Scope: England. Wales runs its own possession regime under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 — see the divergence map. Verified 10 August 2026.
Arrears cases are won and lost on the record, and the record has to exist before you know you need it.
Day one — the log
From the first missed payment, keep a dated, contemporaneous record. Not reconstructed later:
- a rent account: date due, amount due, amount received, running balance;
- every contact — date, method, what was said, what was agreed;
- copies of every letter and message, sent and received;
- any repayment plan, in writing, and whether it was kept.
A judge reading a spreadsheet built the week before the hearing can tell. One maintained from the first missed payment is the difference between a persuasive case and an assertion.
Weeks one to four — talk, and write it down
Most arrears are temporary and most tenants would rather fix it. Contact early, ask what has happened, and put any agreement in writing. Point them at benefits advice or a debt charity if that is the issue.
This is not softness — it is evidence. Where you later plead a discretionary ground, the court asks whether possession is reasonable, and a landlord who engaged reasonably is in a materially better position than one who went straight to notice.
The pre-action expectations
There is no formal pre-action protocol for private rented arrears as there is in the social sector, but courts expect the same conduct: contact made, the position explained, alternatives explored, and notice not used as the first step. Behaving as though the protocol applied is the safe course.
Serving notice — Section 8
Plead the grounds together. Almost always 8, 10 and 11:
- Ground 8 — mandatory, 4 weeks' notice, needs 3+ months' arrears (monthly) or 13+ weeks (weekly or fortnightly).
- Ground 10 — discretionary, 4 weeks, any arrears.
- Ground 11 — discretionary, 4 weeks, persistent late payment even if the balance is now small.
See the grounds table for all of them.
The Ground 8 double test, in practice
This is the single most important operational fact in an arrears case.
The arrears must meet the threshold when the notice is served AND again at the hearing.
A tenant at 3.1 months' arrears who pays enough to drop to 2.9 months the day before the hearing defeats Ground 8 entirely. The mandatory route closes and the court is back to deciding what is reasonable.
Three consequences:
- Never plead Ground 8 alone. Grounds 10 and 11 survive a part-payment and cost nothing to add.
- Ground 11 is the answer to the serial late payer, because it is about the pattern rather than the balance. That is what your log evidences.
- Recalculate on the morning of the hearing and take the updated statement with you.
Court, realistically
Expect months, not weeks: issue the claim, wait for a hearing date, attend, and if an order is made the tenant usually gets 14 days, extendable to 42 in cases of exceptional hardship. Enforcement, if needed, means a warrant and a bailiff appointment on top.
Budget for the arrears continuing throughout. A money judgment for them is a separate matter from possession and is only as good as the tenant’s ability to pay.
What defeats a good case
- Deposit not protected or prescribed information not served — see deposit penalties.
- Property unlicensed where it should be licensed — and a rent repayment order can follow, turning your claim into their claim.
- Defective notice — wrong grounds, wrong dates, wrong form.
- Disrepair, raised as a counterclaim that can equal or exceed the arrears.
What never works
Changing the locks, removing belongings, cutting off utilities, or pressuring the tenant to leave. Each is a criminal offence under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977, and doing any of it converts a case you were going to win into one you will lose expensively.
The tenancy agreement is the first document the court reads. Check yours — every finding cited to the Act and section.
Information tool, not legal advice. Take advice before serving notice or issuing a claim.