Hi, I need inputs from other landlords, I just moved in to a new house and the agreement says my rent is due on the 29th of every month. Got a message from my landlady 2 days back asking if she will be getting the rent by Monday and I told her my wages comes in on the last working day of every month and as thus I can only pay her on the 30th which is a day later but she went further to say I have to pay £42 for the extra day. This is so confusing and I need advice please.
Does your tenancy agreement say that you have to pay by standing order?
What is £42 for
You don’t need to pay anything on a day late
Charges are applicable if it’s included as a clause in your contract as per TFA 2019
Interest payments accrue at day 14
At3% above BoE base rate if documented
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Under any circumstances do not pay more as by doing that you’ll be agreeing on a rent increase.
How much is your rent? I have assumed your rent level works out at £42 per day, and she has suggested this because you are paying a day late. If you then paid ‘on time’ next month, you would pay £42 less to balance it out. If you continue to pay late, then its not £42 less, as the pre-payment is carried forward.
It seems silly her doing this, as it makes keeping rent records more difficult for both of you. That said, you should have discussed this payment date requirement with her on signing, when the rental agreement could easily have been changed to reflect the later payment date.
I suggest you have a chat with her to understand the nature of the £42. If it is as I say above, then I would be clear in writing, that this isn’t changing the rent amount, but instead reflects a day of rent being paid with the earlier months rent, due to the late payment date. Be clear it is not a ‘charge’, just a days rent being paid early.
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You do not have to pay her £42.
If you are unsuccesful in persuading your landlady to be flexible on this you could speak to your bank, explain the situation, and ask your bank to grant you an overdraft facility.
The size of the overdraft facility would be the amount of rent you pay each month. The purpose of the overdraft facility would be to bridge the gap between your rent being due on the 29th and your salary coming in a day or two later. The bank will probably charge a small arrangement fee for the facility and when you use the overdraft you will have to pay a day or two of interest, but you bring the discussion witrh your landlady to an end.
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There are 2 ways for a landlord to deal with this issue. The first is to do nothing and just accept that the rent will always be a day late. The second is to formally change the rent payment date. I wouldnt recommend the latter as it can cause confusion, but it is a valid approach. It requires an extra payment to cover the gap, but the date then shifts permanently. You should check with your landlord whether the £42 is payment for the extra period.
The added complication with changing payment dates at the end of the month is that the number of days per month varies so when you get paid on 31st youll still be late paying. I would suggest you speak to her about these issues and suggest that its handled informally with you just paying as soon as you get paid.
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Thanks for your response, and no the tenancy agreement doesn’t state anything of such as I took out time to go through every detail again today and there’s nothing like that
It isn’t included in the agreement although she claims our last months rent will be that amount less. Now my concern is, what happens when next months comes and 31st being the last working day of next month will I then be made to pay £84 and subsequent months as well. Thanks for the response though
Thanks for the response
The rent is £1250. Exactly my concern as at the end we might come to an argument as to what is owed or what has been paid. Thanks for the response
Thanks for the response
Exactly what I’ve been telling her. Thanks for the response
I’d also recommend putting aside as much as you can afford each month into a savings account so that you have enough money to pay rent in the future without having to wait for your wage to drop. Even £10 a month will get you started towards that.
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I am currently homeless and am looking so hard for a place and am very jubious about this open rent I’ve msgd landlords and they haven’t got bk to me but ask for money to secure tenancy what’s all this about? I’m desperate to be housed as I’ve had to flee domestic violence. Anyway I know this doesn’t answer your question but in all honesty why would anyone be charged a fee when you told her when your wages are due. This is what I mean as long as they get their rent every month what is the problem 
Its probably not a fee.
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I would ask the landlady for the rent to be moved to the first of each month. And be prepared to pay a day or so’s rent, as a one-off, to cover the gap to that new timeframe. (I have agreed this with my tenants in the past, and it wasn’t a problem for either of us)
Although I am baffled why you didn’t discuss this with your landlady before moving in. That’s the time to sort this sort of thing.
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You shouldn’t have signed up to a rent payment date that didn’t work for you. You have messed your landlord around by signing the tenancy agreement and only raising this issue now. Most of the replies to your question do not seem to appreciate this.
The small additional payment requested is to cover the extra day’s rent for the first month. If you didn’t pay it then you would be getting a day for free in your first month, which obviously isn’t fair to your landlord. You definitely should be paying for it and you are fortunate that your landlord is not allowed to charge you a fee for their time which your request is taking up.
Please don’t continue to dispute it on the strength of the contrary replies you’ve received, because they are all wrong.
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I think that’s a bit harsh. Rent is due on the day the tenant moves in and the same date every month thereafter. Tenants don’t usually have any choice about when they need to move.
The landlord is perfectly at liberty to accept rent a few days late without changing the dates that it covers. In fact this is usually better for the landlord as it avoids the confusion of having the tenancy period and the rent payment date out of sync.
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Harsh but fair!
The rent payment date can be whatever is agreed and written in to the tenancy agreement on day one. Changing it now creates hassle for the landlord that could have easily been avoided. Don’t sign a contract if you don’t like the terms! To do that and then quibble over the additional day’s rent (which is due) is unreasonable. Although I suspect it’s compounded by a lack of understanding over what the small additional payment is actually for.
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