Does Shelter suggest a loophole for Section 8 rent arrears evictions?

I saw a post on a landlord’s group from someone who is a landlord and works in housing for the local council and could not ignore it.

During a Zoom meeting, Shelter advised that they should advise tenants that if they are faced with eviction due to rent arrears under section 8, to offer a minimal payment to show they are trying to deal with the arrears. For example, £20 every 3 months to start the process again.

Now, this was a glaring loophole months ago, but it was explained to me that as long as they are at least 3 months’ worth of arrears at the time of the hearing, it is valid.

Since every month following notice will no doubt add to the pile, surely this advice doesn’t actually work in practice?

Thanks,

Shaun

Editor’s Note: On Shelter’s website, it claims tenants should speak to their landlord as soon as they can about rent arrears.

 However, Shelter also claim tenants should tell landlords when they’ll be back in touch with a plan to repay their arrears, or what they can afford to repay each month.

Advice on their website says: “Don’t be tempted to agree to repayments that you can’t afford. If you can’t make the payments, it could make things worse.”

More information on Shelter’s website can be found here.