I Cannot Afford My Rent or Mortgage This Month

Write (email or letter) to your landlord or mortgage lender today. Say: (a) the payment will be late or partial, (b) the reason (illness, job loss, benefit delay), (c) when you expect to be able to pay, and (d) the partial amount you can pay now. Most landlords and all lenders are receptive to early honesty; they prefer a plan to a default. The Mortgage Charter (2023) commits major lenders to offering 6-month payment holidays, interest-only switches, term extensions, or partial payments without an immediate credit-file mark.

Most renters and shared-owners can claim the housing element of Universal Credit. State Pension age claimants and people in temporary or supported accommodation get Housing Benefit instead. The element covers actual rent up to the Local Housing Allowance rate for your area and bedroom entitlement. For mortgages, there is no equivalent direct benefit — but Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI), a loan secured against your property, can cover the interest on up to £200,000 of mortgage after a 9-month qualifying period on UC.

If your UC or Housing Benefit does not cover your full rent (because the LHA cap is below market rent, you have a benefit cap, or another reason), ask your council for help with housing costs. In England, Discretionary Housing Payments ended on 31 March 2026; since 1 April 2026 that help comes from the council's Housing Payment scheme, which is for people entitled to Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit. It can be used for shortfalls between your benefit and your actual rent (including those caused by the benefit cap, the removal of the spare room subsidy or Local Housing Allowance rates), rental deposits, rent in advance and removal or tenancy set-up costs. If you do not qualify, ask about the council's Crisis Payment scheme. Check the council website for how to apply.

The Household Support Fund ended on 31 March 2026. Since 1 April 2026 councils in England run the Crisis and Resilience Fund, including a Crisis Payment scheme; councils decide how to run their schemes, so check your council's website for its Crisis Payment scheme and how to apply. Other one-off help: the Cold Weather Payment (£25 per 7 days of 0°C or below for qualifying benefit households, automatic), the Warm Home Discount (£150 off electricity bill for low-income households, apply via supplier), and local welfare assistance schemes for white goods and furniture.

Phone StepChange (0800 138 1111), National Debtline (0808 808 4000), or Citizens Advice. They will go through your income and outgoings, prioritise debts (rent, mortgage, council tax, energy first), and work out the most you can sustainably pay. They can negotiate with the lender or landlord on your behalf — this carries weight, because the adviser knows what the lender can offer. Free advice is regulated and the adviser cannot make money from a particular outcome.

Landlords cannot evict you without a court order. Section 21 no-fault notices were abolished on 1 May 2026 by the Renters' Rights Act 2025 — a Section 21 notice served on or after that date is invalid, and older notices can no longer be enforced unless the landlord asked the court to issue the possession claim within the applicable period (31 July 2026 at the latest). A Section 8 notice cites a ground — for rent arrears, Ground 8 (mandatory) requires at least three months' rent unpaid (thirteen weeks if rent is weekly or fortnightly) at the date of the notice AND at the hearing for private tenancies in England since 1 May 2026 (two months or eight weeks for notices served before then and for housing association assured tenancies). On a private tenancy since 1 May 2026, rent that is unpaid only because a Universal Credit housing payment you are entitled to has not been paid yet is ignored when counting the arrears. Even if the notice is valid, you can negotiate a repayment plan and ask the court for a suspended order; the court has discretion under Ground 10 and 11 (discretionary rent grounds).

If after all benefits and adjustments you still cannot afford the housing costs, plan a managed move rather than waiting for eviction. Options: downsize, move to a cheaper area, apply to the council housing register (or housing association direct lets), look at private rental at LHA rates (in England, ask your council about help with housing costs from its Housing Payment scheme), or move in with family while you rebuild. A planned move with notice and a reference is much easier than recovering from an eviction.