What would happen if we didn't pay the rent?

[wotuhohohoinat]

Hypothetically speaking?
We deal directly with our landlord and have always paid the rent on time.
If we were unable to pay it, what would be the best thing to do?
And in the worst case senario, what would happen?

Worst case scenario he can apply for an eviction order (but that can take ages)
Best thing to do if you couldn't pay was to phone and give him a heads up
We found ourselves really strapped the other year (and I mean really strapped). We phoned landlord and he gave us a 2 month 'break' to be paid back at an extra £50 a month when we were back on our feet.

Wow, what an understanding landlord you have/had! I don't think our landlord would agree to that as our situation is likely to not be temporary. He also made it clear last year when we disputed his rent increase that he is just breaking even with paying his remortgage on the house.
We are on the list for a housing association place but that can take a long, long time. It's probably obvious that I'm getting a bit worried now. Things have got into a bit of a mess.

If my tenant didn't pay her rent then i wouldn't be able to pay the mortgage. If the house is repossessed the tenant is evicted.

I don't rent out my flat to make money, i had to move and only rent it out to cover the mortgage until i can sell it.

HOWEVER, i would rather know ahead of time that my tenant couldn't pay as i'd have to try to arrange a mortgage break or something with the bank.

I think in all seriousness if my tenant couldn't pay i'd have to give them notice. However if they'd given me fair warning i'd try to do the same for them and keep it as amical as possible because as i say if i defaulted on the mortgage then they'd be evicted anyway.

Our landlord own quite a lot of terraced properties that he bought for next to nowt in the 80s/90s which is prbabaly why he was able to give us a break. I know we're very lucky and he's excellent with repairs etc too.
Trouble is we're probably going to have to move next year cos we're outgrowing the house!

contact Shelter. There are set deadlines for missed payments after which the landlord can apply to a court to evict with little notice. At that point you'd become homeless

landlord's mortgage costs may have decreased along with recent interest rate costs (depends on what type of mortgage he has) so there may be some scope for negotiation there?

Is this a one-of circumstance? If so, i'd say contact the landlord and beg. In fact, i'd probably say do that anyway for this payment.

However, if it's an ongoing problem then it's in everybody's interest that you find somewhere more affordable to live so you don't have this hanging over you.

Contact the council, housing associations etc. are you on benefit? are you getting all the help you're entitiled to? can you find somewhere smaller?

With interest rates dropping and lots of properties going onto the rental market instead of selling it might be possible to negotiate down teh rent on your current place or somewhere else.

At the moment there are many more houses to rent than previously, because of people who need to move but can't sell. This is causing rental prices to drop in a lot of areas.
If I were you I would look around to see what else is available to rent at a price thats within your budget (or at least closer to your budget).
I don't think its fair of your landlord to increase your rent because he remortgaged, if that means he is not charging the going rate for that kind of property in your area.
Have a ring round some letting agents and see what else is available near you.
If you can find something cheaper and can't find the deposit etc, then as fluffles has said, at least you can use that as a bargaining point to get your rent reduced.
Your landlord might go for that one rather than have no tenant at all.

Thanks everyone for the advice. I'll speak to DH and get him to speak to the landlord. There are more affordable properties around that would do us, but DH is concerned that we don't have moving costs, and we certainly don't have the cash for a deposit. I like the idea of bargaining with the landlord. A house has just gone up for rent near us, and it is exactly the same, but recently done up. I'm going to find out how much that is. Rents do seem to have dropped abit recently too.
It is going to be a permanent problem as I have had to give up work, but we are waiting for a housing association place from the council, which will be much more affordable.

Is it possible you can get some housing benefit to help with your rent

We hope so.

This happened to us last month. We were given to the end of december to clear arrears and notice was given as a precaution. DP is having some trouble with his business so there is no way we are going to be able to pay it off and sustain the rent every month so the notice to quit stands. Go and see the housing people at the council. They are so helpful. They are helping us with a deposit by giving us a crisis loan and sent us to view a smaller property.

Thanks, Sirius. It is reassuring to know we are not the only ones. Which department did you see at the council?
Our tenancy agreement is for 12 months and ends at the end of June. I think the landlord would find it hard to find new tenants (there are lots of empty places up for rent here) and would help in any way he can.
DH and I have had a quick chat about it. DH isn't too good on the phone (and I am rubbish!) so he is going to write a letter in the new year. In the meantime, we are going to seek some advice from the CAB and suchlike and I think that putting that in the letter will put us in a good light.

CAB will advise that you make the rent and council tax priority payments and then negotiate with utilities etc re the rest of your bills.

Non payment of rent can also mean that the council has no duty to re-house you as it can be seen as making yourself homeless. Councils websites will show their policy on this.

If your income is low, you can apply for housing benefit but I assume you would have already done that if you could.

Its prpbably the worst month to ask a favour of the landlord as he may not be able to meet the extra payment himself so close to xmas. He may also think you've spent the money on xmas rather than the rent.

If you do now qualify for housing benefit, you'll need to let the landlord know as some mortgages and insurances exclude this.