Landlords have criticised the Government’s plan to raise the minimum period of rent arrears from two to three months before they can be served notice to repossess.

So says the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) which points out that ministers should be doing more to prevent tenants building up rent debt, not allowing them to get bigger.

The new more generous rent arrears rules are within the Renters’ Rights Bill which is due to have its second reading later this week.

The Bill also 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.

Damage

But while Labour ministers have said this will give tenants more security, the NRLA warns that allowing tenants to build yet more arrears will make it impossible for many to pay them off, damage their credit ratings and limit their ability to access housing and other services in the future.

Instead the NRLA is calling for agents and landlords to be required by law to work with tenants who show ‘first signs’ of financial problems, for the Government to ensure housing benefit rates are linked to market rents, and to ensure landlords can repossess properties swiftly when arrears build up.

“Preventing rent arrears from building in the first place should be the priority for landlords and government, not allowing them to build yet further,” says Ben Beadle (main image) Chief Executive of the NRLA.

“Landlords should be making every effort to help tenants get on top of debts as early on as possible.

“But 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.”