Breathing Space is a statutory scheme that gives people in England and Wales temporary protection from creditors while they get debt advice and work out a plan. This guide explains what it pauses, who can use it, what still has to be paid and where it falls short.
What is Breathing Space and who runs it?
According to GOV.UK, Breathing Space (formally the Debt Respite Scheme) gives temporary protection from creditors while you get debt advice and make a plan. It is available if you live in England or Wales. Citizens Advice notes that the scheme was introduced in 2021.
The scheme comes in two forms: a standard version and a mental health crisis version. Both are designed to stop a problem getting worse while there is time to look at the options, rather than to remove the debt itself.
What protection does the standard version give?
The standard Breathing Space lasts up to 60 days. According to GOV.UK, during that time:
- enforcement action cannot be taken against you;
- creditors cannot contact you about the debts included; and
- creditors cannot add interest or charges.
GOV.UK’s guidance for money advisers is slightly more cautious, describing a pause on most enforcement and creditor contact and a freeze on most interest and charges. The practical point is that the scheme is broad but is not a blanket shield over every financial obligation.
Within the 60 days there is a built-in check. The adviser guidance says a standard Breathing Space has a midway review between days 25 and 35.
How does the mental health crisis version differ?
The mental health crisis Breathing Space gives the same protections but for longer. GOV.UK says it lasts for the length of the person’s mental health crisis treatment, plus another 30 days.
The adviser guidance adds several details:
- the person must be receiving crisis treatment, as certified by an Approved Mental Health Professional;
- the adviser must confirm ongoing treatment every 20 to 30 days;
- there is no limit on how often it can be used; and
- the person is not required to engage with debt advice.
GOV.UK also says that if someone receiving treatment cannot speak to an adviser, another person can do so on their behalf.
Who is eligible, and how do you apply?
You cannot simply apply yourself. GOV.UK explains that you speak to a debt adviser, who submits the application if it is appropriate. Free advisers can be found through the MoneyHelper website, and advice is available online, by phone or in person. Applying is free, although GOV.UK notes some debt advisers may charge a fee.
To qualify, GOV.UK says you must:
- not have a debt relief order, an individual voluntary arrangement or an interim order, and not be an undischarged bankrupt, when you apply;
- not already be using the scheme; and
- not have used the scheme in the last 12 months, unless the earlier use was for a mental health crisis.
The adviser guidance also requires that the person has a qualifying debt and lives, or usually lives, in England or Wales.
Which debts count, and which do not?
The adviser guidance lists most personal debts as qualifying, including credit cards, store cards, personal loans, payday loans, overdrafts and utility arrears. Government tax and benefit debts usually qualify unless excluded. Joint debts and guarantor loans can be included, though protection does not extend to the guarantor.
Some debts sit outside the scheme:
| Excluded debt type | Notes from the guidance |
|---|---|
| Secured debts | Except arrears that already existed at the application date |
| Court fines and confiscation orders | Not covered |
| Family court and child maintenance obligations | Not covered |
| Student loans and social fund loans | Not covered |
| Universal Credit advances | Not covered |
| Council tax not yet fallen due | Not covered |
Debts taken on during a Breathing Space cannot be added to it, so new borrowing does not gain the same protection.
Is Breathing Space a payment holiday?
No. The adviser guidance is explicit: a breathing space is not a payment holiday. GOV.UK likewise says you still need to make your debt repayments, and the guidance lists ongoing liabilities that must keep being met, including rent or mortgage on the main home, insurance, taxes and National Insurance, local taxes and utility bills.
The debtor’s obligations in a standard Breathing Space also include:
- giving accurate information and reporting new creditors or debts;
- reporting any change in circumstances;
- not taking on additional credit of more than £500, including overdrafts; and
- engaging with the adviser appropriately.
Failing these obligations is one route to early cancellation. The household budgeting side is covered in how to think about managing debt, and a tight look at recurring costs is often part of the plan an adviser helps build.
How does a standard Breathing Space end?
The adviser guidance sets out the endings. A standard Breathing Space ends automatically after 60 days. It can end earlier if the person enters a debt solution, fails their obligations, or the adviser decides to cancel after the midway review. It can also be cancelled if the adviser accepts that a creditor’s review request is justified (a decision due within 35 days), or by a court if a creditor applies and succeeds.
A mental health crisis Breathing Space ends 30 days after treatment stops, or sooner in cases such as the person asking for cancellation or the nominated contact failing to respond to an information request within 30 days.
GOV.UK’s page does not set out what happens when protection ends, but it points to other options, including Debt Management Plans, Administration Orders, Individual Voluntary Arrangements and Debt Relief Orders. The point of the 60 days is to choose between these with clearer information.
A worked example: what a 60-day freeze can and cannot change
Illustrative arithmetic only. Suppose a household has a £4,000 credit card balance charging interest at 24% a year, and a missed-income month has made the minimum payments unaffordable.
- Annual interest on £4,000 at 24% is £960, or £80 a month on average.
- Over 60 days, roughly two months, that is about £160 of interest that would otherwise be added.
- Under Breathing Space, that interest is not added, so the balance would not grow by that amount.
The saving is real but modest. What matters more is the time: 60 days in which creditors cannot chase or take enforcement action, so that the household can set essential bills first and compare solutions. Rent, utilities and other ongoing liabilities in the same period still have to be paid, which is why building a cash cushion in advance, as discussed in building a practical safety net, remains valuable.
Is 60 days enough? What Citizens Advice says
Citizens Advice published a report on 15 January 2026 reviewing the first five years of the scheme. It says that in 2025 it supported over 400,000 people with debt, nearly a 45% increase compared with 2021. It also says 82% of people in problem debt who had not previously used the scheme agreed it would have helped when they first began dealing with debt.
The report argues that 60 days is often too short for people with complex debts or ill health. Its recommendations include extra time for those who need more than 60 days, repeat access within 12 months when circumstances change significantly, closing protection gaps relating to Universal Credit advances and deductions, and stronger creditor compliance. These are the charity’s recommendations, not changes to the rules, so the scheme as described by GOV.UK is what currently applies.
Conclusion: a pause that buys time, not a write-off
Breathing Space offers up to 60 days of protection from enforcement, creditor contact and added interest for qualifying debts, with a longer version for people in mental health crisis treatment. It does not cancel what is owed, it does not suspend rent, bills or other ongoing liabilities, and it can only be started through a debt adviser. Anyone whose income has dropped, for instance through illness and the limits of Statutory Sick Pay, may find it a useful step to understand before problems build up.
This article provides general information and is not personalised financial advice. Rules, rates and thresholds change, so check current official guidance and speak to a free debt adviser before making decisions.
Sources: GOV.UK; Citizens Advice
