{"id":8868,"date":"2021-04-27T10:41:20","date_gmt":"2021-04-27T10:41:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/?p=8868"},"modified":"2021-04-27T10:41:51","modified_gmt":"2021-04-27T10:41:51","slug":"breathing-space-a-quick-intro-to-the-debt-respite-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/breathing-space-a-quick-intro-to-the-debt-respite-scheme\/","title":{"rendered":"Breathing Space: A quick intro to the Debt Respite Scheme"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
\nEffective in England and Wales from 4 May 2021, this new scheme aims to help those with problem debt. It doesn\u2019t cancel the debt and it isn\u2019t a payment holiday, but it puts on hold any enforcement action and gives debtors \u2018breathing space\u2019 to find solutions.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a quick look at how this affects landlords.<\/p>\n

The basics<\/h4>\n

There are two types of breathing space:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Standard breathing space, which lasts for 60 days.<\/li>\n
  2. Mental health crisis breathing space, which lasts throughout treatment and for an additional 30 days.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The standard breathing space can only be initiated by an FCA authorised Debt Advisor or by a Local Authority which provides debt advice. Special provisions apply for those receiving mental health crisis treatment, and more info is available on the GOV.UK website.<\/p>\n

    What happens when a breathing space is granted?<\/h4>\n

    Once granted, the breathing space will be registered by the Insolvency Service and any creditors informed. As a landlord experiencing rent arrears, you should be notified, either electronically or by post.<\/p>\n

    It\u2019s at this point that:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • All collection and enforcement action \u2013 by you or by your agent \u2013 must stop.<\/li>\n
    • You cannot ask the tenant to pay interest, fees, penalties or charges for the debt during the Breathing Space.<\/li>\n
    • You cannot contact the tenant to request payment of the debt without court permission.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      But:<\/p>\n

        \n
      • The tenant is still liable for the ongoing rent and arrears and should pay you if they can.<\/li>\n
      • The tenant can reach out to you to discuss the issue.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Note that the breathing space does not change your responsibilities as a landlord. Maintenance and inspections should go ahead as normal, and you can contact the tenant to make arrangements.<\/p>\n

        What happens when a breathing space ends?<\/h4>\n

        You\u2019ll be notified. You can contact the tenant and start or continue any actions or legal proceedings.<\/p>\n

        Key questions and answers<\/h2>\n

        Landlords have been reaching out to us to understand how the new scheme affects them. Here\u2019s a selection of the questions they\u2019ve been asking.<\/p>\n

        Section 8 proceedings are underway. What happens now?<\/h4>\n

        In short, everything will be put on hold. You must write to the courts and let them know that a breathing space has been set up. You can withdraw or ask for a stay.<\/p>\n

        If I don\u2019t think the tenant needs the breathing space, what can I do?<\/h4>\n

        Within 20 days of the start of the breathing space, you can request a review. Give the debt advisor a written statement with your case and provide any supporting evidence you have.<\/p>\n

        What happens if a tenant stops paying ongoing rent because of the breathing space?<\/h4>\n

        The debt advisor can cancel a breathing space if they believe the debtor is not complying with their obligations.<\/p>\n

        I\u2019m trying to regain possession is there anything I can do?<\/h4>\n

        No, not until the breathing space expires.<\/p>\n

        Is there any good news for landlords?<\/h4>\n

        Although putting on hold your ability to take action for 60 days could seem harsh, there is logic in it. The Covid-19 situation has left a lot of good tenants with money worries. Those working with a debt advisor are trying to get back on track. The plan they develop with a debt advisor could see your rent paid regularly and ultimately avoid the possibility of an eviction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Effective in England and Wales from 4 May 2021, this new scheme aims to help those with problem debt. It doesn\u2019t cancel the debt and it isn\u2019t a payment holiday, but it puts on hold any enforcement action and gives debtors \u2018breathing space\u2019 to find solutions. Let\u2019s take a quick look at how this affects […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8869,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[63,2081,2183,2206,21],"yoast_head":"\nBreathing Space: A quick intro to the Debt Respite Scheme - Legal For Landlords<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What happens if a tenant stops paying ongoing rent because of the breathing space? If I don\u2019t think the tenant needs the breathing space, what can I do?Effective in England and Wales from 4 May 2021, this new scheme aims to help those with problem debt.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/breathing-space-a-quick-intro-to-the-debt-respite-scheme\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Breathing Space: A quick intro to the Debt Respite Scheme - Legal For Landlords\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What happens if a tenant stops paying ongoing rent because of the breathing space? If I don\u2019t think the tenant needs the breathing space, what can I do?Effective in England and Wales from 4 May 2021, this new scheme aims to help those with problem debt.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/breathing-space-a-quick-intro-to-the-debt-respite-scheme\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Legal For Landlords\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-04-27T10:41:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-04-27T10:41:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/House-red-umbrella-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Joanna Plane\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Joanna Plane\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/breathing-space-a-quick-intro-to-the-debt-respite-scheme\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/breathing-space-a-quick-intro-to-the-debt-respite-scheme\/\",\"name\":\"Breathing Space: A quick intro to the Debt Respite Scheme - Legal For Landlords\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-27T10:41:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-04-27T10:41:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/#\/schema\/person\/946561f510196f73204ff7c85e521669\"},\"description\":\"What happens if a tenant stops paying ongoing rent because of the breathing space? If I don\u2019t think the tenant needs the breathing space, what can I do?Effective in England and Wales from 4 May 2021, this new scheme aims to help those with problem debt.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/breathing-space-a-quick-intro-to-the-debt-respite-scheme\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/breathing-space-a-quick-intro-to-the-debt-respite-scheme\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/breathing-space-a-quick-intro-to-the-debt-respite-scheme\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Breathing Space: A quick intro to the Debt Respite Scheme\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/\",\"name\":\"Legal For Landlords\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/#\/schema\/person\/946561f510196f73204ff7c85e521669\",\"name\":\"Joanna Plane\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/06c5b9674c084673a3fdc88deb9d7ad9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/06c5b9674c084673a3fdc88deb9d7ad9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Joanna Plane\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/legal4landlords.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/author\/joanna_plane\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Breathing Space: A quick intro to the Debt Respite Scheme - Legal For Landlords","description":"What happens if a tenant stops paying ongoing rent because of the breathing space? If I don\u2019t think the tenant needs the breathing space, what can I do?Effective in England and Wales from 4 May 2021, this new scheme aims to help those with problem debt.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/breathing-space-a-quick-intro-to-the-debt-respite-scheme\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Breathing Space: A quick intro to the Debt Respite Scheme - Legal For Landlords","og_description":"What happens if a tenant stops paying ongoing rent because of the breathing space? If I don\u2019t think the tenant needs the breathing space, what can I do?Effective in England and Wales from 4 May 2021, this new scheme aims to help those with problem debt.","og_url":"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/breathing-space-a-quick-intro-to-the-debt-respite-scheme\/","og_site_name":"Legal For Landlords","article_published_time":"2021-04-27T10:41:20+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-04-27T10:41:51+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/House-red-umbrella-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Joanna Plane","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Joanna Plane","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/breathing-space-a-quick-intro-to-the-debt-respite-scheme\/","url":"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/breathing-space-a-quick-intro-to-the-debt-respite-scheme\/","name":"Breathing Space: A quick intro to the Debt Respite Scheme - Legal For Landlords","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-04-27T10:41:20+00:00","dateModified":"2021-04-27T10:41:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/#\/schema\/person\/946561f510196f73204ff7c85e521669"},"description":"What happens if a tenant stops paying ongoing rent because of the breathing space? If I don\u2019t think the tenant needs the breathing space, what can I do?Effective in England and Wales from 4 May 2021, this new scheme aims to help those with problem debt.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/breathing-space-a-quick-intro-to-the-debt-respite-scheme\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/breathing-space-a-quick-intro-to-the-debt-respite-scheme\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/breathing-space-a-quick-intro-to-the-debt-respite-scheme\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Breathing Space: A quick intro to the Debt Respite Scheme"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/","name":"Legal For Landlords","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/#\/schema\/person\/946561f510196f73204ff7c85e521669","name":"Joanna Plane","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/06c5b9674c084673a3fdc88deb9d7ad9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/06c5b9674c084673a3fdc88deb9d7ad9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Joanna Plane"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/legal4landlords.com"],"url":"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/author\/joanna_plane\/"}]}},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8868"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8868"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8868\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8878,"href":"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8868\/revisions\/8878"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}