I need help with a new Tennant.
Contract and agreement of deposit (5 weeks) and 1st month rent has been agreed and signed. However I’ve had a message from the tenant this evening saying he can pay the deposit now but the rent cant be paid until the Friday 4th, when it’s due on the 1st.
Where do i stand with this.
Check if you have RGI and legal expenses cover. Ask OR support for your options but they will likely recommend not handing over keys. Ask your LL association and get legal advice
I’d probably then on tuesday pm tell him thats unacceptable as he’d be in breach of contract so you consider his proposal to be a withdrawal from the contract and you will get OR to cancel the contract. Contact Openrent and get them to return the holding deposit and end the contract/tenancy, dont hand over keys & consider yourself to have had a very lucky escape
@David122 may have advice. Legally I think under RRA you have no choice but to hand over keys on 1st, but tenant may not know that. In theory tenant can sue you for breach of contract if you dont but as you have evidence they are short of funds and proposed breaching the contract from day 1, and so have acted in bad faith when signing, it may be worth the risk. After all if you let them in they could be there a year with no rent (3m arrears, 4wk notice, average of 8 months from application for possession to eviction by bailiffs). If they sue for costs to them associated with lack of provision of the rental property you can maybe counter sue for loss of rent, costs to advertise and finding a new tenant.
What.you should have done is specify payment within a week of contract being signed, well before move in date. Unfortunately OR dont do this routinely
Good luck
Ps see this earlier case/thread
Tenant has yet to pay deposit or first month’s rent - Landlord Discussion - OpenRent Landlord & Tenant Forum
Also potentially a large fine for illegal eviction
Expect you wont be first or last such case post 1 may and OR will already have experience and advice
It’s very common for tenants to sign a contract and then realise that the rent day doesn’t match up with the date that their salary goes into their bank account. If that’s the reason, and everything else is good about this applicant, then you will need to change the rent day anyway. They could pay three days rent on the 1st and then a month’s rent on the 4th, or they could scrap the existing contract and just move in on the 4th.
But investigate carefully why they can’t pay till the 4th. If you’re not happy there’s a good reason then find a new tenant, you don’t want to be their landlord.
You could try suggesting the contract be amended to change the tenancy start date to 4th. Of course this may not work for the tenant if they need to move on 1st. Alternatively you could suggest an addendum to the agreement creating an initial period of 1st to 3rd and then regular calendar monthly periods thereafter from 4th to 3rd of each month. The tenant would then only have to pay the first 3 days of rent before moving in, (the “initial rent”), which may be doable. He would then pay a full month’s rent on 4th of each month. If you do this, make sure you follow the process outlined in section 8 of the Renters Rights Act.
Ultimately it’s not clear whether you can withhold possession until the tenant pays once the contract has been signed. Opinion I’ve read is divided on this point, with some very prominent lawyers seemingly unable to give a definitive answer.