How to Write a Rent Arrears Repayment Plan Both Sides Can Follow

Arrears already sit on the rent schedule and the only plan is a WhatsApp promise. Write one instalment-plan file both sides can follow: pull a dated arrears total from the schedule, set instalment amounts and due dates, state that normal rent continues on top, name what happens on a miss, get a signed plan or clear email yes, diary a review, and log every top-up — then stop before any possession notice.

One 2-bed let in Leeds. £950 pcm. Two missed months leave £1,900 on the schedule. On a Tuesday call the tenant says “I’ll add £150 until we’re clear.” The landlord replies “ok” on WhatsApp. Nothing names the £1,900, the due dates, or that £950 still falls each month. The risk is a £1,100 transfer in May with no file to say whether it was rent plus arrears or arrears only.

Surprising and easy to miss: a repayment plan is normal rent plus a regular top-up — not a swap that replaces contractual rent. Citizens Advice (England) works £600 rent plus £100 top-up so the tenant pays £700 until the missed month clears. Typical mistake: treating the top-up as the whole month’s rent.

Disclaimer: IziRento is operations software, not legal advice. Local tenancy rules vary; check a qualified adviser for binding decisions.

How do you pull the dated arrears total from the schedule?

Pull one figure from the rent schedule on the day you draft, and date that figure. Do not invent the balance from a bank ping or a chat screenshot. Both sides need the same starting number before instalments make sense.

Do set the unpaid total from the period rows, with a short breakdown of which months are open if needed. If the schedule is still a monthly tick list, start with the rent schedule: one row per period. GOV.UK treats you as in arrears as soon as rent is missed or late. In practice a WhatsApp “about two months” is not a plan figure.

What to put on the written instalment plan?

One page or email should carry: exact arrears total at the agreement date; weekly or monthly instalments with specific due dates; contractual rent continues on its normal date on top; payment method, account and arrears reference; what happens if an instalment is missed; and a review date.

Do write dates, not “when I can”. The Landlord Association lists those fields and says a verbal agreement is not enough. Shelter England wants the budget to show rent plus an arrears amount. For example: “£950 rent on the 1st; £150 arrears top-up on the 15th.”

When to accept an instalment offer as affordable?

Base the top-up on what remains after essentials. A smaller reliable payment beats a large promise that fails on month two. You do not have to accept every offer, but an oral “we’ll see” leaves no file.

Do ask for a simple budget if the offer looks thin. NRLA warns that an amount that is too high or unrealistically low usually fails. Citizens Advice notes a private landlord need not accept a plan. In practice: accept, counter or refuse in writing — then stop guessing.

Which written yes belongs on the file?

Prefer signatures on the plan. A clear email thread that restates the terms and records acceptance also counts. Do file the signed PDF or the email thread next to the rent schedule so the yes is a document, not a memory.

Do write a short summary after any phone or text, and leave a correction window. NRLA guidance on tenants not paying rent asks for a realistic plan in writing; managing-arrears notes cite about 7–14 days for corrections after a phone summary. Shelter: send the plan and keep what you sent plus their reply.

Why diary the review and log each instalment?

Diary the review date on the day you agree the plan. Log each instalment: date received, amount, running arrears balance, and whether rent for that period was also paid. Acknowledge payments briefly in writing.

Do use a separate bank reference for arrears top-ups when you can. The Landlord Association recommends reviewing monthly and acknowledging payments. NRLA: once a plan exists, send regular clear rent statements. Optional: what a rent receipt must show. Workflow: open the schedule → draft the fields → get a written yes → file beside the schedule → diary the review → log each top-up → stop.

What to write when an instalment is missed?

Follow the missed-instalment line you already wrote. Contact promptly the same week, record the reply, and decide whether to amend the plan in writing or stop. Do not let further unpaid top-ups accumulate in silence.

Do log the miss the day you notice it. The Landlord Association says contact immediately. Shelter notes missing payments makes a second plan harder. If the first weeks of chase are still open and no plan exists yet, that ladder lives on rent arrears in the first 30 days — this card assumes arrears already need a written instalment file.

Before you close this repayment-plan file?

This guide ends when you have a dated arrears total, written instalments with rent continuing on top, a missed-instalment line, both sides’ written yes, a diaried review, and each top-up logged — or when that written plan has clearly failed. Possession notices are a different file.

Do stop at the ops file. GOV.UK notes a court considering possession can set conditions such as paying regularly to clear arrears — why a clear written plan matters, not a cue to draft a notice here. Success bar: dated schedule figure, instalments with dates, rent-continues line, written yes filed beside the schedule, review diaried, every top-up logged. Verify that checklist before you treat the plan as closed. If the promise still lives only in chat, open the IziRento workspace to keep the lease, schedule, plan and payment notes together.