Rent Arrears Late Fee Dispute

dagourlay

I am on a rolling month to month contract. My six month signed lease ended August 2012.

I was contacted today by my landlord notifying me I had six months late rent dating back to July 2013 and one month from January 2013. I was unaware I was late with rent and assumed the direct debit was going out, I don't check my bank as I have plenty of money and am not saving for anything. They have not contacted me at all for any late rent until tonight nor informed me of any late fees or interest.

They have levied £30 +4% late fees on me for every month plus the rent owed which are as per terms of my old signed lease but I have signed nothing since that ended so not sure if these still hold? They have told me I must pay tomorrow morning after informing me at 6pm this evening or further action will be taken.

Anyway I have been cooperative and willing to pay what is owed tomorrow, however I don't want to pay the late fees and interest as I feel they are excessive and it is both our faults the rent was not paid.

Furthermore the January rent was paid and I have proof of this therefore the money stated I owe is wrong anyway, and should only relate to the six months.

I am willing to be cooperative and pay up the rent owed immediately and even a goodwill gesture for late fees on top, but no way am I paying some £800 fees on top for a joint mistake. I have enough to cover the rent but not the extra fees in any case.

I want to come to a compromise over this and get it sorted asap, it was a genuine mistake and I have a good credit rating.

Can anyone tell me my rights and the best course of action now? I would rather not go down the eviction/court route as I love living here and have done for the last 2 years.

Thanks

mrginge

Expect to be out on your ear within a couple of months.

'It is both our faults...' !!!!!!.

ValHaller

How was the rent going out? DD or Standing order?

In your position, I would argue that only January and July rent has been late - excessively so - and the rest has been on time. So only £60 plus 8%.

And I would hold the LL responsible for not notifying of a problem.

Do check your statements to make sure you really do owe the money.

princeofpounds

So why did it stop going being paid?

Pay what you think you owe immediately. Show them proof of rent that you did pay, and ask for their written schedule of rent payments so you can check for any discrepancies and work out how much you actually owe.

You may find that the LL drops the charges etc. If they aren't mentioned in the tenancy agreement it would be hard to make them stick, particularly if the rent has been brought up to date.

If you're very lucky you won't get a notice seeking possession, but you probably will.

chris_m

princeofpounds wrote: »

You may find that the LL drops the charges etc. If they aren't mentioned in the tenancy agreement it would be hard to make them stick, particularly if the rent has been brought up to date.

The OP said that the charges were detailed in the original tenancy agreement - surely if he's moved onto an SPT the terms of the original AST still apply?

00ec25

1. which is it?
- if it was genuinely a DD then the letting agent should have amended the amount requested to the new rent since a DD is controlled by the company requesting the money, not by you
- if, as is more likely it is in fact a standing order, then the responsibility is on you to change the SO since the bank will only accept instructions from you for SO, so the fault for underpaying rent is entirely yours ("both our faults" - utter rubbish)

2. is the £30 penalty and 4% interest rate mentioned in the contract? If not then it is unenforceable, if it is then you have a (small) chance of counter claiming that it is an unfair penalty rate rather than the reasonable cost of the late payment - se OFT guidance on unfair contract terms http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/reports/unfair_contract_terms/oft356.pdf
note this is guidance, not law, therefore you would need to bring a case to court to settle the contractual dispute. You may end up having to pay costs....

3. if you have "plenty of money" such that you can't be bothered to check your bank account for such a significant item as your monthly rental, then you have enough money to pay up now so what are you complaining about?

4. you are on a statutory periodic tenancy (SPT) which means your terms continue EXACTLY as they were in the original contract except for a) the notice period and b) any increase in rent, your post does not clarify whether your alleged underpayment is because you missed an entire month or because you continued to pay at an old rate. If the underpayment is due to a rent increase did you agree to this since patently you did not pay it therefore have not agreed to it by default ...

sandsni

Have you checked with your bank to see if/why the rent payments didn't go out if you have plenty of money? Did anything change in June/July that might account for the payments no longer going out as usual?


AFAIK apart from notice periods, the terms and conditions of the original tenancy would still apply even though you've gone on to a periodic tenancy, but someone may well correct me on that.

Guest101

dagourlay wrote: »

I am on a rolling month to month contract. My six month signed lease ended August 2012.

I was contacted today by my landlord notifying me I had six months late rent dating back to July 2013 and one month from January 2013. I was unaware I was late with rent and assumed the direct debit was going out, I don't check my bank as I have plenty of money and am not saving for anything. They have not contacted me at all for any late rent until tonight nor informed me of any late fees or interest.

They have levied £30 +4% late fees on me for every month plus the rent owed which are as per terms of my old signed lease but I have signed nothing since that ended so not sure if these still hold? They have told me I must pay tomorrow morning after informing me at 6pm this evening or further action will be taken.

Anyway I have been cooperative and willing to pay what is owed tomorrow, however I don't want to pay the late fees and interest as I feel they are excessive and it is both our faults the rent was not paid.

Furthermore the January rent was paid and I have proof of this therefore the money stated I owe is wrong anyway, and should only relate to the six months.

I am willing to be cooperative and pay up the rent owed immediately and even a goodwill gesture for late fees on top, but no way am I paying some £800 fees on top for a joint mistake. I have enough to cover the rent but not the extra fees in any case.

I want to come to a compromise over this and get it sorted asap, it was a genuine mistake and I have a good credit rating.

Can anyone tell me my rights and the best course of action now? I would rather not go down the eviction/court route as I love living here and have done for the last 2 years.

Thanks

4% per month? Hmm not likely enforceable.

But you should pay what u owe in rent