Individual voluntary arrangements

This fact sheet tells you how an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) can be used to deal with your debts.

Use this fact sheet to:

• find out what an IVA is and if you may be eligible to apply for an IVA to help you deal with your debts;
• see when we can help you to apply for an IVA;
• understand how an IVA is set up; and
• find out the main advantages and disadvantages of an IVA.

What is an IVA?

An IVA is a legally-binding arrangement to pay an agreed amount off your debts over a set period. Any unpaid parts of the debts that were included in the IVA are written off when the arrangement is completed. An IVA can be set up in a number of different ways. It can either be a monthly instalment plan over a fixed term (normally five years), or a short term arrangement if you have a lump sum to put forward. Some IVAs are a mixture of both instalments and a lump sum.

An IVA could help you to deal with your debts if you are:

• a sole trader or partnership and have business or personal creditors, or both; or
• the director of a limited company and have personal debts that you cannot afford to pay in full.

An IVA cannot be used to deal with the debts of a limited company. Contact us for advice on how to deal with limited company debts.

An IVA can be a very effective way to deal with your debts. However, there are both advantages and disadvantages to IVAs. These are discussed later in this fact sheet. Think about these carefully and contact us for advice before deciding whether to go ahead with an IVA.

The Business Debtline IVA panel

Business Debtline can refer you to an insolvency practitioner (IP) from our special panel. After reading this fact sheet, if you think that an IVA is the best solution for you, see the later section Finding an insolvency practitioner.

Do I have to use an insolvency practitioner recommended by Business Debtline?

You do not have to use one of the IPs that we work with. If you prefer, we can give you advice on how to find one yourself.

Is an IVA suitable for me?

An IVA may be a suitable solution for you if you have:

• money available every month to pay towards your debts;
• a lump sum or assets that could be included; or
• a combination of spare money each month and assets or a lump sum.

Use My Budget to work out how much spare income you may have to pay into an IVA.

We may be able to help you set up an IVA, using an insolvency practitioner from our panel. See the later section Finding an insolvency practitioner.

Is an IVA suitable if I am a member of a partnership?

If you are a partner in a partnership an IVA may be a solution for you, but it must take into account your personal liability for debts that the partnership owes. These creditors could still take action against the partnership itself, or against other partners.

If you and your business partner(s) have personal debts as well as debts owed by the partnership, you could propose an arrangement to deal with all of these at the same time. This type of arrangement is more complicated. Contact us for advice.

What debts can be included in an IVA?

You can include most types of debt in your IVA proposal, but bear in mind that your creditors may object. See the next section IVA procedure. You can include priority debts such as business rates arrears, fuel debts and some tax debts. However, you cannot include:

• maintenance, or arrears of maintenance, ordered by a court;
• Child Support Agency or Child Maintenance Service arrears;
• magistrates’ court fines;
• mortgage, secured loan or rent arrears unless your lender or landlord agrees (which is unlikely); and
• student loans (for IVAs made on or after 6 April 2010).

Preferential creditors in an IVA
Some creditors are classed as preferential creditors in an IVA. Debts to preferential creditors can be included in an IVA but they have to be paid in full, unless they agree to receive less than they are owed. Preferential creditors include:

• employees with unpaid wages, pension scheme contributions and holiday pay; and
• HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for pay as you earn income tax (PAYE), value added tax (VAT), employee National Insurance Contributions, student loan deductions and Construction Industry Scheme deductions debts.

Hire purchase and lease agreements
Be careful if you have a hire purchase or lease agreement you want to include in your IVA. Check your agreement carefully to see if there is a clause which allows the creditor to end the agreement if you enter into an IVA, and contact us for advice.

If you are unsure what debts you can include in your IVA, contact us for advice.

IVA procedure

An IVA has to be set up by an insolvency practitioner (IP). An IP is usually an accountant or solicitor who is authorised to set up IVAs. Once an IP has agreed to make an IVA proposal for you, they can apply to the county court for an ‘interim order’. This stops your creditors from starting bankruptcy proceedings against you. It also stops any other enforcement action without the court’s permission whilst the interim order is in force.

You can put forward an IVA proposal without applying for an interim order first. This may reduce your costs but means your creditors can still take enforcement action against you until the IVA is agreed. If you have previously applied for an interim order, you have to wait 12 months before you can apply for another interim order.

• The IP sends the IVA proposal to your creditors and arranges a formal meeting called a ‘creditors’ meeting’.
• Check with the IP and make sure that all your creditors have been contacted. If a creditor comes to light after the IVA has been agreed and they had no notice of the meeting, they can claim the amount they would have received if they had been included in the IVA at the start.
• At the meeting, creditors have to vote on whether to accept the IVA. Often creditors send their vote to the IP and don’t actually take part in the meeting.
• The proposal has to be accepted by at least 75% ‘by value’ of the voting creditors for it to become legally binding on all your creditors. ‘By value’ means voting creditors who hold at least 75% of your total debt, not the number of creditors you have.
• This means that if the creditors to whom you owe the highest amount vote against the proposal, the IVA may not go through.
• Sometimes creditors will ‘haggle’ about the terms of the IVA and ask you to agree to pay more every month, or include assets you do not want to lose. They may ask you to make payments over a longer period. However, for the IVA to go ahead, your agreement to these changes is needed.
• If you have a personal or workplace pension that you can claim during the proposed term of your IVA, your creditors may agree to exclude it as an asset. If they don’t agree to this, the pension fund could be at risk. Check the terms and conditions of your IVA agreement and contact us for advice.
• If the IVA is agreed, your IP will supervise the arrangement and ensure you make the payments.
• If the IVA does not go through, you are back to the same position as you were in before you made the application. You will have to negotiate with all your creditors separately. You may also have lost money in fees and costs for the IVA application. Think carefully before you decide what to do next. It may not be a good idea to apply for a new IVA unless your circumstances have changed and you can improve the proposal you made before. Contact us for advice.

IVA protocol

The IVA protocol is a set of voluntary guidelines which many insolvency practitioners follow. The guidelines cover how a straightforward consumer IVA should be put together and how the IP should behave. The protocol has been set up to make the IVA process quicker and simpler for IPs, creditors and for you as the applicant.

The IVA protocol covers the following areas.

• What the IP should do to check your income and outgoings.
• That your creditors should normally accept your figures if they fall within set limits.
• How any equity in your home should be dealt with (see the next section Effect of an IVA on my home).
• Your IP should make sure you have had debt advice on the solutions available to you to deal with your debts.
• What to do when your income and outgoings go up or down, and what should happen if you miss any payments.

Not all IPs use the IVA protocol and, because each IVA can be very different, not all IVAs can follow the protocol. For example, there is nothing in the protocol that says it cannot apply if you are self-employed. However, because your situation is likely to be more complicated than that of someone who is not self-employed, the protocol may only apply in part, or not at all.

Check whether the IVA protocol will apply to your case before you agree an IVA proposal with your IP. If it does apply, check whether the whole of the protocol applies, or just part of it. If your IP says that your case is not straightforward and you cannot have an IVA that follows the protocol, make sure you understand why. If you are not sure about this, contact us for advice.

Effect of an IVA on my home

The rules described in this section do not apply to buy-to-let properties. If you own one or more buy-to-let properties and you are considering entering into an IVA, contact us for advice.

If you are a homeowner, your IP will normally want to include a special section within your IVA proposal called an ‘equity clause’. This means that during the IVA (normally in year five) you would be expected to apply for a secured loan or re-mortgage to pay back some of the debts. If you cannot do this, your IP may want you to sell your home instead.

If your IVA follows the IVA protocol, there is some protection around how equity is treated. See the section IVA protocol and your home.

No equity release if Business Debtline refers you for an IVA

If we refer you for an IVA, you will not be expected to release equity in your home. For more information on the Business Debtline IVA panel, see the section Finding an insolvency practitioner.

IVA protocol and your home

If you propose an IVA that follows the IVA protocol and you are a homeowner, you will be asked to provide one or more valuations for your home before the IVA proposal is put to your creditors. You can get a free valuation online, or you may have local estate agents that can provide you with a free valuation.

The IP will agree on a valuation with you and will then work out your share of the equity. This will be based on 85% of the value of the property, taking away the value of any existing mortgages and secured loans. The following example shows how the IP will calculate your equity.

• Your home is jointly owned with your partner and you have an equal share in the property.
• The home is valued at £150,000 and there is a mortgage in joint names with a balance of £98,000.
• £127,500 (85% of the value of the home) take away £98,000 (the balance of the mortgage) equals a total equity of £29,500.
• As the home is in joint names, your share of the equity will be half of the total that is worked out. So, your equity would equal £14,750.

The value of your share of the equity will be used to decide how the equity will be treated in the IVA. There are three options under the IVA protocol.

Option 1. Your share of the equity is £5,000 or less.

The IVA proposal will be for instalments over a five-year period and you will not be asked to release equity in your home.

Option 2. Your share of the equity is over £5,000 but the IP considers it unlikely that you will be able to remortgage or get a secured loan.

The IVA proposal will be for instalments over a six-year period and you will not be asked to release equity in your home. The IP will assume you will not be able to release equity if:

• you will be over the age of 60 when the IVA starts; or
• the spare income for the household after covering essential bills is £100 a month or less.

Option 3. Your share of the equity is over £5,000 and the IP considers it likely that you will be able to remortgage or get a secured loan.

The IVA proposal will be for instalments over a six-year period with a review of the valuation of your home after 54 months.

• If your share of the equity is at least £5,000 when it is reviewed, you will be expected to apply for a secured loan or re-mortgage to pay back some of your debts. If you are able to re-mortgage or get a secured loan, you should be left with at least 15% of your share of the value of the property and the new mortgage should finish by the end of your existing mortgage or your state retirement pension age (whichever is later). If you do release equity, the term of the IVA will be reduced from six years to five years.
• If your share of the equity is below £5,000 when it is reviewed or you are not able to get a re-mortgage or secured loan, you will have to keep paying instalments under the IVA until the end of the six-year IVA term. Alternatively, the IVA could end after five years if a third party such as a family member or friend pays a lump sum to the IP that is equal to 12 months’ worth of payments under the IVA.

Re-mortgaging

You need to be careful when thinking about taking out a new mortgage or secured loan. It may be difficult to find a loan from a reputable lender at a good rate of interest because your credit rating may not be good enough. You must discuss this with your IP and get advice to make sure you can afford the new payments or you could be putting your home at risk. Contact us for advice.

Finding an insolvency practitioner

Before deciding to go forward with an IVA, consider all the solutions available to you for dealing with your debts. See the later section Other ways to deal with your debt. If you do decide that an IVA is the right solution to pay back the money you owe, you will need help from an IP. Business Debtline could refer you to an IP on our special panel, or you could contact an IP directly yourself.

What is the Business Debtline IVA panel?

Business Debtline can refer you to an IP from our special panel. Our panel of IPs have agreed the following.

• You will not be charged up-front fees and you will not be asked to make any payments until the IVA proposal has been agreed by your creditors.
• If you have equity in your home, your IP will not require an equity release clause in your IVA proposal. Instead, they may request that you propose an IVA with instalments over a six-year period rather than a five-year period.
• You will be able to take further independent advice from Business Debtline whenever you want to.
• Your IP should keep you fully informed about your IVA and should make sure you fully understand what the IVA will mean for you.

How do I qualify?

If you want to be considered for an IVA under our IP panel scheme, you usually need:

• at least two different debts across at least two different creditors; and
• at least £50 per month spare income after your essential bills.

You may still be able to consider an IVA even if your circumstances fall outside of these guidelines. Contact us for advice.

If you and your domestic partner meet the above criteria by taking into account your joint circumstances, you may be able to do an IVA together. This is sometimes known as an ‘interlocking IVA’. Contact us for advice.

What do I do next?

If you are interested in setting up an IVA through Business Debtline, contact us for advice. We will be able to discuss an IVA with you, as well as advising you on what other solutions you may have for dealing with your debts.

Contacting an IP myself

The Insolvency Service provides a searchable directory of IPs. To view this, go to the GOV.UK website. The directory gives the contact details of each insolvency practitioner and those of their authorising body. If you are unable to find the directory, contact us for advice.

Before you agree to use the services of any IP, check their terms and conditions carefully, including what fees may be charged. See the next section IVA charges. Check to see whether they follow the IVA protocol and make sure you shop around different IPs to compare their services and fees.

Be wary of companies who suggest they can put you in touch with an IP if you pay them a fee. You can contact an IP directly without going through another company. Contact us for advice.

IVA charges

Always check what fees an IP will charge before signing any agreement or starting the process to set up an IVA. You will need to check what the fees cover and whether the IP will charge any up-front fees.

All IPs will charge fees for setting up and supervising an IVA. Fees vary between different firms, but typical fees can be £4,000 or more. These fees are usually taken from the monthly payment you have agreed you can afford to make to your creditors.

Many IPs will offer an initial free meeting to look at whether an IVA is suitable in your situation. Some IPs will demand an up-front fee before putting forward the IVA proposal. This could mean that if the proposal is refused by your creditors, you will lose the money you have paid to the IP up until that point. Other IPs may still charge you some fees if you start the process but then decide not to go ahead in the end.

You may be asked to pay some form of payment protection insurance to cover you against death, unemployment and so on. Your IP should tell you about any insurance cover they have arranged and how much this will cost you. It will usually be built into the initial fees you have to pay to your IP.

If you use an IP from Business Debtline’s special panel, we will receive part of the fee they will charge you. This is for the work we have carried out collecting information about your circumstances. We will use any payments we receive to support our ongoing charity work of giving help and advice to people with debt problems.

Change in circumstances

If your circumstances change, you must tell your IP. If you are unable to keep up with your payments, your IP may allow you to take a payment break or they may ask your creditors to ‘vary’ the IVA to allow you to make reduced payments. The IP may charge you a fee for requesting a variation to your IVA.

If you cannot make any payments or your creditors refuse to accept lower payments, your IVA may fail. There may be additional fees to pay to the IP if your IVA fails. They can take court action to get these back from you.

The IP is able to petition for your bankruptcy, but this will not happen in all cases. If your IP decides not to make you bankrupt, then your creditors can take action against you instead. It is very important to agree payment arrangements with each of your creditors separately to stop this happening.

Advantages of an IVA

• Repayments stop at an agreed date and you will usually pay less than the full amount you owe.
• An IVA may mean that you can keep certain essential assets and keep your business running.
• You may have access to a large lump sum and want a formal arrangement with your creditors to accept the lump sum and write off the rest of the debts.
• You will not automatically lose your home or other assets. See the earlier section Effect of an IVA on my home.

Disadvantages of an IVA

• The income you draw from your business may vary throughout the year. This can make it difficult to keep to the payments under the IVA.
• If you do not keep to the terms of the IVA then the IP or your creditors can take further action against you, for example by making you bankrupt.
• If creditors do not accept the IVA proposal you are back to square one and your creditors can carry on trying to pursue you for your debts.
• If you paid an up-front fee for your IVA and it is not accepted then you will have lost the fee and may be in a worse position than when you started.
• If you own your home, the IP and creditors may make you agree to re-mortgage your home as part of the IVA. If you are unable to do this you may lose your home. See the earlier section Effect of an IVA on my home.
• If you rent your home, check the terms and conditions of your tenancy agreement. It may say that your landlord can end your tenancy if you enter into an IVA. Even if your tenancy agreement does say this, your landlord may choose not to end your tenancy, especially if you are up to date with your rent payments.
• The rules for renting a home in Wales changed on 1 December 2022. Most tenants in Wales are now known as ‘contract-holders’ and most tenancies in Wales are now known as ‘occupation contracts’. If you rent your home, check your contract to see what type of agreement you have and how it can be ended.
• There is a risk that the IVA is agreed on the basis of monthly payments that you cannot afford long term. You must be very careful that the payments are set at a realistic amount in the first place.
• If your circumstances change and you can no longer afford the payments, your IVA may end if the IP cannot persuade the creditors to accept a new agreement.
• The IVA will be recorded on your credit reference file for six years and can affect your ability to get further credit. See the next section IVA registers for more information.
• When you set up an IVA, you will need to open a basic bank account which is separate from all your debts. A basic account does not offer any credit facilities, such as an overdraft. Some banks may not allow you to continue to operate a basic bank account whilst you are in an IVA. This applies to business and personal bank accounts. Contact us for advice.

Your existing bank account

Check the terms and conditions of your bank account to make sure that it will not be affected by an IVA in any way.

Statements and notices

Under the rules of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, your creditors will usually have to keep sending you annual statements, as well as arrears and default notices in a set format. This will happen even when you are in an IVA but should stop once your IVA is completed. Don’t worry. This does not mean that there is a problem with your IVA. If you receive other letters demanding payment, you should take this up with your insolvency practitioner or contact us for advice.

IVA registers

Public register

Records of IVAs are kept on a public register called the Individual Insolvency Register. You can search this for free. Alternatively, you can search the register by visiting your local official receiver’s office. You can find out the location of your nearest official receiver’s office by checking your local phone book or by contacting the Insolvency Service (see Useful contacts at the end of this fact sheet for details). Your IVA will remain on the register until it is completed or terminated.

Credit reference agency files

Records of IVAs are normally held on credit reference agency files for six years from the date the IVA began. This can significantly affect your ability to get further credit. This can make it difficult for you to continue running your business if you rely on using credit facilities. If the IVA lasts longer than six years, it will remain on your credit file until the date the IVA ends. The IVA is marked ‘complete’ by the credit reference agency when they are informed of this by the Insolvency Service. Send a copy of the letter from your IP to the three credit reference agencies so that your credit file is updated. See our Credit reference agencies fact sheet for more information.

You may continue to find it difficult to get credit even after the IVA has been removed from your credit file. This is because some lenders may ask if you have ever had an IVA or been bankrupt in the past. This will depend on the lender’s policy.

Complaints about insolvency practitioners

Put your complaint in writing to the IP. Set out the facts as clearly as you can. There are additional guidelines that an IP should follow when dealing with your IVA. Contact us for advice about these.

Say why you are not happy and what you want them to do about it. Include any evidence that you feel supports your complaint. If you are not happy with the IP’s response, you can usually send your complaint to the Insolvency Service. The Insolvency Service will then pass your complaint onto the IP’s authorising body.

The IP’s authorising body cannot change the terms and conditions of your IVA or any decision your IP has made. However, they can use the information you provide in your complaint to help them decide whether they should take further action against the IP. Also, a complaint will not stop any bankruptcy action being taken against you if your IVA has failed.

For more information about making a complaint, see the Insolvency Service's website. Alternatively, contact us for advice.

Other ways to deal with your debt

There may be alternative solutions for you to deal with your debts.

For example, you may wish to consider a debt management plan. This is an informal arrangement which involves paying your surplus income to a debt management company. The debt management company then negotiates reduced repayments with your creditors.

Bankruptcy could also be suitable for you. Bankruptcy is an official order which ends liability for most debts. However, it can involve some of your assets being sold to raise money to pay to your creditors and may make it difficult for you to continue being self-employed.

A debt relief order (DRO) is an alternative to bankruptcy which can see liability for debts written off after 12 months. You may be eligible for a DRO if you have spare income of £75 a month or less after essential living costs. Your total debt must be £50,000 or less to qualify for a DRO.

Each solution has advantages and disadvantages. It is important to consider these carefully before you make a decision about which solution is best for you. Contact us for advice.

For more information on alternative solutions to deal with your debts, see our Ways to clear your debt fact sheet.

Useful contacts

The Insolvency Service The Government agency providing public services to those affected by financial distress or failure www.gov.uk/government/organisations/insolvency-service

Other fact sheets that may help you

Credit reference agencies fact sheet

Ways to clear your debt fact sheet