Council Housing - Garage Rent Arrears

As with rent on a council house, garage rent goes towards funding the services that the Housing Landlord Service provides and the Council has a duty to pursue any outstanding charges owing.

Unlike the tenancy for a dwelling, a garage tenancy does not require court action for the Council to terminate for arrears.

Where an existing Council tenant has a garage, the charge is placed on their house rent account. In the event of continued arrears on the main house account, the Area Housing Manager may decide to terminate the garage tenancy by issuing a Notice to Quit.

For private garage tenants, continued arrears or late payments may also lead to a Notice to Quit. The tenant will have a chance to clear the account and maintain payments in which case the Notice may be cancelled, however in any case should a 3rd Notice to Quit be served on an account, it is council policy to repossess the garage whether or not the arrears are subsequently cleared.

Some tenants view the relatively low rental value or a garage compared to a dwelling as a reason to treat garage rent as a low priority.

The Council will not accept this as a reason for arrears. Garages are not considered essential and despite any inconvenience it may cause, we will repossess the property should we consider it necessary.