Shared ownership arrears policy
Please note: This policy comes into effect on 27 December 2025 and all arrears cases from this date will be managed in line with this policy. Any arrears cases in progress prior to 27 December 2025 will be managed under the previous policy. If you need a copy of the previous policy, please email communications@crosskeyshomes.co.uk
Introduction
Residents of shared ownership homes have an obligation to pay CKH rent and service charges as part of their lease. This policy outlines the steps we will take should a shared ownership resident fall into arrears with either their rent or service charge payments.
Our commitment to you
As a resident in a CKH home, you have an obligation to pay rent and service charges in line with the terms of your lease or covenant. This is in addition to any mortgage payments you are required to make to your mortgage lender.
If you fall behind with payments to CKH for your rent and/or service charges, we will start a process to start recovery of the amount owed. That process could end with the organisation taking possession of your home if you persistently fail to pay your rent and/or service charge. This will always be a last resort.
All shared owners can contact the Income Management team who can support you with advice if you are struggling to make payments. We encourage you to contact us as soon as possible if your financial situation changes and you are finding it hard to pay. We can help you to find additional support and put in payment plans to help you keep your home. It is your responsibility to contact your mortgage lender if you are struggling with your mortgage payments. Please call us on 01733 385000 if you need to speak to us about your account.
You are required to pay a minimum of one months rent when you complete on your home purchase. You are also encouraged to set up a Direct Debit to make future payments. We will issue you with an annual rent letter to inform you of any changes to your rent and service charge.
What happens if I fall into arrears?
Step 1
As soon as your account goes into arrears by any amount over £9.99 the recovery process will start. Your Income Adviser will contact you, either by text, letter, email or telephone, to advise you of the arrears and to make arrangements for you to clear the outstanding amount. We would encourage you to do that as soon as possible.
If you are unable to pay the outstanding amount in full, we will put in place a payment plan, for a set amount on a set date. We will advise you that failure to maintain the payment plan would result in automatic escalation of the arrears process. We will put in place a Direct Debit for the amount agreed with you in the payment plan.
If you do not contact us to make payment or arrange a payment plan at this stage, we will escalate to stage 2 of our process.
Step 2
You will be issued with a Section 166, Form of Rent demand Notice. This will be served to all parties where there is more than one resident listed, but the name that appears on the Section 166 will be that which appears on the lease.
If we do not hear from you we will progress to the next stage which will be legal action.
We may at this stage arrange a visit to your home. This will enable us to engage with you and arrange either payment of the outstanding arrears in full or the setting up of a payment plan.
Payment plans
A payment plan will be set up in such a way that it should clear all your arrears within a maximum period of three months. We will continually monitor the plan to ensure you stay on track. If you breach the plan we will escalate your arrears to the next stage.
If you are experiencing financial hardship and would be unable to repay within the three months, an accurate income and expenditure form will be requested from you. Consideration will be given to extending the period only in extenuating circumstances.
If your payment plan runs over March, when changes to your rent and service charge take effect, we will review your plan and amend any Direct Debits to take the changes into account. You will be notified of your new payment amounts via a letter from Allpay.
If you miss one payment of the payment plan, a phone call, text, email or letter will be sent requesting you contact your Income Adviser. If you make contact, we will request payment in full to clear the outstanding debt however if you are unable to make this payment, then the relevant escalation pathway will be followed.
Contacting your mortgage lender
When we issue you with a Section 166 we may also contact your mortgage lender, along with a copy of your rent statement showing one year's worth of history. We will always let you know that we have done this.
Legal action
We will refer your case to a legal team and you will be sent a Letter before action. A copy of this letter will also be sent to your mortgage lender if you have one. This letter will also include details of the Legal Services costs incurred and how much interest may be applied to the account if the payment is not received by the deadline date.
There are two legal routes that can be taken if a shared owner fails to pay their rent and/or service charges:
1. County Court
An application can be made to the County Court to obtain a money judgement for the debt, known as a County Court Judgement (CCJ). If payment is not made in accordance with the CCJ it can be enforced in several ways:
- Information Order - the shared owner is ordered to attend court to be questioned on oath by a court officer. Information can be obtained including employment status, details of employer and salary, details of bank account and their balances, additional income etc…
- Charging Order
- Attachment of Earnings
- Bailiff action
- Recovering the debt from the bank or building society accounts
- Bankruptcy
2. Forfeiture
We may seek to take possession of your home but only where the debt is over £350 and/or has been outstanding for more than three years before forfeiture proceedings can be commenced. We will only do this if you have agreed the arrears or that the breach has occurred, or that the breach has been finally determined by a Tribunal or Court. The quickest and easiest way of determining the breach is by obtaining a CCJ. The other option is to get a determination from the First Tier Tribunal (FTT). If you have a mortgage secured on the home, a copy of the Section 146 Notice must be sent to the lender. This will often prompt them to protect their interest in the property by clearing the debt on the mortgagor's behalf and adding this to the mortgage debt.
We will grant your lender at least 28 days written notice of our intention to commence possession proceedings under the Housing Act 1988. They will take this time to write to you or consider paying the arrears on your behalf and adding this balance to any outstanding mortgage.
Grant of Forfeiture.
If the arrears are not cleared after 28 days, we will write to you and inform you of the time and date that we will exchange keys and arrange for the locks to be changed. If the property is not vacated in line with the court order an application for a Warrant of Possession will be made and for a bailiff appointment. We will then arrange to meet the bailiff at the property with a locksmith. Eviction will then take place.
Eviction. We may make a referral to the Housing Needs team of your local authority to inform them of your household make up, the reason for the eviction and the time it will be taking place. We will also advise you that you should seek independent legal advice if you wish to stop the eviction. We will inform the bailiffs of any disability conditions or health and safety risks that are known to us.
At the time of the eviction, the bailiffs are responsible for gaining access. A member of CKH staff will be present. We will change the locks, affix a sign to the property with information on the reason for the eviction and who to contact. We will also photograph and document all property left in the home. If you are present at the time of eviction, we will ask you to sign a property disposal form and we will take back any communal entrance fobs.
Any property left in the home will be removed within 48 hours of the eviction.
Further information:
Who is responsible for managing the shared ownership arrears policy?
This policy is managed by the Service Manager - Income Management reporting into the Director of Operations.
Legislation and regulation
This policy is written in accordance with regulatory and legislative requirements.
Information sharing
Cross Keys Homes has an information sharing agreement with key agencies and contractors to share information in relation to the delivery of our services. Information shared must be relevant and the Data Protection Procedure adhered to when handling data. You can find more information about how we manage your data in our Transparency and Privacy Policy.
Monitoring and review
The Shared Ownership Arrears Policy was reviewed and approved in December 2025 and will be reviewed every three years - next review December 2028.