Personally I believe that if you’re upfront and honest about your financial situation as soon as possible, your landlord will be more likely to help you out. Remember that legally you cannot be evicted during this time, but it’s always much better to be transparent and discuss your financial situation early on.

My household negotiated a 20% discount on rent for those of us in the house who are freelancers. Our landlord agreed to this amount on the basis that we will receive the Self Employment Income Support Scheme grants of 80% of our average earnings. We also only agreed to this amount because we were confident that we could meet these payments and luckily our landlord was very reasonable with the cost of our rent to begin with.

If you are in difficult circumstances, do not agree to an amount that you don’t feel that you can meet. Request as much discount as you feel you need, or do not be afraid to ask for a complete rent pause. Also remember that if you are eligible for Universal Credit, you may be eligible for housing benefits (you will find out what you are eligible for once you have been through the application process).  

The below template can also be adapted if you were previously in full-time employment but have lost your job due to the covid-19 pandemic. 

Dear XXXX, 

I am/we are writing to you to request that we discuss my/our tenancy agreement in regards to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Over the past few weeks I have seen my financial situation greatly effected. As a self-employed person, I am now out of work for the unforeseeable future and I do not expect to receive financial support from the government until at least June / and I am ineligible for the government Self Employment Income Support Grant.

[If you live in shared accommodation, explain the situation of each tenant individually. If you live in a couple and one of you is still receiving full income, explain that your partner cannot afford to cover rent for the both of you.] 

Due to these unforeseen circumstances I would like to request that we discuss a potential discount/pause on our rent payments during this time. I hope that during this difficult period we can agree on a temporary resolution. 

I look forward to hearing from you and to working out a solution.

Kind regards,
XXXX