Breathing Space and Rent Arrears: When the Debt Respite Scheme Pauses Possession, and the Two Carve-Outs Landlords Need to Know

Last reviewed: 14 May 2026 — England and Wales

General information only. This article describes the law in England and Wales as at the date shown above. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for advice on your case. For free regulated advice, contact a Law Centre, Citizens Advice, Shelter England, or the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service available at every County Court.

Quick Answer

The Debt Respite Scheme — known as Breathing Space — was introduced by the Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space Moratorium and Mental Health Crisis Moratorium) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020. A tenant in problem debt can apply via a registered debt adviser for a Standard Breathing Space moratorium of 60 days, or for a Mental Health Crisis Breathing Space (MHCBS) lasting as long as the underlying mental-health crisis treatment plus 30 days. During the moratorium, enforcement action on most debts is paused — including rent arrears that became due BEFORE the moratorium started. The carve-outs that matter for landlords: ongoing rent (post-moratorium-start) is NOT covered, and existing possession proceedings already at the warrant stage are NOT automatically paused. A possession claim issued during a moratorium is itself an offence under the 2020 Regulations.

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Why Breathing Space Exists and Who Runs It

The Debt Respite Scheme is the policy response to the persistent pattern of debt enforcement overwhelming people who are at the same time trying to engage with debt advice and recovery. Before 2021, a tenant in arrears who approached StepChange or Citizens Advice for help could find that the engagement made things worse — creditors interpreted the contact as confirmation of insolvency and accelerated enforcement.

The Regulations create a statutory pause. Once a tenant is in Breathing Space:

• Most enforcement action is suspended.
• Most interest and charges on the relevant debts cannot accrue.
• Most creditors cannot contact the tenant directly about the debt.
• Most creditors cannot issue legal proceedings on the debt during the moratorium.

The pause is administered by the Insolvency Service via a digital portal, with applications submitted by FCA-authorised "debt advice providers" — typically debt charities (StepChange, Citizens Advice Debt Helpline, Christians Against Poverty), local authority money-advice services, or independent debt advisers regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Self-applications are not possible.

The full Regulations are at legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/1311. The Insolvency Service guidance is at gov.uk/options-for-paying-off-your-debts/breathing-space.

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The Two Types of Moratorium

Standard Breathing Space

The standard moratorium lasts 60 days. It is available once per individual in any 12-month period (with limited exceptions for re-application after meaningful engagement with debt advice).

The 60 days is calendar days, not working days. It starts on the date the moratorium is registered on the Insolvency Service portal and ends 60 days later.

A "midway review" takes place between days 25 and 35 — the debt adviser is required to check that the individual is engaging with debt advice and that the moratorium is still appropriate. If the individual has disengaged, the moratorium can be cancelled.

Mental Health Crisis Breathing Space (MHCBS)

For individuals receiving mental health crisis treatment, MHCBS is available. It lasts as long as the treatment continues PLUS 30 days from the end of treatment.

There is no 12-month limit on re-application. MHCBS can be applied repeatedly where the underlying crisis recurs.

Application requires evidence from an Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) OR from another mental health crisis services professional — including a registered mental health nurse, doctor, or a member of a Crisis Resolution Team. The Regulations cast the certifying class broadly so that a tenant under crisis services (a 136 suite admission, a Crisis Team intervention, a community mental health team contact) can qualify even where no AMHP has formally signed off. This is a higher evidential bar than standard Breathing Space but the route is wider than AMHP-only certification suggests.

A tenant under MHCBS is protected in the same way as a tenant under standard Breathing Space, with the addition that NO creditor action is permitted at all — even discussions of the debt by post or telephone.

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What Debts Are Covered

The Regulations distinguish between "qualifying debts" (caught by the moratorium) and "non-qualifying debts" (not caught).

Qualifying debts — covered by the moratorium

These include:

• Rent arrears that accrued before the moratorium started
• Credit cards, loans, overdrafts owed before the moratorium
• Council tax arrears
• Utility arrears (gas, electricity, water)
• Mortgage arrears
• Court judgment debts (CCJs) entered before the moratorium
• HMRC debts in most cases
• Benefit overpayments in most cases

Non-qualifying debts — NOT covered

The carve-outs landlords need to know:

• Ongoing rent. Rent that becomes due during the moratorium is a new debt and is NOT covered. The tenant must continue paying current rent or risk the moratorium being cancelled and the landlord enforcing.
• Child maintenance arrears under a Child Maintenance Service assessment
• Most secured loans on commercial property
• Damages for personal injury or death
• Fines imposed by a criminal court
• Universal Credit advances
• Student loans

For housing landlords, the most important practical point is that ongoing rent is not protected. A tenant in Breathing Space who then stops paying current rent during the 60 days is in a new and live default that the landlord can act on at the end of the moratorium — or, in some cases, can use to apply to cancel the moratorium early.

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What a Landlord Can and Cannot Do During the Moratorium

Cannot do

• Issue a possession claim for the arrears in the moratorium. Doing so is an offence under regulation 7 of the 2020 Regulations.
• Serve a Form 3A possession notice for arrears protected by the moratorium. Although the Regulations are slightly ambiguous on whether serving a notice (as opposed to issuing a claim) is caught, the safer course is not to serve.
• Contact the tenant about the protected debt. This includes phone calls, letters, emails, and through letting agents.
• Charge default interest or fees on the protected debt. Standard penalty rent does not accrue.
• Apply for a warrant of possession on a possession order that pre-dates the moratorium, where the arrears that drove the possession order are now protected.

Can do

• Continue to demand current rent. Ongoing rent is not protected.
• Take action on a possession order that pre-dates the moratorium where the underlying ground is NOT arrears. For example, a Ground 1A possession order can be enforced through the moratorium because the order is not about a debt — it is about recovering the property.
• Apply to cancel the moratorium where the tenant is failing to engage with the debt advice provider, has access to assets that should be used, or stops paying current rent.
• Take action against a guarantor. The moratorium protects the individual; a guarantor's separate contractual liability is not necessarily protected.
• Continue to receive payments from the tenant if the tenant chooses to make them voluntarily.

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Possession Already Issued Before the Moratorium

If the landlord has already issued possession proceedings and the tenant then enters Breathing Space, what happens depends on the stage:

Stage 1 — Claim issued, no hearing yet

The proceedings are automatically stayed for the duration of the moratorium. The hearing date will be vacated and re-listed for after the moratorium ends.

Stage 2 — Hearing held, possession ordered, no warrant

The possession order stands. The landlord cannot apply for a warrant for the duration of the moratorium where the ground was arrears. Where the ground was not arrears (Grounds 1, 1A, 6, etc.) the warrant can still be issued.

Stage 3 — Warrant issued, tenant in moratorium

A bailiff appointment is automatically vacated if the tenant is in a Breathing Space moratorium at the date the warrant is to be executed. The landlord must apply for a fresh warrant after the moratorium ends.

Stage 4 — Bailiff has executed warrant, tenant has been evicted

The eviction is complete. Breathing Space does not reverse a completed eviction.

The Civil Procedure Rules Practice Direction 70 covers the procedural aspects of enforcement during a moratorium. The Court of Appeal has not yet considered the Regulations directly, but the County Court has given consistent first-instance decisions that the stay is automatic and self-executing — the landlord does not need a court order to pause enforcement.

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How a Tenant Enters Breathing Space

The procedure is administered by an FCA-authorised debt-advice provider. The tenant cannot apply directly. The steps:

1. Initial contact with the debt advice provider — typically StepChange, Citizens Advice, or a local money-advice service. The first appointment is usually a debt-options conversation.
2. Assessment of debts — the adviser lists all debts (qualifying and non-qualifying), payment history, and the tenant's income and expenditure.
3. Confirmation that Breathing Space is appropriate — the adviser must be satisfied that the tenant is in problem debt and that a moratorium is the right tool. Breathing Space is not appropriate where the tenant could realistically pay the debts from current resources, or where another route (bankruptcy, IVA, Debt Relief Order) is more suitable.
4. Registration on the Insolvency Service portal — the adviser submits the application electronically.
5. Notification to creditors — the Insolvency Service notifies all named creditors within 1 working day of registration.
6. The moratorium begins — protection commences from the date of registration.

For MHCBS, additional evidence from an AMHP is required at step 2.

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Practical Steps for a Landlord Who Receives a Breathing Space Notification

The landlord typically receives a letter or email from the Insolvency Service stating that the tenant has entered a Breathing Space. The notification will identify the tenant, the address, the debt(s) covered, and the moratorium type.

The published Insolvency Service guidance for creditors records the expected steps within one working day of notification:

1. Cessation of enforcement action, with the same obligation extending to any letting agent acting for the landlord.
2. Suspension of interest and late fees on the protected debt.
3. Updating the rent ledger to record that the arrears as at the start date of the moratorium are protected.
4. Continuing to demand current rent — ongoing rent is not protected and must be paid.
5. Diary entry for the moratorium end date — 60 days for standard Breathing Space; longer for MHCBS.

If the landlord disputes the inclusion of the debt — for example, where the landlord believes the tenant has misrepresented their financial position to the debt adviser — the landlord can apply to the Insolvency Service for a Creditor Review. The Review can result in the moratorium being cancelled, the tenant being removed from protection.

Creditor Review applications must be made within 20 days of the moratorium starting. The grounds are limited:

• The tenant has access to undisclosed assets
• The tenant has been making payments to other creditors during the moratorium in preference to the protected creditor
• The tenant has not engaged with the debt advice provider since registration
• The moratorium is causing unfair prejudice to the creditor

Creditor Review is decided by the Insolvency Service, with a right of appeal to the County Court. In practice, Review is granted only in clear cases. The Regulations were drafted to protect the tenant, and the Insolvency Service is conservative about removing protection.

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What If a Tenant Re-enters Breathing Space?

A standard Breathing Space can be granted only once per 12-month period. A tenant who has used their moratorium and remains in default cannot simply re-apply.

Exceptions:

• A change in mental health crisis — MHCBS can be applied repeatedly.
• A material change in circumstances — for example, the loss of a job after the first moratorium ended. The Insolvency Service can grant a second moratorium with the debt adviser's recommendation.
• A different debt — strictly, the moratorium protects specific debts. A new debt could theoretically support a fresh moratorium, but in practice the Insolvency Service treats the 12-month limit as applying to the individual, not the debt.

This 12-month limit is the practical ceiling on Breathing Space as a delaying tactic for tenants who would otherwise be evicted. It is not a permanent shield — it is a structured pause to allow engagement with debt advice.

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How Breathing Space Interacts with Other Tenant Protections

Suspension of warrant (N245)

A tenant facing eviction under a non-arrears ground may need both Breathing Space (for the debts) AND N245 suspension (for the possession warrant). The two are not alternatives — Breathing Space stops debt enforcement; N245 stops possession enforcement.

See our N245 suspension guide.

Set-aside of default judgment (CPR 13.3)

A tenant in Breathing Space who has a default judgment on their record can apply to set it aside under CPR 13.3 — the moratorium does not prevent the tenant from making applications, only from being chased.

See our CPR 13.3 set-aside guide.

Universal Credit and Discretionary Housing Payment

A tenant in Breathing Space can continue to receive Universal Credit and apply for Discretionary Housing Payment. The moratorium does not affect benefit entitlement.

Local-authority homelessness duty

A tenant in Breathing Space who is at risk of homelessness can approach the local authority for a Section 195 prevention duty (or Section 189B relief duty if homelessness is imminent). The Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 requires the authority to take reasonable steps regardless of the tenant's debt-management status. Breathing Space does not affect the housing duty.

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Recent Cases and Developments

The Regulations have been in force since 4 May 2021. By 2026, the County Court has built up a consistent practice on procedural aspects but no Court of Appeal decision yet on the substantive scope. Key practice points:

• Automatic stay: County Court Q4 2025 — multiple first-instance decisions confirmed that the stay is automatic on notification. No court order needed.
• Ongoing rent: District Judges have consistently held that current rent post-moratorium is not protected. The proposition rests on the SI itself — current rent that falls due after the moratorium starts is a new debt, not a qualifying debt, and a fresh Form 3A served for current-period arrears during a moratorium is permissible on the face of the Regulations.
• Guarantor liability: under-considered area; the working assumption is that guarantors are not automatically protected but the position is fact-sensitive.

A Law Commission scoping paper in October 2025 invited views on whether the Regulations should be extended or revised. No legislative response had emerged as at May 2026.

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Authoritative Sources

• Debt Respite Scheme Regulations 2020 (SI 2020/1311): legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/1311
• Insolvency Service Breathing Space guidance for creditors: gov.uk/government/publications/debt-respite-scheme-breathing-space-guidance-for-creditors
• Insolvency Service Breathing Space guidance for individuals: gov.uk/options-for-paying-off-your-debts/breathing-space
• Mental Health Act 1983 (MHCBS evidential trigger): legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1983/20
• Homelessness Reduction Act 2017: legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2017/13
• Pre-Action Protocol for Possession Claims by Social Landlords: justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/protocol/pre_pos

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BundleCreator's Housing Possession & Tenant Debt subsite at /housing-possession-debt flags Breathing Space at the pre-action stage of every line — the Pre-action checklist substop is the natural place to check whether a tenant is in a moratorium before serving Form 3A.

Nothing in this article is legal advice or a substitute for it. The information describes the law in England and Wales as at the date shown. Tenants who think they may qualify for Breathing Space should contact StepChange, Citizens Advice, Christians Against Poverty, or a local money-advice service to discuss. Landlords who receive a Breathing Space notification should review the moratorium scope before taking any further enforcement action.