Property · 4 min read · 2 August 2026

Commercial rent arrears: the landlord's options, ranked by cost

Short answer: the cheapest effective step is almost always a properly drafted demand with a deadline, and the most dangerous is acting on forfeiture without advice. Arrears letters from £395, fixed in writing.

1. Demand and negotiation

A solicitor's letter changes the tenant's calculation because it signals that the next step is real. Where the business is viable but cash-strapped, a documented payment plan protects you better than an informal agreement that quietly waives your rights.

2. CRAR

Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery lets a landlord instruct an enforcement agent to take control of goods at the premises for pure rent arrears, after giving the required notice. It is quick, but it applies only to rent and it carries consequences for your other remedies.

3. Forfeiture, and why it bites back

Peaceable re-entry can end the lease, but any act that acknowledges the lease continuing, including demanding or accepting rent after the breach, can waive the right. Get it wrong and you may face a claim for unlawful eviction while the arrears remain unpaid. This is the step to take advice on before acting, not after.

4. Statutory demand and insolvency routes

For undisputed debts, a statutory demand is a pressure instrument with real consequences. It is inappropriate where the debt is genuinely disputed, and misusing it can be costly. See debt recovery fees.

5. Deposit and guarantors

Check the rent deposit deed for the drawdown mechanism and any obligation on the tenant to top up. Guarantors and former tenants may also be liable, and the notices required to preserve those claims have strict time limits.