What is Breathing Space, and how does it work?

A statutory scheme in England and Wales giving someone in problem debt legal protection from creditor action for a defined period, so they can get advice and make a plan without enforcement continuing.

What the protection covers. During Breathing Space, creditors of qualifying debts must not:

Charge interest, fees or penalties on the debt.

Take enforcement action, including instructing enforcement agents.

Contact you about the debt to request payment.

Begin or continue most legal proceedings.

The two types:

Standard Breathing Space — up to 60 days, available to anyone who cannot or is unlikely to be able to repay their debts, entered through a debt adviser.

Mental Health Crisis Breathing Space — available to someone receiving mental health crisis treatment, lasting for the duration of that treatment plus 30 days, with no time limit on the treatment period. It can be entered by an approved mental health professional via a debt adviser, and — importantly — someone else can apply on the person's behalf, which matters because a person in crisis cannot reasonably be expected to arrange it themselves.

How to access it. Not directly. You cannot apply yourself — it must be entered through a regulated debt adviser, who assesses eligibility. Free debt advice charities provide this.

What it does not do:

It does not write off debt. The debt remains, and payments that fall due during the period still accrue as arrears.

Ongoing liabilities continue. You are expected to keep paying ongoing bills — rent, mortgage, utilities, council tax — as they fall due.

Not all debts qualify. Excluded categories include secured debts to the extent of arrears arising during the period, certain court fines, child maintenance, and student loans, among others.

It is not repeatable frequently — standard Breathing Space is generally available once in a twelve-month period.

Why it matters. The period exists to allow advice to be taken and a solution arranged, and evidence submitted during the scheme's development indicated that enforcement pressure actively prevents people engaging with help.

Scotland has its own equivalent moratorium under different rules.

General information, not financial advice.