Most "arrears" are not a tenant refusing to pay. They are a changed pay date, a forgotten standing order, a bank switch, a cash payment that never quite happened. Which means the way you collect the rent quietly decides how much chasing you do all year. Get the method right and half your arrears problems never start.
Here is how the options actually compare in 2026.
General guidance, not financial advice.
The options, honestly compared
Why Direct Debit usually wins
The difference between standing order and Direct Debit is who is in control. With a standing order you are a passive recipient waiting to see if the payment lands. With Direct Debit you initiate the collection on the agreed day, so payment is the default and non-payment is the exception that gets flagged.
For a landlord that means fewer "did the rent come in?" checks, earlier warning when something is wrong, and a clean record of exactly what was due and what was paid — which is also what a Ground 8 arrears case lives or dies on later.
The one-month rent-in-advance cap
One thing that changed in 2026 and catches landlords out: you can no longer use a big lump of rent in advance to "secure" a tenant or cover a weak reference. Since 1 May 2026 you cannot require more than one month's rent in advance, and you cannot ask for any rent at all before the tenancy is signed. So the answer to payment risk is not a fat upfront payment any more — it is referencing the tenant properly and collecting reliably. (Full detail in our rent in advance guide.)
Make paying the easy option
Tenants pay on time when paying is the path of least resistance. Set the rent due date to just after their pay date, set up the collection before the first payment is due, send the amount and reference clearly, and make sure a missed payment triggers a same-day, polite nudge rather than a two-month silence. Most late rent is friction, not refusal — remove the friction and the arrears shrink.
How LetCompliance helps: collect rent by Bacs Direct Debit through Stripe Connect, paid straight into your own bank account, with the payment initiated on the due date and a clean ledger behind it. A missed collection is flagged early, the arrears trail is built automatically for a Ground 8 case if it ever comes to that, and it all sits with the tenancy and the compliance record in one login.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
What is the best way to collect rent from tenants?
Direct Debit that you initiate is the most reliable, because you pull the payment on the due date rather than relying on the tenant’s standing order firing, and a failed collection is flagged immediately. Standing order works but leaves control with the tenant; cash is best avoided (no record, hard to reconcile for tax). The goal is to make paying the path of least resistance and to catch a missed payment on day one, not day sixty.
Can I ask for several months’ rent in advance?
No. Since 1 May 2026 you cannot require more than one month’s rent in advance, and you cannot ask for any rent before the tenancy is signed. So a large upfront payment is no longer the way to cover payment risk — proper referencing and reliable collection are. A tenant can still volunteer to pay early once the tenancy has started.