Hello Concerned man and welcome to the forum.

Well done on facing up to the fact that it's time to tackle your debts. That's a big step to take, but the fact that you're potentially looking to take out a high interest loan to pay your rent is a pretty clear sign that it's time to face this head on.

Your question isn't straightforward I'm afraid, and you're going to need to balance your priorities.

Any decent debt adviser will tell you that your rent payment is your priority payment (along with other essential services that you rely upon). That means that you should not pay your unsecured debts, your trust deed provider, anything discretionary really, to free up your income to pay your rent if that's at all possible.

What if you cannot raise enough money to tackle your rent and arrears by prioritising what you spend your money on as described? Well... you should certainly pay as much as you possibly can, engage with your landlord about the situation and get help/advice from a housing specialist (Citizens Advice or Shelter for example) immediately.

Would it be wrong to take out a payday loan to pay the rent or rent arrears? If you know, for sure, that you'll not be able to repay a debt you open yourself in a number of ways by choosing to borrow. I'd avoid it if you are not at imminent risk of being evicted. Advice and support from a housing specialist (along with tackling your unsecured debts) is a more appropriate response. If you are at imminent risk of losing your home then you might feel that you need to take a view on what's most important to you - though I still wouldn't act to borrow without getting advice on the housing issue first.

Hi Concerned Man

I think TDA has pretty well covered it. You seem to be caught between a rock and a hard place and I can sympathise with the rent position. Unfortunately there may be an issue with taking out a loan and then signing a Trust Deed irrespective of the purpose of the loan.

Is the property privately rented or Local Authority?

Mark

Hi Concerned man,

Well done for taking a positive step to try and deal with your financial difficulties.

How much rent arrears do you have? Normally a local authority or housing association will be more understanding when it comes to things like rent arrears. If it's a private landlord they may not be so understanding unfortunately. I'd always advise paying what you can towards your rent as opposed to paying nothing. As TDA has advised, you want to prioritise you money and pay your living bills first before considering paying any unsecured debts.

When considering what options you have available to help you deal with your financial difficulties you want to ensure that you sit down with a qualified advisor in person and work through a very thorough income and expenditure to establish what level of payment you can afford to pay. A payment on a Trust Deed or alternative plan such as a Debt Arrangement Scheme or Sequestration needs to be sustainable and affordable for you.

How many rent payment shave you missed, Concerned Man? Has your landlord taken any steps so far? You might not be as close to eviction as you fear.

As the others have said, you really should avoid using a payday loan if at all possible. Are you still making payments to your other debts? They should be the first things to stop, rather than your rent, hopefully freeing up some funds to pay towards your rent.