No Guarantor, paid 3 mnts rent + dep, now he wants another 3 months in advance

Aulden

Right so this is my first time on here. Basically I am a student, currently in my third year and have decided to move to another city a little further away from the city I study in (long story)

My parents financial situation isn't great so being a guarantor has always been a rocky area for them, plus I don't have any living relatives I can turn to for this, however up until now everything has been okay.

So in November I moved to the property I live in now, replacing a previous tenant who I knew. I was worried about the Guarantor issue and brought it up to the letting agent who told me I could pay 3 months rent + the deposit and I wouldn't need a guarantor, which was great for me because I was gearing up to pay 5 months + dep.

Now it's Feb and I'm a few days behind on my rent due to an ATM stealing my card not so long ago. When I got the call from the letting agents I told him I would be paying my rent in the next day or two, to which I he followed up by saying "The full 3 months yes?"

Now maybe I'm wrong (and now would be a good time to tell me) but I was always under the impression that when you pay your advance rent then that is the end of it, and you pay the rest as you would normally?

He went on to say it's also because I'm a student (?), but again I've never been in a property before where just because I was a student I had to pay all my terms rent up front. Though this is general student practice and I admit something I have done since starting uni, it was never actually a legal requirement as far as I was concerned? And in fact when I would be a few days behind on my rent for the term I would only ever be sent emails acknowledging that I needed to pay this months rent, not however much the letting agent decides.

He then said he told me in person when I signed that I would have to pay 3 months in advance, which I have absolutely no recollection of.

As for the reasons, usually I'd just pay the money in advance anyway but things have not gone that way financially for me since the start of this year and I literally only have enough money to cover this months rent, I am borrowing next months rent from a friend until my loan mid April when I can pay them back, but they cannot afford to loan me the money for March until... March, go figure right? And then as for April, well I won't have the money il half way through the month, which sucks but I was okay with paying late fees.

I checked my contract, which is a joint contract between me and the other tenants and the only mentions of rent on there are this it is to be £x PCM between all of us, and then under the rent and charges section it just says "To pay the rent on the days and in the manner specified by the landlords agent". I found this a bit of a confusing statement which I took either to mean that the rent specified in the contract (£x PCM) is payable and on the dates specified in the contact.
I also read it as meaning I should pay what was verbally agreed? I'm not good with contacts and it probably doesn't mean that anyway but for clarification, verbal contracts don't really count for a whole lot
So as far as I am aware it's not in my contract that I have to pay this large lump sum.

Basically this is stressing me out big time, I was stressed with not being able to pay the three months up front anyway but as you can see from above, I have a plan or at least I did. Whereas before I wanted a little job anyway it seems it might have to become a priority, in lieu of my uni work These next 6 weeks are crunch time for me when it comes to my uni work and now I'm so stressed wondering if I'll even have a property come then Any help or advice will be greatly appreciated, it's currently nearly half four in the morning and I'm writing this while shi***ng myself about going to see them tomorrow and to tell them apart from some menial living money left (under £100 til mid April) that I literally only have this months rent for them.

Pixie5740

If the tenancy agreement says that the rent is to be paid monthly then it is to be paid monthly regardless of the letting agent claims he told you verbally.

I don't see what why having your bank card swallowed by an ATM has to do with your rent being late though. Don't you have a standing order set up to pay your rent monthly?

AlexMac

A bit early for informed legal advice, because MSE Forum experts such as the regular poster G_M are probably sensibly still asleep, but given that your meeting is this morning, I'd say...
"Tough it out"!
You can't be evicted without a court process, and while you wouldn't want that, it won't happen and if it did it would take months.

Look the agent in the eye and say, your contract says £xxPCM, and that's what you'll pay. That's probably what any Court would interpret the contract as saying anyway. Assure him (or her) they'll get their rent, monthly, in future.

The worst that will happen is that you get a carp Landlord's reference...

You'll face much tougher challenges in the next 60 years (in my experience) so "conduct yourself now as you wish to be judged by others"

Good luck!
(oh, and if you want to succeed at Uni, get more sleep and de-stress!)

Aulden

Sorry it's taken me so long to reply but thank you so much for this, re-assured me to no end!

G_M

Aulden wrote: »

..... (long story)..... yup!

........ yup!

So in November I moved to the property I live in now,....I could pay 3 months rent + the deposit and I wouldn't need a guarantor,.....

...... When I got the call from the letting agents I told him I would be paying my rent in the next day or two, to which I he followed up by saying "The full 3 months yes?"
What does your tenancy agreement say? Please quote it exactly.

Now maybe I'm wrong (and now would be a good time to tell me) but I was always under the impression that when you pay your advance rent then that is the end of it, and you pay the rest as you would normally?
No. You pay however the contract specifies you pay. Read the contract.

He went on to say it's also because I'm a student (?), irrelevant
blah blah........ all irrelevant

He then said he told me in person when I signed that I would have to pay 3 months in advance, which I have absolutely no recollection of.
What does the contract say?

As for the reasons, ....... more irrelvant (you're right - long story!)

I checked my contract, Wow! At last!
which is a joint contract between me and the other tenants
so it is not just you who is in arrears, it is all of you.
and the only mentions of rent on there are this it is to be £x PCM between all of us, and then under the rent and charges section it just says "To pay the rent on the days and in the manner specified by the landlords agent".
If the contract
a) specifies a monthly figure, and
b) makes no mention of the frequency of payment
then it can be assumed the rent should be paid monthly

It cannot be left open-ended for the agent to later decide how/when he wants payment.

I found this a bit of a confusing statement which I took either to mean that the rent specified in the contract (£x PCM) is payable and on the dates specified in the contact.
Does the contract specify dates payable? That is not what you said above?!

I also read it as meaning I should pay what was verbally agreed? No

So as far as I am aware it's not in my contract that I have to pay this large lump sum.
Unless
a) it lists specific dates on which rent is payable, (see the confusion above) or
b) says "payable 3 monthly in advance" (or similar)
then you should pay monthly.

How did you get on when you saw them?

You do realise that since you share a 'joint and several' tenancy with your joint tenants, you are all equally liable for the full rent, so this affects all of you.

You are not just each responsible for 'your share'.