Are there any landlords that could help me please?

[ChilloHippi]

We need to write a letter to our landlord to explain that we cannot pay the full rent this month. Is there anyone about who could offer some advice about this, where we stand legally and how we should phrase things?

You really need to be able to say when you will pay the rest, once you start to default he can make legal moves to evict you if you do not catch up within a certain time frame. Shelter site has some advice and you can contact them on a case by case basis.

I was going to propose that we add on a third of this month's rent to the next three months, but DH seems to think it would be better to say we will pay a tiny bit now (one sixth) and the rest ad hoc when we can over the next two or three months. What do you think?

And we'd put about me looking for work as my current work is as a supply teacher, so it's not a guaranteed income.

When is your rent due, and why can't you pay it?

If one of my tenants did this and could only pay a sixth of the rent I would not be impressed-and it would actually put myself and my own family in financial difficulties.

How long have you been in this property?

how much is the rent per month, and how much are you proposing to pay now? Am a bit confused.

I'm sorry you're in this situation.

I agree with the others. Is there a specific reason why you can't pay this month? And will you be able to pay the rent in full in future months (forgetting about this month's shortfall for a moment), or is this going to be a regular occurrence?

"DH seems to think it would be better to say we will pay a tiny bit now (one sixth) and the rest ad hoc when we can over the next two or three months. What do you think?"

• if you could only afford one sixth of the current month's rent, I would be livid and would certainly want to start legal proceedings as soon as possible, although I believe you have to be in more than one month's arrears for this to happen (sadly, from a landlord's perspective, although happily from your perspective!). One sixth of the month's rent would certainly come no way near to covering my mortgage payment, and why I on earth should I have to struggle financially??

That said, it's an accepted risk of being a landlord - and if you had been a good tenant up to this point, I would be prepared to come to an arrangement with you. But offering only one sixth of this month's rent is plain insulting, unless you can guarantee 100% that it will only happen this month.

I would expect a structured payment plan and specific reassurances/explanations of exactly why this would not arise again, if you were my tenant. Paying off the debt "ad hoc" would not cut it with me. And if you really can't afford to pay more than one sixth, I would ask who your other creditors were that were more important/deserving than me!! I might not have the right to know this, but I would certainly ask!

We've been here for 2 and a half years and there hasn't been a problem so far.

When the landlord wanted to put the rent up last year, we did tell him that we were struggling with the amount as it was (I had to stop work for medical reasons) and he agreed to keep it as it was, so he was aware of our situation.

To be completely honest, I am not sure why we have got to this mess this month.

We are on the council list for an affordable property, and I am looking for permanent work.

I'm sorry, but how can you not know why you can't afford to pay your rent?

ChilloHippi, have you looked into claiming Housing Benefit?

Hey, come on, I wanted advice, not a bollocking. I know that we've had to start paying back a rather large council tax bill, which we went to court for in November. I don't have much to do with the money side of things in the house and leave it to DH (I am rubbish with money).

Also, you need to be aware that if you are evicted for rent arrears you can be deemed 'intentionally homeless', which means the council don't have to house you.

Could you apply for a crisis loan from the DSS?

When did you realise you couldn't pay, and when is your rent due? Will you be able to pay next month?

We were claiming HB. We were only getting £30something a month, but it stopped as my benefits stopped (I had to go for a medical and it went to appeal but I lost) and I had to find work, hence the supply teaching. It was teaching that led to me having a breakdown and I am not at all happy about having to return to the classroom, but needs must and all that.

ChilloHippi, I am not telling you off . I have been bankrupt in the past, and the lesson that taught me most of all is that you need to have a good knowledge of what your situation really is, how you got there, and how you will get out of it.

OK. Well, if you can tell us whether this is an acute crisis month, or an overall ongoing problem, then we can help you to work out the best solution.

Rent was due on the 29th. DH told me on the 30th that he hadn't paid it. We will be able to pay next month, and providing I get enough work, we can pay the arrears back.

I hadn't thought about a crisis loan. I have applied for them in the past.

I went bankrupt in 2006. It had the opposite effect on me that it had on you: I now bury my head even further and still don't open post.

I think this is a one-off rather than on-going as the rent is one thing that was always paid.

Yes we can pay some now. DH says we have a third of it in the bank. If we pay the third we are left with nothing for food, travel for DH to wrk, petrol if I get work, money for gas+electric meters. That's why I thought we would pay a sixth (which is just over £100).

Ok, so at the moment, you are already in arrears, and don't have the money to pay, so are hoping the Bank Holiday means they won't notice till you send the letter?

To be honest, it would be much better to have given a little notice, but it is done now.

You and your DH seem to have different ideas on what you can afford to pay. You are saying you can pay 2/3, so you would carry over 1/3 unpaid. Your DH is saying you can pay 1/6 and carry over 5/6. Why is that?

Realistically, you need to sit down, regardless of how rubbish you are with money, and work out what money you have until next pay day, what you need to pay out (including food, etc), and what is left.

Then you need to plan a budget for the other months, including the council tax bill. That must be pretty high, as we are near to the end of the tax year, and you have a court order for payment.

Then you need to work out how you got here, and why your DH didn't tell you that you were in difficulty, and why you didn't know yourself.

Once you have done all that (will take hours), you need to work out what you will tell your landlord.

I think you really need to pay as much as you possibly can now.

TBH if my tenant contacted me after the rent was due and offered 1/6 of the amount owed I would be looking to get them out at the earliest opportunity.

At this point you need to be offering your LL all the reassurance (and cash) that you can in order to stop that happening.

x-posts, sorry.

Well the difficulty is that you are in a pickle now, and that isn't going to change unless you face it.

Do you have children? Is your Tax Credit award accurate?

I take it you have no relatives you can borrow from to make up at least a little of the shortfall?

Do you post on moneysavingexpert forums? They'd probably be very useful for this.