A breathing space is a UK statutory scheme that pauses interest, fees, and enforcement action on someone's debts for a fixed period while they get debt advice. Formally the Debt Respite Scheme, it has run since May 2021 and gives eligible borrowers standard protection for 60 days, or longer if they're receiving mental health crisis treatment.

A breathing space sits inside a lender's forbearance and vulnerable-customer processes: once a borrower enters the scheme, normal arrears and collections activity on that account has to stop for its duration. It is not a debt write-off or a repayment plan. It buys the borrower time to arrange debt advice, and once it ends, the underlying debt and any paused interest and fees return, unless the borrower has since moved into a separate solution such as a debt management plan.

How does a breathing space affect a lender?

Once a debt adviser registers a borrower for breathing space, the lender receives notice through the Insolvency Service's system and must apply the protections from that point. For the scheme's duration, a lender has to pause most enforcement action and creditor contact chasing the debt, and freeze interest, fees, and charges on the included balances.

A standard breathing space lasts 60 days. Where a borrower is in mental health crisis treatment, the moratorium instead runs for the length of that treatment plus 30 days, however long the treatment lasts, and carries stronger protections, since the borrower may not be able to engage with debt advice during it.

For a lender, this means arrears management and outbound collections stop on that account, though hardship review and forbearance eligibility work can continue in the background: breathing space interrupts recovery, it doesn't conclude it. Normal servicing rules resume once the scheme ends, unless the borrower has moved into a longer-term debt solution. See how our AI agent runs hardship assessment and forbearance against a lender's own policies.

Frequently asked questions

How does breathing space debt relief affect an existing repayment plan?

An existing repayment plan is paused, not cancelled, for the length of the breathing space. Interest, fees, and enforcement stop accruing on the included debts, and the lender can't chase missed payments during that window. Once it ends, the original plan, or a renegotiated one, resumes unless the borrower has since arranged a formal debt solution.

Who is eligible for a breathing space?

A borrower is eligible if they live in England or Wales, owe a qualifying debt, and are assessed by a debt adviser as needing time and protection from creditor action to get their finances in order. A debt adviser, not the borrower or the lender, registers the case through the Insolvency Service's system.

Can a lender refuse a breathing space?

No. Once a debt adviser registers a borrower and notifies the lender, the protections apply as a legal requirement rather than something a creditor opts into. A lender can raise a challenge where it believes a case doesn't meet the scheme's eligibility rules, but it can't simply decline to apply the pause.