Part payments can come from tenants, joint tenants, guarantors or benefits. Recording all of them as a generic receipt makes later arrears calculations hard to verify.
Identify the payment
- Match the amount to the bank and check whether the payer has specified a period or purpose.
- Where an agent or benefit provider supplies a remittance, retain it with the receipt.
- Ask for clarification if the reference is unclear, especially where one payer covers several properties or tenants.
Keep the record transparent
- Record the full receipt once and show how it was allocated. Do not create separate receipts that double-count it.
- Distinguish current rent, arrears and other sums. Check any agreed plan and obtain advice where allocation rights are contested.
- Preserve a correction trail if a receipt was originally posted to the wrong account.
Follow up the balance
- Tell the tenant what remains unpaid and which period it relates to, inviting correction.
- Update any adviser, guarantor demand or active claim so it does not seek money already received.
- Reassess a possession threshold after payment rather than relying on the old balance.
Example: a guarantor pays part of the debt
A fictional guarantor pays £400 towards a £1,000 rent debt. Record the receipt and reduce the recoverable balance accordingly. The landlord cannot continue asking the tenant and guarantor for the full £1,000 as though the payment had not happened.
What to do
- Record the payer, date, amount and reference.
- Check any instruction or agreement about allocation.
- Send an updated statement showing the unpaid balance.
Evidence to keep
- Bank receipt and the payer's allocation instruction.
- Updated schedule and any agreed correction.
Sources and guidance
- What a private landlord must do about rent arrearsScottish Government · checked 20 October 2026
- Universal Credit: rented housing guide for landlordsDepartment for Work and Pensions · checked 20 October 2026
- Standard occupation contracts: guidance on the termsWelsh Government · checked 20 October 2026