Tenant owes you rent?
Claim the arrears, from letter to filing.
Unpaid rent is a debt you can claim in the small claims court. The £29 Claim Pack, best value for arrears up to £1,500, drafts the letter before claim under the right pre-action rules, works out the interest and the court fee, and fills in the particulars of claim and the N1 — for one claim. You sign, send and file everything yourself.
The pack is offered on your results page. No account needed for the check.
This is the money claim. Getting the property back is a different claim.
What this page covers
A money claim for rent the tenant owes you, on the small claims track. It suits a tenant who has left owing rent, or one still in the property where you want the money and not possession.
What it does not cover
Possession. Since 1 May 2026 section 21 is gone and assured shorthold tenancies became periodic assured tenancies, so possession is by section 8. Ground 8 needs at least 3 months’ arrears on a monthly tenancy and 4 weeks’ notice on Form 3A. Read the Section 8 possession guide or check a Section 8 notice.
Don’t claim it twice
A possession claim can include the arrears, so choose one route for the same rent. And if the deposit scheme has already paid you part of the arrears, deduct it and claim only the balance.
Four steps. You stay in charge of each one.
1 · Free case check
Tell us who owes the rent, how much, since when, and whether you let as an individual or a business. You get a verdict, the time limit and the next step. No account, no card.
2 · Get the pack — £29
On the results page, buy the pack for that claim. It opens a case workspace built from your answers, with the letter, particulars and N1 drafted and the figures worked out.
3 · Send the letter
Check it, sign it and send it to the tenant. The workspace shows the date the reply is due. A clear letter with the figures set out is often enough to prompt payment or an offer.
4 · File if they don’t pay
Issue the claim online or on the N1 using the particulars in the pack, and pay the court fee to HMCTS. The workspace then tracks the acknowledgment and defence deadlines.
Which rules your letter follows depends on who you are.
Letting through a company or business
Claiming from an individual tenant, the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims applies: a Letter of Claim with the information sheet and reply form, and 30 days for the tenant to respond before you issue.
A private individual landlord
The letter follows the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct, usually with 14 days to respond. If you are unsure which applies to you, allowing 30 days does no harm.
Guarantor? If someone guaranteed the rent, they can usually be pursued too. A Claim Pack covers one claim against one debtor; the £49 small claims toolkit drafts a joint letter before claim to the tenant and the guarantor.
Every document for one arrears claim, in your name.
- ✓Letter before claim to the tenant under the right pre-action rules — the Debt Claims Protocol (30 days) or the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct (usually 14 days)
- ✓Interest and court-fee statement: section 69 at 8% a year, the daily rate and the EX50 issue fee
- ✓Particulars of claim for the arrears, in a full version and a short version for the online claim form
- ✓The N1 claim form filled in from your facts
- ✓Deadline tracker: the reply date on your letter, the limitation date, and the acknowledgment and defence dates once the claim is served
- ✓Word downloads, so you can edit before you sign
- ✓A small allowance of case chat for the questions that come up along the way
Not included at £29: document upload and evidence analysis, a guarantor letter, witness statements, the court bundle and hearing preparation. Those are in the £49 toolkit. Arrears over £1,500? The free check will usually point you to the toolkit.
One claim · one-off
£29
Per claim, one-off. No subscription. The free check comes first, because the pack is drafted from your answers.
Start with the free case checkDefended? Upgrade to the £49 toolkit within 60 days and the £29 is credited, so you pay £20 more.
4 months’ rent, less the deposit, worked through
Illustrative, not a real case. A private landlord lets a flat at £450.00 a month, due on the 1st. The tenant misses the payments due from 1 March 2026 to 1 June 2026 and then leaves. The deposit scheme pays the landlord £500.00 towards the arrears, so that comes off. The landlord is an individual, so the letter follows the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct and interest is under section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984. Interest runs from 1 June 2026, the date the last missed payment fell due, to 1 September 2026.
| Rent missed (4 × £450.00) | £1,800.00 |
| Less paid from the deposit | −£500.00 |
| Arrears claimed | £1,300.00 |
| Interest at 8% a year for 92 days | £26.21 |
| Amount claimed on the N1 | £1,326.21 |
| Court issue fee (Claims £1,000.01 to £1,500) | £80.00 |
| Total if the claim is issued | £1,406.21 |
| Interest continues at | £0.28 a day |
The letter before claim sets out these figures and gives the tenant 14 days to pay. If they do not, the particulars and the N1 carry the same numbers, and the issue fee is added to the claim so the tenant pays it if the claim succeeds. If the claim is defended and goes to a hearing, the small claims hearing fee for this amount is £123.00.
Interest and fees computed with the same code the pack uses. Court fees are the HMCTS EX50 fees for money claims; check the current fee on GOV.UK before you file.
The £29 is credited for 60 days
Upgrade to the £49 small claims toolkit within 60 days of buying the pack and the £29 comes off, so you pay £20 more. The toolkit adds evidence analysis, the witness statement, the court bundle, hearing preparation and the case assistant. Compare on the pricing page.
Fixed free, or refunded
If, within 14 days of purchase, a document we generate fails a procedural check — wrong form, a missing required element, the wrong court fee band or the wrong pre-action protocol — tell us at billing@courtpilot.co.uk. We will fix it free of charge or, if we can’t, refund you in full. See section 5.3 of the terms.
Questions landlords ask before chasing arrears
Can I claim rent arrears in the small claims court?
Yes. Unpaid rent is a debt, so you can bring a money claim for it in the County Court in England and Wales, online or on the N1 form. Claims up to £10,000 are normally allocated to the small claims track. For arrears up to £1,500 the free case check offers the £29 Claim Pack; above that it usually suggests the £49 small claims toolkit.
Is this the same as evicting the tenant?
No. This page and the Claim Pack cover the money claim for arrears only. Getting the property back is a separate possession claim. Since the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 came into force on 1 May 2026, section 21 is gone and assured shorthold tenancies became periodic assured tenancies, so possession is by section 8. Ground 8 (mandatory) needs at least 3 months’ arrears on a monthly tenancy, with 4 weeks’ notice on Form 3A. A possession claim can include the arrears, so do not claim the same rent in both.
How long must I give the tenant to reply to the letter?
It depends on who you are. If you let through a company or other business and the tenant is an individual, the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims applies: a Letter of Claim with the information sheet and reply form, and 30 days to respond. If you are a private individual letting a property, the letter follows the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct, usually with 14 days to respond. The free check asks which you are and the pack drafts the letter to match. If you are unsure, allowing 30 days does no harm.
The deposit scheme paid me part of the arrears. What do I claim?
Only the balance. If money from a protected deposit has already been paid to you towards the arrears, whether by agreement or after the scheme’s dispute service decided it, deduct it and claim what is left. You cannot recover the same rent twice, and the court will expect the deposit to be accounted for.
Can I claim against the guarantor too?
Usually, yes, if the guarantor signed a valid guarantee for the rent. A Claim Pack covers one claim against one debtor. If you want to pursue the tenant and the guarantor together, the £49 small claims toolkit drafts a joint letter before claim to both.
How is the interest worked out?
Simple interest under section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984 at 8% a year, with a daily rate until judgment. The pack runs interest from one date you give it. For arrears that built up over several months, using the date the most recent missed payment fell due understates the interest slightly rather than overclaiming it. The figures are computed, not written by an AI, so the letter, the particulars and the N1 all quote the same numbers.
How far back can I claim?
Under section 19 of the Limitation Act 1980, a claim for arrears of rent must be brought within six years of the date each payment fell due. The free case check asks when the arrears arose and flags a claim that looks out of time.
Does CourtPilot send the letter or issue the claim for me?
No. CourtPilot is not a law firm and does not act for you. You check the documents, sign them in your own name, send the letter and issue the claim yourself. The court fee is paid to HMCTS, not to us.
What is your refund policy?
If, within 14 days of purchase, a document we generate fails a procedural check — wrong form, a missing required element, the wrong court fee band or the wrong pre-action protocol — tell us at billing@courtpilot.co.uk. We will fix it free of charge or, if we can’t, refund you in full. Court fees paid to HMCTS are not refundable by us. Your statutory rights are not affected.
Read the guides: claiming rent arrears, writing a letter before claim, the N1 claim form and court fees. Or try the free interest calculator and court fee calculator.
CourtPilot is not a law firm, is not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and does not act for you. The Claim Pack is an information and document-preparation service, not legal advice: you conduct your own claim, in your own name, and you are responsible for checking every date, figure and document before you send or file it.