How will bankruptcy affect me as a renter?

Your landlord won’t necessarily ask you to leave if you file for bankruptcy, especially if you’ve kept on top of your rent and any other bills paid directly to them. 

If you’re considering bankruptcy, check the terms of your tenancy – some rental agreements have a clause which means your landlord can ask you to leave if you’re made bankrupt. 

The official receiver won’t automatically tell your landlord you’ve filed for bankruptcy. In most cases, this will only happen if you’ve fallen behind with your rent. 

If you’re up to date with your rent and the official receiver still wants to get in touch with your landlord, check your tenancy agreement.

The official receiver shouldn’t tell your landlord you’ve gone bankrupt if your tenancy agreement is:

• assured
• protected
• secure 

Let the official receiver know if this is the case.

If you go bankrupt and owe rent to a social or private landlord, these arrears will be included in your bankruptcy and written off when you’re discharged. 

This means your landlord can’t take you to court for these debts, but they don’t have to keep renting to you. 

If you’ve fallen behind on payments to a private landlord, they might ask you to leave by serving you a section 8 notice. You’re extremely unlikely to be evicted by a social landlord.

While you can’t pay any arrears directly after they’ve been included in your bankruptcy, someone else – e.g. a friend or relative – can if it stops you from being evicted. 

Your landlord can’t force you to leave without a court order – there’s a process they need to follow.

If you're facing eviction, get free legal advice as soon as possible. 

Bankruptcy will stay on your credit file for six years. 

It will also show on the public Insolvency Register for at least 15 months.

This may make it more difficult to rent from a private landlord. You may improve your chances by offering:

• a larger deposit
• to use a guarantor