My tenant has asked if he can move his rent due date from the 27th of each month to the 3rd of each month as he has a new job and this is when he will be now paid.
He has asked if he can therefore pay a weeks rent on the 27th and then the full months rent on the 3rd and thereafter.
Am I right in thinking this should be ok but leave the tenancy as the 27th?
Will this have any effect if once the AST finishes it reverts to a periodic tenancy? or is it best to provide another 12 months AST. The tenant is happy and wants to remain long term.
I always treat this type of request as a variation to the agreed rent in advance period which is usually one month in advance, so that instead of one month in advance you are agreeing that the rent is paid one month minus x days in advance. That way the monthly periodic date or how much rent is owing does not get confused. Be aware of tenants repeatedly using this ploy to be paying nothing in advance though, someone tried that on me and it was a sign they were considering leaving.
Thank you for your response. The tenant has been renting on a 12 month AST since last October. So are you saying that the month he paid in advance when he first moved in on the 27th Oct, will be now one month minus the days difference in this case 6 days? So don’t take the extra weeks rent between the 27th and the 3rd from them and just push back the rent payment until the 3rd but when the tenancy ever ceases he will only get one month minus 6 days monies back from the deposit? Also when the 12 mth AST ends in Oct is it ok to let it roll onto a periodic tenancy but keep the same tenancy date as the 27th? Sorry not come across this before. Also do I need to put this in writing to tenant as you say a variation to the agreed rent in advance period?
Jane, this is just the way I approach the situation, others might do it differently as the is no right out wrong answer. I think it is simplest to write a short note or email for the tenant to acknowledge saying something like… Following our discusion on the(date) we have agreed to change the date on which rent is due from the x of each month to the y of each month, starting with £z due on (date). All other terms of the tenancy agreement remain unchanged… And you can add if you want to be really clear… In the event the tenancy becomes a monthly periodic tenancy, those periods will continue to run from 27th of each month until the 26th of each month until either of us gives the other notice in accordance with clause xx.
This approach does not change the amounts you will get paid, only the timing. But watch out for tenants using the ploy to shift the payment date further and further back, because you are giving up an amount of the period you are being paid in advance.
Others may have different solutions, I just find this one the simplest.
Thankyou. This way is also simple when the tenant eventually leaves. Assume he gives you one month notice on the last day of a monthly periodic cycle, he’d still owe you a full month rent for his last month in your flat but that payment would not be due until the 3rd. If he defaults then the full amount would still come out of his deposit. The risk you are running is you get a little bit less warning of someone leaving if they choose not to pay the last months rent, which had happened to me a few times. Therefore it is a judgement how far you are happy moving the payment date depending on how much you trust a tenant. A few days is neither here nor there in my view, however if someone tries for 2 or more weeks then I’d be cautious. When someone tried this with me I counter offered to bring the payment date forward so it was 5 weeks in advance coinciding with the claimed salary date which flushed out their intention to leave.
Thanks Steve, that’s useful. I generally let tenants pay me just after their pay day. I write pretty much the same email as yours, but I haven’t included the line about the periodic tenancy. Will do so in future.