Landlord want me to pay cash but to someone else

kinger101

If he insists on cash.....

tom9980

Just become a broken record.

please supply me with your bank details so I can setup a standing order as outlined in the tenancy agreement. 

Every single attempt to persuade you otherwise should be met with the same response.

greatcrested

tom9980 said:

Just become a broken record.

please supply me with your bank details so I can setup a standing order as outlined in the tenancy agreement. 

Every single attempt to persuade you otherwise should be met with the same response.

This is poor advice which may result in the tenant going into rent arrears. Whatever the tenancy says, the tenant has an obligation to pay the rent.

Plus relying on the wording in the TA would not work anyway since

In the agreement itself it says “The Rent shall be paid clear of unreasonable or unlawful deductions or set off to the Landlord by standing order or such other method as the Landlord shall require”.

theartfullodger

corky6c said:

theartfullodger said:

a) Do you have an address for him? (If not no rent is due anyway).

b) What does the tenancy agreement state about how (eg cash, cheque, bank transfer) rent is paid please?  And to whom? 

I'd be inclined to simply post him a cheque each month, take scan of it.

He sounds like a cheat and a crook & a tax fiddler. 

Yes, I have his address, one that is written done in the TA. In the agreement itself it says “The Rent shall be paid clear of unreasonable or unlawful deductions or set off to the Landlord by standing order or such other method as the Landlord shall require”.

This is what worries me as it state that any method of payment is acceptable so it doesn’t rule out cash?

Note the "or" which means you can chose either or.

So simply continue paying by standing order: Lovely, easy method, you can easily prove you paid how-much & when & you'd be complying with the tenancy agreement.  Landlord has no grounds for complaint (but obvs can evict you with Thatcher's s21..)

greatcrested

theartfullodger said:

corky6c said:

theartfullodger said:

a) Do you have an address for him? (If not no rent is due anyway).

b) What does the tenancy agreement state about how (eg cash, cheque, bank transfer) rent is paid please?  And to whom? 

I'd be inclined to simply post him a cheque each month, take scan of it.

He sounds like a cheat and a crook & a tax fiddler. 

Yes, I have his address, one that is written done in the TA. In the agreement itself it says “The Rent shall be paid clear of unreasonable or unlawful deductions or set off to the Landlord by standing order or such other method as the Landlord shall require”.

This is what worries me as it state that any method of payment is acceptable so it doesn’t rule out cash?

Note the "or" which means you can chose either or.

So simply continue paying by standing order: Lovely, easy method, you can easily prove you paid how-much & when & you'd be complying with the tenancy agreement.  Landlord has no grounds for complaint (but obvs can evict you with Thatcher's s21..)

Not quite artful:

I'd interpret that as meaning it is the LL who can 'require' some other method rather than the tenant having a choice.

But be that as it may, provided the tenant pays the rent there's really nothing the LL can do.

And the tenant here can't " simply continue paying by standing order" as the LL has not provided the necessary bank details. Hence my recommendation to send a cheque.

corky6c

Yes, I haven’t got his account details to set up the standing order. He said he was going to advise after he talks to his bank to see if there is another option, this was before I mentioned paying by cheque. I then said I would send a cheque over to his address, as that is a viable option rather than cash and he just blanked it and said he’ll confirm this week.

greatcrested

corky6c said:

Yes, I haven’t got his account details to set up the standing order. He said he was going to advise after he talks to his bank to see if there is another option, this was before I mentioned paying by cheque. I then said I would send a cheque over to his address, as that is a viable option rather than cash and he just blanked it and said he’ll confirm this week.

Great! But you are simply repeating yourself. Just get a letter with a cheque in the post and move on with your life.

Rent paid - job done.

princeofpounds

greatcrested said:

Not quite artful:

I'd interpret that as meaning it is the LL who can 'require' some other method rather than the tenant having a choice.

But be that as it may, provided the tenant pays the rent there's really nothing the LL can do.

And the tenant here can't " simply continue paying by standing order" as the LL has not provided the necessary bank details. Hence my recommendation to send a cheque.

It's ambiguous. And if there is any ambiguity in a consumer contract, the interpretation should fall on the side of the party that did not draft the contract. So I'm with Artful on the technical interpretation of that clause. Although practically speaking it's better not to upset the landlord, paying in cash is one thing I'd almost always baulk at; it's very risky for the tenant to fall into a he said/she said situation.

OP - 
Have you checked at the land registry who actually owns the title for your property? It only costs £3 and it may be worth it, just to make sure that your landlord is the owner. Insisting on payment in case is generally a sign of a scam, although it's more likely to be perpetrated against HMRC than you perhaps. 

If you do decide to do it, it is essential to get written instruction from the landlord saying who his agent is. Never hand over any money until you have checked and taken a photo of their ID, and then get a proper receipt each time - date, amount etc.

pramsay13

I think you're over complicating things.
Simply get a signed receipt from whoever comes to pick up the cash.
If you have a message from the landlord saying I will send my aunt on this date for cash and a signed receipt for the right amount on the same date the landlord would find it impossible to convince anyone he is still owed money.
It might be a bit inconvenient but better to keep your new landlord on your side rather than antagonising him from the outset.

Herbalus

pramsay13 said:

I think you're over complicating things.
Simply get a signed receipt from whoever comes to pick up the cash.
If you have a message from the landlord saying I will send my aunt on this date for cash and a signed receipt for the right amount on the same date the landlord would find it impossible to convince anyone he is still owed money.
It might be a bit inconvenient but better to keep your new landlord on your side rather than antagonising him from the outset.

I think the landlord is complicating things by asking for cash which requires multiple trips to a cash point over several days and then having to be in when this mysterious aunt comes knocking. It’s a faff, even if a legitimate request, to make this a lengthy and manual process each month.

You're also discounting the possibility that it’s not the genuine landlord saying this, and then a fraudster turns up to collect. Emails can be intercepted/manipulated and fraud happens.