MAKE YOUR FREE Final rent demand letter

Provide your tenant with this final rent demand letter when they still haven't paid the rent, after a first notice. This straightforward notice enables you to request immediate payment of the outstanding rent from your tenant. With this final rent demand letter, you can also request that all future rent payments be made in full on the due date.

Tenants are also known as ‘contract holders’ in Wales. For the avoidance of doubt, references to ‘tenants’ also apply to ‘contract holders’, and references to ‘tenancy agreements’ include ‘occupation contracts’, unless otherwise specified.

Last updated 16 November 2022. 

Use this final rent demand letter:

• if the tenant has not paid the rent
• if the property is let on a residential tenancy (assured shorthold)
• if you have already sent a rent demand letter and you requested immediate payment of the overdue rent
• if the rent remains overdue and unpaid

This second rent demand letter covers:

• the final request for payment of the outstanding rent
• informs the tenant that you will now be issuing an Eviction notice to obtain possession

A final rent demand letter is a final request for immediate payment of the outstanding rent after sending a first notice. It notifies the tenant that they are still in arrears and that the landlord will now issue a notice to repossess the property. It is the last step to recover overdue rent in an amicable way.

Issuing a final demand for rent serves as a last reminder to the tenant that rent is due, and informs them that they'll be evicted from the property if rent is not paid immediately. Communicating with your tenant by sending them a letter may be enough to solve the issue and avoid eviction.

You could also discuss the rent arrears with your tenant and consider creating a Rent repayment plan to set out a formal plan for your tenant to follow to repay the rent that they owe.

Rent is considered overdue as soon as a tenant has not paid the rent on the date specified in their tenancy agreement.

The letter should indicate that payment must be made immediately.

If rent remains overdue after sending a final rent demand letter, the next step is to serve your tenant with a notice for repossessing the property, by issuing an Eviction notice.

The most appropriate type of eviction notice to serve will usually be a Section 21 (Form 6A) notice (in England) or a Section 173 notice (in Wales). These are ‘no fault’ eviction notices, which means that you don’t have to prove that your tenant did something wrong (eg by being in significant rent arrears) to use them. However, these no fault eviction notices cannot be used in some situations. For example, if your tenant has lived in the property for less than 6 months if it’s in Wales. In these situations, you may be able to use other eviction notices, such as: 

• a Section 8 notice in England, if the tenant has not paid rent for a certain length of time

• a Serious rent arrears eviction notice for Wales, if the tenant is in ‘serious’ rent arrears 

No fault eviction is not an option In Scotland. In Scotland, a section 33 notice may be appropriate. For more information, read Tenant eviction in Scotland FAQs. For help evicting a tenant in Scotland, Ask a lawyer.

For more information on eviction notices in England and Wales, read Repossessing property - section 8 notices, Repossessing property - section 21 notices and Repossessing property in Wales.

Yes, if the tenancy agreement is signed through an agency, a rent arrears letter can be issued by the agent on the landlord's behalf.

If the tenant refuses to respond to the rent demand letter, the landlord may need to take the matter to court. It will then be up to the court to determine if a landlord is entitled to claim rent arrears.

Factors that will work against a landlord in court may be if they:

• acted dishonestly or unscrupulous (eg if they have been aggressive during the demand and/or eviction process)
• are partly responsible for the rent arrears (eg if the property was in disrepair or if the landlord failed to carry out any repair works they are responsible for or requested by the tenant)
• did not attempt to settle the dispute informally first (eg via demand letter or mediation)

Ask a lawyer for advice:

• if a tenant who has informed you that they cannot pay the rent
• to end the tenant's occupation of the property

This final rent demand letter is governed by the law of England and Wales or Scotland.