What to do if your tenant loses their job

Losing their job is one of the commonest reasons that tenants fall into arrears with their rent.

Whilst some tenants may be upfront about losing their job, in many cases the landlord will not be aware that there is a problem until the first missed rent payment.

In some cases, tenants may have cash in reserves that they can use to pay their rent whilst they look for a new job. Or perhaps they can borrow money from a friend or family member until they find employment. If this isn’t the case though, loss of employment can cause a tenant to quickly begin to fall behind on their rent payments.

Therefore, it’s very important that all landlord have strict credit control procedures in place, to catch problems early on and begin working with tenants to find a solution as soon as the problem arises.

Steps to take if your tenant loses their job

So, what steps should you take if you discover that your tenant has lost their job?

When handling the situation it’s important to remember that it is likely to be a stressful and emotional time for the tenant, so it’s important to handle things professionally and sensitively.

It is down to you to discuss the situation with your tenant and come up with a fair course of action. If you have a good relationship with the tenant you may wish to give them a set amount of time to find work before reviewing the situation.

If the tenant finds work but is left in rent arrears you could work with them to set out an affordable payment plan to help them to pay off their debt to you in instalments.

If after the agreed period they have not managed to find work, you may then ask them to move out or set in motion proceedings to evict them from your property.

The course of action you decide to take will depend on your relationship with the tenant and your own financial situation. If the loss of the rental income is going to cause you significant cashflow problems, then you may wish to start eviction proceedings sooner rather than later.

For help or advice with evicting a tenantor recovering commercial property rent arrears, get in touch with our team of experts.