What is an IVA?

If you have substantial unsecured debts normally £15000 or more and cannot make your monthly payments but you have a reliable income an Individual Voluntary Arrangement IVA could be an appropriate way out of debt.

An IVA is a legally binding agreement:

You agree to spend 5 years usually paying a fixed monthly amount based on what you can afford after allowing for living expenses like rent / mortgage food petrol utilities etc.
Your creditors agree provided you keep up the payments to write off the debt you cannot afford to repay and not to take any action against you including trying to make you bankrupt.

If you decide to enter into an IVA you will work with a licensed Insolvency Practitioner IP to draw up a proposal stating exactly how much you will repay. If this is accepted by enough of your creditors the IVA can begin.
Note that there are several drawbacks to an IVA. It will stay on your credit report for 6 years making it harder and more expensive to get credit. This will not really matter for the 5 years the IVA is running as people in an IVA are not allowed to take out credit but it could be an issue in the sixth year. If you own a home your creditors will almost certainly expect you to release some equity to pay some of your debt. Plus your IVA could fail if you miss more than 3 payments.
As a legally binding agreement and a form of insolvency an IVA is a serious matter. Before you sign anything you should discuss the pros and cons in detail with a specialist adviser.