Breathing Space and Rent Arrears: How the Debt Respite Scheme Affects Possession

Last reviewed: 1 October 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 independent advice at no cost, contact a Law Centre, Citizens Advice or Shelter England. The Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service, funded by the Legal Aid Agency, gives early legal advice on housing, debt and welfare benefits to anyone at risk of possession proceedings and losing their home, and on-the-day advice and representation at possession hearings, regardless of their financial circumstances. Help is available from the moment someone receives written notice that possession of their home is being sought. Find a provider at find-legal-advice.justice.gov.uk.

Which Debts Are Covered

The moratorium protects "moratorium debt". This is a qualifying debt that the tenant owed when the application was made, and that the debt adviser has reported to the Secretary of State (reg 6). Rent arrears are a qualifying debt. So is any sum the tenant has to pay under a possession order or warrant (reg 5(3)(a)(i)).

Some debts are "non-eligible" and fall outside the scheme (reg 5(4)). Examples include court fines, student loans, debts arising from fraud, and obligations under orders made in family proceedings.

Rent that falls due after the application is not moratorium debt. A moratorium debt is a debt the tenant owed when the application was made (reg 6(b)), and the restrictions in regulation 7 apply only to moratorium debt (reg 7(1), (2) and (7)). For a lease of the tenant's main home, current rent is an "ongoing liability" (reg 2(1)). In a standard breathing space, the tenant must keep paying ongoing liabilities as they fall due (reg 16(2)(b)), and failing to do so can lead the debt adviser to cancel the breathing space at the midway review (reg 27(5)(a)). The GOV.UK guidance for creditors puts it plainly: "A breathing space is not a payment holiday." The same guidance describes the bar on possession notices as covering a notice served "on the grounds of rent arrears due up to the start of the breathing space". The Regulations do not say expressly what happens where a notice relies only on rent that fell due later. Most notices on Grounds 8, 10 or 11 rely on an arrears balance that still includes the moratorium debt, and any step taken in breach of regulation 7 is null and void (reg 7(12)). A landlord who is thinking about taking action over rent that fell due after the application should take legal advice first; the cautious course is to wait until the moratorium has ended.

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The Two Types of Moratorium

Standard breathing space

• Who can apply: the person in debt, to the debt advice provider who advised them (reg 23(1)–(3)). A debt advice provider is a person authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 with permission for debt counselling, or a local authority (reg 3).
• Eligibility: on the date of the application, the person must be an individual who owes a qualifying debt and is domiciled or ordinarily resident in England or Wales. They must not be subject to a debt relief order, an interim order or an individual voluntary arrangement, must not be an undischarged bankrupt, and must not be in a mental health crisis moratorium (reg 24(3)). The adviser must also consider that the person is unable, or is unlikely to be able, to repay some or all of their debt as it falls due, and that a breathing space would be appropriate (reg 24(4)).
• The 12-month rule: the person must not already be in a breathing space. If they have had one before, it must have ended more than 12 months before the date of the new application (reg 24(3)(g)).
• Start and length: the moratorium starts on the day after it is entered on the register. It then lasts 60 days beginning with that day (reg 26(1)–(2)).
• Midway review: the debt adviser must review the moratorium between day 26 and day 35 (reg 27(2)–(3)). The adviser must cancel it if, among other things, the person has not met their obligations under regulation 16 (reg 27(5)(a)), and one of those obligations is paying ongoing liabilities. Even then, the adviser need not cancel if the person's circumstances would make cancellation unfair or unreasonable (reg 27(6)), or if the person cannot afford the ongoing liability (reg 27(7)).

Mental health crisis moratorium

• Who it is for: a person receiving mental health crisis treatment (reg 28). This includes detention for assessment or treatment under the Mental Health Act 1983, removal to a place of safety under section 135 or 136 of that Act, and crisis, emergency or acute care from a specialist mental health service (reg 28(2)).
• Who can apply: the person, their carer, an approved mental health professional, a care co-ordinator, a mental health nurse, a social worker or an independent mental health advocate, among others (reg 29(1)).
• Evidence: the application must include evidence from an approved mental health professional that the person is receiving mental health crisis treatment (reg 29(2)(b) and (3)).
• No 12-month rule: the person must not already be in either type of moratorium (reg 30(3)(g)). The rule about a breathing space in the previous 12 months does not apply here.
• When it ends: at the earliest of these (reg 32(2)):
  • 30 days beginning with the day the crisis treatment stops;
  • the end of the period of 30 days beginning with the day the debt adviser asks the person's nominated point of contact for an update, if no reply comes in that period;
  • cancellation;
  • the person's death.

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What a Landlord Cannot Do During a Moratorium

Regulation 7 lists the "enforcement action" a creditor or its agent must not take over a moratorium debt. These are the steps that matter most to a landlord:

• taking any step to collect the moratorium debt (reg 7(7)(a));
• enforcing a judgment or order about the debt, whether it was made before or during the moratorium (reg 7(7)(b));
• obtaining a warrant (reg 7(7)(d));
• starting any action or legal proceedings "relating to or as a consequence of non-payment of a moratorium debt" (reg 7(7)(f));
• applying for default judgment on a money claim (reg 7(7)(g));
• serving a notice seeking possession of a dwelling-house let to the tenant on Grounds 8, 10 or 11 in Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988, or taking possession having served such a notice (reg 7(7)(j));
• contacting the tenant to enforce the moratorium debt (reg 7(7)(l)).

The creditor also cannot charge interest, fees, penalties or charges on the moratorium debt for the moratorium period (reg 7(6)(a)–(b)). Those charges cannot be claimed after the moratorium ends either (reg 7(10)).

Other grounds. Regulation 7(7)(j) names only Grounds 8, 10 and 11. Other possession grounds, such as Ground 1A (sale), are not listed there. The general bar in reg 7(7)(f) still applies to any proceedings brought "relating to or as a consequence of non-payment of a moratorium debt".

Agents. If a landlord uses a letting agent, solicitor or enforcement agent to recover the debt, the landlord must tell that agent about the moratorium and its effect (reg 12(1)). A landlord who fails to do so as soon as reasonably practicable is liable for any losses the tenant or the agent suffers as a result (reg 12(2)).

Court permission. A creditor may ask the court for permission to take an enforcement step (reg 7(2)(b)). The court may give permission only if it considers it reasonable, and only if the step will not be detrimental to the debtor or significantly undermine the protections of the moratorium (reg 7(5)). The court cannot give permission to charge interest, fees, penalties or charges (reg 7(3)). The application is made under Part 23 of the Civil Procedure Rules, on notice to the debtor, any joint debtor and the debt adviser (PD 70B paras 2.1–2.2). HM Courts & Tribunals Service publishes an official form for it, N244C, which must be sent to the debtor's local county court.

What is still allowed. A landlord may contact the debt adviser. A landlord may also contact the tenant about matters that have nothing to do with the moratorium debt, including ongoing liabilities such as current rent, or when the tenant asks (reg 11(2)).

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If a Possession Claim Is Already in Court

If a claim about a moratorium debt is already in court when the moratorium starts, the creditor must tell the court about the moratorium (reg 10(1)). The notice must be in writing and must state that the debt is subject to a moratorium. Where possible, it should also give the start date and enclose a copy of the notification (PD 70B para 3.1).

The claim may then continue until the court makes an order or gives judgment (reg 10(3)). But the court must take all necessary steps to make sure that enforcement of a court order or judgment about a moratorium debt does not progress during the moratorium (reg 10(5)). "Progress" includes holding a hearing, making or serving an order or warrant, and instructing an enforcement agent (reg 10(6)).

Practice Direction 70B sets out how enforcement hearings are handled:

• Standard breathing space: once the court is notified, any hearing about enforcement of a court order relating to a moratorium debt that is scheduled to take place during the moratorium must be adjourned to the next available date after the moratorium ends (para 3.3).
• Mental health crisis moratorium: once the court is notified, any such enforcement hearing scheduled to take place after the notification must be adjourned generally, with permission for either party to restore it (para 3.4). Existing proceedings are referred to a judge for directions six months after the court is notified (para 3.5).

A tenant who is in a moratorium and faces an eviction date should get advice at once. Our guide to suspending a warrant of possession explains the separate application to suspend an eviction warrant, which is made on Form N244.

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Time Limits Paused by the Moratorium

Two regulations protect creditors' deadlines:

• Limitation periods: if the moratorium starts before the time limit for bringing a claim for a moratorium debt expires, and that time limit would otherwise expire before the end of the period of eight weeks beginning with the day the moratorium ends, it is extended to the end of that eight-week period (reg 8).
• Enforcement deadlines: other legal deadlines for taking enforcement action over a moratorium debt are extended in the same way (reg 9).

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Reviews and Challenges by a Creditor

A creditor who receives a notification can ask the debt adviser to review the moratorium (reg 17(1)). There are only two grounds:

1. the moratorium unfairly prejudices the creditor's interests; or
2. there has been a material irregularity: the debtor did not meet the eligibility criteria when they applied, the debt is not a qualifying debt, or the debtor has enough funds to pay their debts as they fall due (reg 17(2)).

Each period begins with, and includes, the day the moratorium started (that day is day 1):

The debt adviser must cancel if the creditor has given enough evidence for either ground. The adviser need not cancel if the debtor's personal circumstances would make cancellation unfair or unreasonable (reg 18(2)–(3)). Unpaid ongoing rent is not one of the review grounds, but it is relevant at the midway review (reg 27(5)(a)).

If the court cancels the moratorium, it can order the debtor to pay the interest, fees or charges that built up during it (reg 19(4)). An application to the court is made under Part 23 (PD 70B para 2.1(b)), on the official HMCTS form N244D, sent to the debtor's local county court.

For a debt added to the moratorium later, the same 20, 35 and 50-day periods begin with the day the moratorium took effect for that debt, which is the earlier of the day the creditor received the notification about it and the day it is treated as having received it (regs 15(7), 37(4), 17(5), 18(1)(b), 19(2)(b)).

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What to Do If You Are Notified

The register is not public. Only these people are entitled to see the register information about a debtor: the debtor, the Secretary of State, any debt advice provider, and creditors who have been notified of that debtor's moratorium (reg 35(4)). A notified creditor cannot see other creditors' details. It also cannot see the debtor's home address if that has been withheld because disclosing it might lead to violence (regs 35(5), 38).

A landlord who receives a notification should:

1. Search their own records as soon as reasonably practicable for any other debt the tenant owes them. If they find one, they must give its details to the tenant's debt adviser (reg 14(1)–(2)). Failing to do so can make the landlord liable for any resulting loss (reg 14(4)).
2. Tell any agent (letting agent, solicitor or enforcement agent) to stop enforcement over the moratorium debt (reg 12(1)).
3. Stop every step listed in regulation 7 for the moratorium debt. Do not serve a notice seeking possession on Grounds 8, 10 or 11, and do not take possession on one, while the moratorium lasts.
4. Tell the court in writing if a claim about the debt is already in progress (reg 10(1); PD 70B para 3.1).
5. Note the dates. A notification sent electronically is treated as received the same day. A posted one is treated as received at the end of four business days, unless the contrary is shown (reg 37(4)). The Secretary of State notifies creditors when a standard breathing space ends (reg 26(3)). For a mental health crisis moratorium, creditors are sent a notification when the debt adviser reports the date the treatment stopped, or reports that the moratorium has ended because no reply was received (reg 32(4)–(6)). The moratorium ends at the end of the period of 30 days beginning with the day the treatment stopped (reg 32(2)(a)). Creditors are also notified of any cancellation (regs 18(5), 19(6), 27(9), 34(5)) and of the debtor's death (reg 21(3)).
6. Consider a review within 20 days beginning with the day the moratorium started if you have evidence for one of the two grounds above (reg 17(3)).

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Wales

The Regulations apply in both England and Wales. Most tenancies in Wales are now occupation contracts under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016. For those contracts, reg 7(7)(k) bars a landlord from serving a possession notice, or taking possession after serving one, on these grounds:

• breach of contract under section 157 where the breach relates to rent arrears;
• the serious rent arrears grounds in sections 181(2) and 187(2).

These provisions came into force with sections 157, 181 and 187 of the 2016 Act on 1 December 2022 (reg 1(4)–(6)).

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Benefits

Regulation 7 does not affect universal credit being paid, wholly or in part, to a third party under regulation 60 of, and Schedules 6 and 7 to, the Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Jobseeker's Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Claims and Payments) Regulations 2013 (reg 7(13)(d)). The creditor guidance on GOV.UK confirms that existing deductions from universal credit are not included in a breathing space.

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Where to Get Help

• Tenants: speak to a debt advice provider about whether Breathing Space is right for you. If you have received a possession notice or claim, contact the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service through find-legal-advice.justice.gov.uk.
• Landlords: the GOV.UK creditor guidance explains how notifications work and how to request a review. Take advice from a solicitor before taking any step against a tenant who is in a moratorium.

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Authoritative Sources

• Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space Moratorium and Mental Health Crisis Moratorium) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020/1311): legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/1311
• Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space) guidance for creditors, GOV.UK: gov.uk/government/publications/debt-respite-scheme-breathing-space-guidance
• Practice Direction 70B — Debt Respite Scheme under the Financial Guidance and Claims Act 2018: justice.gov.uk
• HMCTS forms N244C and N244D (breathing space applications), GOV.UK: gov.uk/government/publications/apply-to-review-a-breathing-space-or-continue-with-debt-action
• Housing Act 1988, Schedule 2 (Grounds 8, 10 and 11): legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/50/schedule/2

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BundleCreator's Housing Possession & Tenant Debt subsite at /housing-possession-debt flags Breathing Space at the pre-action stage. Its pre-action checklist reminds you to check whether you have received a moratorium notification about the tenant before you serve a notice on Grounds 8, 10 or 11. For the arrears threshold on Ground 8, see our Ground 8 guide.

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 a debt advice provider. The Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service, funded by the Legal Aid Agency, gives early legal advice on housing, debt and welfare benefits to anyone at risk of possession proceedings and losing their home, and on-the-day advice and representation at possession hearings, regardless of their financial circumstances. Help is available from the moment someone receives written notice that possession of their home is being sought. Find a provider at find-legal-advice.justice.gov.uk.