Hi saabrina.

I'd have thought that rent arrears would usually be treated as a priority to repay as they pose a threat to your continued occupation of the property.

I'm interested to see what our experts say on this as I'm sure they will have worked with clients in the past that have been in this situation.

As I work for a Housing Association I can advise you how we deal with Rent Arrears for tenants who have been sequestrated or have signed a Trust Deed.

To put it simply any rent arrears you have at the point your Trust Deed becomes protected or your Sequestration is registered we will not pursue and will put a claim into your trustee as per your other creditors... But any rent arrears accrued after that date we will pursue as per normal..........

Implications really depends on the Housing Association, we usually write off the arrears from the Rent Account 12 months after the PTD or Sequestration becomes live... But it may affect you if your looking to move house ie looking for a bigger house........

That's interesting, Porcupine. I think practice varies between different housing associations/local authorities but most do as you say - make a claim and write off the pre-trust deed/sequestration arrears and allow the tenant to continue in the tenancy.

Technically, the landlord is likely to be within their rights to commence eviction proceedings, but most social landlords don't seem to do this. Best to check with them first before assuming everything is ok though!