The short answer
Chase early and in writing. Most late rent is a mistake, such as a payday that moved or a standing order left on a closed account. A reminder within a day or two of the rent day usually sorts it. If it does not, the next steps are a conversation about why, a written plan to clear what is owed, and only after that anything formal. At every stage, the record you keep matters as much as what you say.
This page is about the chasing itself. What to do once a tenant has stopped paying altogether, from Universal Credit to possession, is in the guide on tenants not paying rent, linked at the end.
When it comes up
Rent due on the 1st has not arrived by the 3rd, from a tenant who has paid on time for a year. It is tempting to give it another week to avoid an awkward message, and that is usually the wrong call. A reminder on day two reads as routine; the same message on day twenty reads as a complaint, and an early message is the best chance of hearing about a problem while the amount is still small.
How to chase late rent, step by step
- Check it really has not arrived. Look at the bank, not only your records, and check whether a joint tenant or a parent paid it under another name
- Send a short written reminder. The amount, the date it was due, how to pay, and a line asking them to reply if there is a problem. Email or text rather than only a call, so there is a record
- Follow up after a few days. Repeat the reminder with the running total and ask to talk
- Find out why, and agree a plan in writing. If the tenant cannot pay in full, agree an amount and dates on top of the rent, and confirm it by email the same day
- Send a rent statement. Month by month, what was charged, what was paid and the balance. It ends arguments about the figure
- Know where the formal thresholds are, set out in the law section below. Serving a notice is a decision to make with the full figures in front of you, not in frustration
- Keep every message, with its date
Your options compared
- By hand. Free. It depends on you noticing on the day and remembering to follow up, and the messages end up spread across email and your phone
- A letting agent on full management. Chasing is part of a percentage fee and the agent has the awkward conversation. An agent paid only to find the tenant does not chase
- LetCompliance. Raises the charge, marks it late and can email the reminders for you on a schedule you set, from the free plan up
- A done-for-you arrears service. LetCompliance’s Arrears Recovery is a flat £99 with no commission. The tenant is contacted by phone and in writing on your behalf, a payment plan they can keep is agreed in writing, and every call and message is logged. It is pre-legal help, not legal representation
How it works in LetCompliance
- The charge, and the day it turns late. Each tenancy’s rent is raised as a charge on its rent day. An unpaid charge turns late once its due date has passed, and the rent page shows the running arrears
- A reminder before the rent day. If you switch it on, the tenant gets an email before the rent is due, 3 days before by default
- Automatic chasing, off until you switch it on. First you see a preview of who the first run would email and about which payments, so you can mark any rent that has already arrived. Then each tenancy with rent overdue gets one email listing every unpaid date and the total, every 4 days and up to 3 times by default, both changeable in Settings. Everyone on a joint tenancy with an email address gets it
- A reminder by hand from the rent page whenever you choose. It cannot be sent twice within a day for the same rent, or for rent that is marked paid or already being collected by Direct Debit
- Older debt is left to you. Rent more than 90 days overdue is not chased automatically
- Ground 8, worked out. The arrears figures say whether the threshold in the law section below is met, for monthly, weekly and fortnightly rent
- The statement and the notice. The month-by-month rent statement comes with the 3-day trial and paid plans. The Section 8 notice on Form 3A is on paid plans, from £7.99 a month, with the arrears read from the ledger rather than typed in
If the tenant paid by hand, they can tell you from their portal, and the chase for that charge pauses while you check.
The law
- Late payment fees. Paragraph 4 of Schedule 1 to the Tenant Fees Act 2019 allows a charge for late rent only if the tenancy agreement provides for it, only once the rent has been unpaid for 14 days from the due date, and only as interest of up to 3% a year above the Bank of England base rate on the amount still unpaid (legislation.gov.uk, read 20 October 2026). Anything above that is a prohibited payment
- Ground 8. Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988, as amended from 1 May 2026, needs at least three months’ rent unpaid on a monthly tenancy, or 13 weeks’ rent on a weekly or fortnightly one, both when the notice is served and at the hearing. Rent left unpaid only because the tenant had not yet received a Universal Credit payment that includes an amount for housing is ignored in that count (legislation.gov.uk, read 20 October 2026)
- Grounds 10 and 11. Ground 10 covers rent unpaid when proceedings begin that was also in arrears when the notice was served. Ground 11 covers persistent late payment, whether or not anything is owed when proceedings begin. On both, the court decides whether possession is reasonable. GOV.UK’s “Grounds for possession: guidance for landlords and letting agents” (updated 1 May 2026, read 20 October 2026) gives the notice period as four weeks for Grounds 8, 10 and 11
- Chasing must not become harassment. Section 1(3A) of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 makes it an offence for a landlord to do acts likely to interfere with the peace or comfort of a tenant or their household, or persistently withdraw or withhold services, knowing or having reasonable cause to believe it is likely to make them leave or stop exercising their rights (legislation.gov.uk, read 20 October 2026). Polite written reminders are a different thing from turning up unannounced or cutting off the gas
Nothing on this page, or in the product, is legal advice on your own case.
Common mistakes
- Waiting weeks before the first message
- Chasing rent that has already been paid, because nobody looked at the bank first
- Agreeing a repayment plan on the phone and never confirming it in writing
- Adding a late fee the agreement does not provide for
- Counting anything other than rent towards Ground 8, such as damage or bills
- Messages that threaten, or that go to the tenant’s employer or family
How long can rent be late in the UK?
There is no grace period: rent is late once its due date has passed. A late payment charge, where the agreement allows one, can start only after 14 days.
How many days in arrears before eviction?
It is not counted in days but in rent owed, at the thresholds in the law section above, with four weeks’ notice. Ground 10 can be used for any amount, but the court decides.
What should a late rent letter say?
The amount owed, the dates it fell due, what has been paid, how to pay, and an invitation to get in touch if there is a problem. Keep it short and factual. The chase email in LetCompliance lists every unpaid date and the total for you.
Can I charge my tenant for chasing?
No, beyond the late payment interest above where the agreement provides for it. Arrears Recovery is paid for by you and is never added to the tenant’s debt.
What LetCompliance does not do here
- Chasing is off until you turn it on
- Rent paid every four weeks gets no Ground 8 figure, because the ground does not cover that period, so take advice
- The Ground 8 figure counts all unpaid rent. It cannot tell when a payment is late only because Universal Credit has not yet been paid, which the ground ignores, so check that yourself before relying on it
- It does not chase rent more than 90 days overdue automatically
- Arrears Recovery is pre-legal help, not legal representation, and does not take a case to court
