Rent late by one day – consequences?

[Lawcruncher]

A deposit is held primarily to compensate LL for any T damage etc at end of T. It cannot be used for rent unless specified, and then only at end of T.

Clearly a deposit can only be applied to cover what the agreement specifies, but if the agreement does not allow a deposit to be taken to cover rent before the end of the term then the agreement is defective.

To deal with the specific point though, just because a landlord holds a deposit to cover rent does not mean that rent is not in arrears if not paid on time. There is no obligation on a landlord to apply a deposit.

[thesaint]

I have read this thread and, unless I missing something, it seems to me that Malleus has paid his rent in such a way that the rent actually arrives at the agent on the day it is due. The title is misleading as it is the landlord who is receiving rent a day late. If you employ an agent to collect money for you you have to expect a delay before you get it.

The OP believes that the rent has reached the letting agent on the day it is due, but has no proof whether it does or it doesn't.
The OP has flip-flopped between it being paid one day late, it being paid on time, and then the letting agent wanting it one day early.

[Lieja]

I have read this thread and, unless I missing something, it seems to me that Malleus has paid his rent in such a way that the rent actually arrives at the agent on the day it is due. The title is misleading as it is the landlord who is receiving rent a day late. If you employ an agent to collect money for you you have to expect a delay before you get it.

That's what I was thinking. It seems to me that the landlord has specified the payment date to the agent who has put it in their contract with OP. If the rent is in the account you've been told to pay it to by the 1st, then you're doing it right. The fact that the landlord wants it in a different account on the same day isn't really your fault. To keep the peace with L, offer to pay to his account directly, although I'm not sure what the agent would have to say about that!

[grouse]

If I could get 100% of my tenants to pay their rent 1 day late every month I would be very happy

[shearne]

As a landlord I have been on the receiving end of this. As most rental properties are mortgage we too have an obligation to pay our mortgage on a specific date. The late payment of rent can result in there being insufficient money to meet the mortgage payment. This has happened twice to me, the result was a late payment fee of £30. The reason there was insufficient funds was that I had paid for maintenance for the property and was as a result relying on the rent to be in on time. If my tenant had called me to advise, it would have given me the chance to move funds to cover. The first time I did not pass the fee on, however I asked to be given a heads up the next time. As the tenant didn't bother, I unfortunately had not choice but to pass the next fee onto them. Needless to say they weren't happy, but can't have it both ways. I have always been fair with my tenants and have always found a workaround when advised of any issues.

Another tenant changed jobs and their new salary date made it difficult to pay the rent on the required date. They did contact me to discuss, we agreed that they would pay the no of days up front and then we would change the rent day e.g. from the 2nd to the 6th of the month. Continuing as is you are obviously feeling stressed by the situation, this type of arrangement will give both you and your landlord peace of mind and the agent won't have to make any phone calls

[shearne]

Paying the landlord directly is a good call and something the landlord most likely would prefer

[LesleyAnne]

Paying the landlord directly is a good call and something the landlord most likely would prefer

But until LL checks the contract they have with their letting agent, they may not be able to "go-it-alone". Some agents tie the LL into paying commission for the duration of the tenancy, regardless of whether they are still managing it or not. LL must read the small print!

[malleus]

The situation became clearer with a phone call to the letting agent.

According to the letting agent the rent was late once and that was in September. He thinks that was because the 1st fell on a weekend that month.
At the time the landlord and I had a dispute about some jobs that needing doing around the house that he had left for three months and tried to get out of doing entirely.
Apparently he thought that I had deliberately withheld the rent to strong-arm him into doing those jobs which is inaccurate.
The letting agent claims that he already tried to clear that up but that the landlord insists that I receive a reminder if the 1st falls on a weekend or the rent is not on the account on the 1st, which according to the letting agent is well in his rights.

I told the letting agent that I’m only concerned about the reference to future landlords and the letting agent assured me that as long as the rent is on the account in time this will not be an issue.
I guess I can live with the reminders for another 4 months (that is when we move out) as long that doesn’t bite me in the behind later.

@shearne

Thanks for your reply.
I completely understand that not all LLs swim in money and that they rely on the rent to pay their bills. It could very well be that my landlord is in a similar situation like the one you describe, but the way to go is not to threaten a person he does business with but to explain. This can be done in one sentence and would result in my complete cooperation and even trying to find a way to pay the rent a couple of days earlier.

However, his email (and some stuff he did in the past) made me lose all sympathy for whatever his situation might be. My opinion of him went from “this is a nice guy” when we moved in to “he can go to hell” because of all the stuff he pulls. I don't think it has to be this way.

[theartfullodger]

As a landlord I have been on the receiving end of this. As most rental properties are mortgage we too have an obligation to pay our mortgage on a specific date. The late payment of rent can result in there being insufficient money to meet the mortgage payment. This has happened twice to me, the result was a late payment fee of £30. The reason there was insufficient funds was ...........

IMHO any LL who can't handle several months of zero payments due to tenant (or letting agent..) from hell - or voids - is probably in the wrong business...

...........
At the time the landlord and I had a dispute about some jobs that needing doing around the house that he had left for three months and tried to get out of doing entirely. ...

You are familiar with Shelter's excellent advice in this area?? - see...
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_ad...n_private_lets

Good stuff from the experts in these matters etc etc ...

Cheers!!