Tenant late with rent

amiehall

anselld wrote: »

I would agree with the general views to cut some slack, however it is worth remembering that rent is a priority debt and should come before "replacing the car" and most other "unseen expenditure".

But say I used my emergency savings on car repairs or whatever, then immediately after my employer made a mistake and my wages were delayed, I might be late paying. I don't think it would be a fair reflection of my financial situation and wouldn't mean that I don't prioritise my rent. There are a lot of things that could have happened outside of someones control...

G_M

From what I can see, the rent is not even due yet!

email from the la this morning saying that the tenants 'have told them' the rent will be late this month

Not only have they communicated their problem (many tenants hide their heads in the sand and hope you won't notice - as if!), but they've communicated in advance.

These are ideal tenants.

precautionary S21

? That's really going to improve communications in the future! Next thing you know, they'll be on here asking if it's OK to change the locks, deny access for inspections blada blada blada!

Because, "you know, this ghastly landlord just served a S21 and wants us out and all because were 3 days late, and we even told him in advance, and we paid up in full as soon as we got paid and......"

And what will they be advised by posters here.....?

See how late the rent is. If it's a few days, even couple of weeks, just let it go (and instruct, yes instruct, your agents to take no action).

edit: I was about to end by suggesting you come back here for advice if it happens 3 months running - but I'll give you the advice now: contact them in a non-confrontational way (during a routine inspection if you do them?) and discuss their issue. Is it because the salary pay date has changed for example? If so, suggest moving the rent payment date! Sorted.

KME91

I never said I was going to ask the agent to impose charges, just that that's what the tenancy agreement says about late rent. People always ask what the tenancy agreement says so I included it. I also said, if you read my post, that they are generally great tenants, and I don't want to come down too hard on them.

I know these things happen, although I happen to believe that rent, along with council tax should be priority bills. My point was, is there anything I need to do to protect us, incase this situation does escalate? If we have to go to court in the future, will a judge look at whether or not we chased this rent and would that reflect on any case we might have?

Part of me is inclined to just delete the posts I've made here, I thought this was a pretty reasonable question, and I thought I made my overall opinion of our tenants clear. I don't think it's unreasonable to be asking, should we write or wait? Frankly I'm not sure why I bothered posting in the first place, I should have known what would happen, same as always on here it seems.

KME91

And for the record, the rent was due on October 21st, the letting agent informed me yesterday it will be late, so it's already overdue, albeit only by a couple of days, and certainly we weren't told in advance.

G_M

KME91 wrote: »

Our tenants have been in about a year and have so far been fine. They started on a 6 month contract and when that was due to finish they signed a twelve month contract. This month's rent should have been paid to our letting agent on Oct 21st. I've had an email from the la this morning saying that the tenants 'have told them' the rent will be late this month due to one of the couple getting paid late.

I've read through our tenancy agreement and it says that interest at 6% pa will be applied to any late payment, and fees will apply if the la has to write and chase the rent. Obviously we're not too happy about this late payment, but being realistic they have been great tenants up til now, so I don't want to come down too hard on them. I do want to make it clear to them though that this isn't an ideal situation. I'm particularly concerned that one late wage is enough to have such an immediate impact on their ability to past the rent on time. I'm also not sure I appreciate being told the rent will be late, rather than asked if that's OK, and indeed, being told after the rent due date has passed. I don't want to set any precedents though that could give me trouble in the future if we do have to go through s21 proceedings. So any suggestions on what I should do? Should we write to them, or just sit tight for a few more days and see what happens?

I've asked the la for some more info, if I get that I'll update the thread!

(in case the post is deleted)

G_M

KME91 wrote: »

....... My point was, is there anything I need to do to protect us, incase this situation does escalate? If we have to go to court in the future, will a judge look at whether or not we chased this rent and would that reflect on any case we might have?
No

. I don't think it's unreasonable to be asking, should we write or wait?
Although there may have been some critical tone in some answers (as a response to the half-implied contractual penalties etc?), the majority of replies answered your question! Wait!

If you reach the point of going to court (ie using the S8 procedure), yes, you should first write, with a complete rent payment schedule, a deadline for payment of arrears before you take action etc, but at this stage it would serve no legal purpose, and would destroy your existing relationship.

[Deleted User]

KME91 wrote: »

I never said I was going to ask the agent to impose charges, just that that's what the tenancy agreement says about late rent. People always ask what the tenancy agreement says so I included it. I also said, if you read my post, that they are generally great tenants, and I don't want to come down too hard on them.

I know these things happen, although I happen to believe that rent, along with council tax should be priority bills. My point was, is there anything I need to do to protect us, incase this situation does escalate? If we have to go to court in the future, will a judge look at whether or not we chased this rent and would that reflect on any case we might have?

Part of me is inclined to just delete the posts I've made here, I thought this was a pretty reasonable question, and I thought I made my overall opinion of our tenants clear. I don't think it's unreasonable to be asking, should we write or wait? Frankly I'm not sure why I bothered posting in the first place, I should have known what would happen, same as always on here it seems.

To evict for rent arrears there needs to be at least 2 months of arrears, at which point you can issue a Section 8 notice. A judge won't care if you've chased rent every day by turning up at their door and phoning them, or if you sent an email once a month reminding them, rent is due when it's due and non payment of rent is non payment of rent.

Naturally it's best to communicate with tenants because they could honestly not be aware that the rent payment has failed, for example they've change banks and forgotten to set up the standing order or they've mistakenly made a change somewhere that has caused problems.

If your tenant has communicated the problem with you, the best thing to do is treat them with respect and accept that bad things do happen, and your tenant has done the best they can to keep you in the loop. I remember when I was younger I couldn't make my rent payment once because I was paid late... so I buried my head in the sand (as most tenants do) and even then the letting agent were reasonable about it (I paid, albeit a week late) because they knew it was out of character and beyond my control. The first thing I did the moment I got paid was take the rent payment straight to them.

Remember that your tenants are humans and they're probably far more upset about the late pay day than you are, the impact on them (being unable to pay bills) far exceeds the inconvenience to you (if you're operating as a "proper" landlord) and if you were to issue an eviction notice you would be piling on the pressure when it's completely unnecessary. They've done everything they can (communicated) and have a track record of paying on time, there's no reason to assume now that you're in for a world of hurt and need to start treating them like they're squatting.

Nothing wrong with asking, but remember that you're dealing with real people who are probably really upset about not being paid and about failing to meet their agreements (I know I was, I could probably dig up the paniced emails I sent back when it happened to me) and although I knew ultimately it was my fault, having a landlord treat me like I wasn't worth trusting would have piled on the upset.

tupelotomemphis

After the initial contract expired, you should of just left it to roll every month then kick em out as soon as they fall out of line.
Like my mortgage, rent is the priority bill. No excuses.
Don't let the tenant brigade on here upset you, they're unlikely to understand.

benjus

citricsquid wrote: »

To evict for rent arrears there needs to be at least 2 months of arrears, at which point you can issue a Section 8 notice.

Just to be pedantic - you can issue a Section 8 notice as soon as there are any arrears or a history of late payments. However, such a notice would be on discretionary grounds and therefore far from guaranteed that the judge would grant possession to the landlord. Waiting for sufficient rent arrears (2 months if rent is due monthly) for non-discretionary grounds gives the landlord a much stronger position in court.

benjus

tupelotomemphis wrote: »

Don't let the tenant brigade on here upset you, they're unlikely to understand.

Who are the tenant brigade? The majority of responses on this thread appear to be from landlords.