due to COL - would be able to tap the card to the tune of an extra £600, £800, £1000 or whatever per month, for six months, without noticing a presumably massive increase in available funds.

If OP was single with no dependants, fine, whatever, their problem. But this is their three kids home, with a guarantor (presumably friend or family) now on the hook for a potentially life-changing amount of money.

And I'm not about to lose sleep over a career landlord losing money, but OP says their landlord has inherited this property following the death of their son. What a mess to have fallen into their life at such a tragic time, and one that could have serious financial implications for them too.

Completely understand the mental health side of things too, but it's not a get out of jail free card, especially when there are so many dominos with the potential to fall here.

You must have 1000s in your account if you have not paid bills in 4 months! Go ahead and do the right thing! Your landlord has to pay mortgage, insurance, tax, maintenance, leasehold charges etc.

If you're struggling with the COL whilst spending the "extra" rent in your account, how on earth are you going to be able to pay back what you owe. You need to deal with this today. You need advice from someone like shelter, you need to make a budget and get rid of every single payment that's not absolutely essential and you need to approach your landlord with a plan. You also need to speak to your guarantor because there's no guarantee your landlord will let you have a repayment plan and might just bill your guarantor instead.

To be honest if my son had died and l had inherited his rental property with a single mum with 3 children living in it I wouldn't be that bothered about the rental income.
(I'm assuming that the way it all came about that the landlord is not financially dependent on the rent).
I know loads of very MC people (they all have met through going to private school together) who live completely rent free in other people's houses because getting in tenants and dealing with tax and the red tape isn't appealing when you don't need the money. I don't know loads of people but I know of at least 4 couples/families who pay no rent and but live in lovely houses owned by friends or friends of friends or random landowners.

Not everyone is constantly money grabbing and people do help even non-related people out

It could be the case that he does not want the back rent, discuss it with him, but please explore that option before getting into debt. He's lost a son, he'll understand that life isn't just about £ and how difficult it can be.

Hope it goes well.

As a landlord the most stressful thing is not knowing.
I would ring him if you feel able or if not send him a text and be completely honest.
Eg really sorry have realised I haven't paid my rent, not sure what has happened with the direct debit. I can see I'm in arrears of x amount.
On the day the rent is next due eg the 1 st of next month I will pay the rent for that month in full. Would it be possible to make a repayment plan for the rest?
I need the rent to pay the mortgage and without it it causes me major issues but as he hasn't contacted you in 6 months he will probably just be glad that you are offering him a solution. If his son has died and he isn't desperate for the money he will probably just not have the headspace for any stress and will want to find the easiest solution eg you contact him and come up with a plan and stick to it.
Can you also check you are claiming everything you are entitled to?
Good luck.

Absolutely this! Why do people not take personal responsibility for themselves these days. She'll be in the Sun with a compo face on when she gets kicked out no doubt

This!

Because everything has got so hideously expensive and she's just said she does not check her bank.

Saw a similar situation on one of the tv bailiff programmes once. The person hadn’t paid rent for months, then left the property in an awful state. The landlord managed to evict her eventually, but it took a while.

My sympathy is a bit limited here. Sorry. How could you be so blinkered? I get that you have mental health struggles but still ...

I would offer around £10 a month to the other bills.
If she’s behind on quite a few then that could easily add up, especially on top of the normal bills too.

They cannot ask for more if you physically don’t have it.

The rent arrears, I would try and get a discretionary housing payment and clear all/a chunk of the arrears and then speak to the LL.

What she pays would depend on how much gets cleared etc.
I pay £50 a month extra but only owe a couple of hundred.

The LL may say she needs to pay all of it by the end of the month or something but she won’t know until she’s spoken to him.

The main thing is speaking to all of them and attempting to repay what she owes.
If she ignores it, then it’ll only get worse.

Yes , this . Not everyone is up to speed with internet banking … but not checking for 6 months .

Good luck OP. I have come to agreements with tenants before whi missed rent. They've paid a small extra amount each month and made up the missed rent over a longer period of time. One tenant missed two months and paid it back over a year for example. Course you work put if you could afford a small extra amount each month and offer that to your landlord?

Maybe, but these people don't deserve empathy, that's pure stupidity and completely their own fault