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How do I calculate rent arrears, and have I reached the Ground 8 threshold?
Arrears are the running total of what was due less what was paid, not last month's shortfall.
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Fill in the rent and what arrived each month, see the balance, and download the table to keep.
- YesNothing you type is stored
- YesDownloads as a spreadsheet
- DependsMonthly rent; a weekly tenancy needs a weekly ledger
Charged in full each month. A weekly or fortnightly tenancy needs a weekly ledger; this one is monthly.
| Period | Rent due | Paid | Balance owed |
|---|---|---|---|
| £950 | £0 | ||
| £950 | £0 | ||
| £950 | £475 | ||
| £950 | £1,425 |
- Total due
- £3,800
- Total paid
- £2,375
- Owed now
- £1,425
- In months of rent
- 1.5
Ground 8 needs three months' rent owed (£2,850). £1,425 to go on these figures.
Keep the dates payments arrived
A claim for arrears is decided on a ledger that was kept as the tenancy ran. Record the date each payment landed as well as the amount, and when you chased, so the balance has a history behind it. The Section 8 evidence checklist covers the rest of what a claim needs.
Where it sits
A ledger and a threshold, not advice. Ground 8 is made out on the arrears alone only if the notice is valid, the right tenancy and the right amount are in play at the hearing; Grounds 10 and 11 are discretionary and turn on the whole picture. Whether to serve is a question for a housing solicitor. This applies to England; Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate regimes.
This table is a snapshot you hold yourself. LetBuddy records each rent period as it falls due and each payment as it arrives, on one dated timeline per tenancy next to the repairs and the communications, and exports it as a single PDF for your solicitor.
Common questions
How do I track rent arrears?
Keep one line per rent period: what was due, what was paid and on what date, and the balance carried forward. Arrears are the running total of due minus paid, not the last month's shortfall, so a partial payment in March still shows in June. Put the dates payments actually arrived, not the dates they were promised.
How many months of arrears before I can use Ground 8?
Three months' rent unpaid for a monthly tenancy, or thirteen weeks where rent is paid weekly or fortnightly, since the Renters' Rights Act raised it from two months on 1 May 2026. The arrears have to be at that level both when the notice is served and at the hearing.
What does a court want to see?
A dated rent ledger showing, for each period, what was due and what was paid, with the balance running through. It is read alongside your repair history, because a tenant defending an arrears claim commonly counterclaims for disrepair. The ledger has to have been kept as the tenancy ran; one rebuilt afterwards is argument rather than evidence.
Is there a rent arrears tracker template I can download?
Yes: fill in the table above and download it as a CSV, which opens in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets. It is monthly. For a weekly tenancy, keep the same columns with one row per week and compare the balance to thirteen weeks' rent.
Does this save what I enter?
No. It runs in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server or tied to an account, and closing the page clears it, so download the CSV if you want to keep it.
What should I do before I serve a notice for arrears?
Work through the evidence a claim needs, not only the ledger: deposit protection, certificates given to the tenant, the repair history and a log of what you communicated and when. The Section 8 checklist on this site goes through them. Whether a ground is made out on your facts is a question for a housing solicitor.
Have the ledger build itself
Your first property is free, permanently. Rent periods, payments and the arrears balance sit on one dated timeline per tenancy, and a late payment can nudge the tenant for you.
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Read this next
- Section 8 evidence checklistWork through what a possession claim actually needs, before you serve anything.
- Section 8 ground checkerWhich possession ground fits your reason, the notice it needs and the evidence gaps.
- Deposit protectionThe 30-day rule by nation, and the six-item record a possession claim asks for.