Tenant wants to change rent payment date

He used to pay on the 25th and then after me chasing him for no rent coming in, he told me that he wanted to pay on the 1st as he has a new job.
This was a few months ago and he has continued to pay on the 1st.
I am not sure what I should send to him to agree this and what he owes me, pro rata. Please can anyone advise in very simple way!

send a letter asking for the difference in rent for the “missing” days

So that would be a one off payment?

He should have paid on the 25th but this is what he has been paying. It’s annoying to say the least, as we have many payments and rely on this money coming in.

28th April, 30th June, 3rd July, 31st July, 1st Sept.

What would you calculate as to what he owes. He pays ÂŁ1025 pcm

you are a landlady .you shouild be able to work it out . that is par for the course

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Not a helpful remark Colin. Maybe only reply if YOU can help.

Anyone else?

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Multiply rent times 12, then divide 365. That will be your daily rent amount.

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Just agree with him verbally that he can pay the rent a few days late. It doesnt change anything. The tenancy period will still be the same. I wouldnt ask for money to “fill the gap” as this will alter the payment date, which will then be out of sync with the tenancy period, which could cause confusion if you ever need to evict.

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Thank you David. That seems to be a sensible thing to do. It’s dealing with his haphazard paying in dates. Is there anything you can suggest about that?

From what youve said in your post, it doesnt sound haphazard, just a bit flaky for not asking in advance to change the payment date. However, if hes now paying consistently on 1st, I’d just confirm it over the phone, (not in writing) and leave it at that for the moment.

‘you are a landlady’ @Colin3
A Landlady runs a public house.

‘you shouild be able to work it out . that is par for the course’ @Colin3
You should show a bit of respect. And check your spelling.

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Landlord runs a pub . Landlady runs a pub. Landlord rents out. Landlady rents out . That shud b rite oops

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MAsh no use trying to send a private message . I never open them . If it cannot be said here in public I do not open it

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I really think they’re seriously unwell. All they do here is cause trouble and start quarrels. I’m really sorry for them. Care in the community doesn’t work.

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I had a tenant who after six months began paying a few days late then not at all, then caught up then went downhill again. I really wish now that we had evicted him when he began messing us about. I would give your tenant just one chance. If he continues paying regularly on the !st for the next year OK, but if he starts " slipping" with his payments again evict him. There are so many good tenants looking for good properties, that there is no need to put up with those who don’t pay when they should.

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It’s always a balance between being sympathetic to someone who is struggling and having someone take the p…s. I had one tenant who treated me like a bank, but he was genuine and always caught up the rent.

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Theyre all individuals with their own circumstances. You have to give people the benefit of the doubt when there’s not enough evidence to do otherwise.

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Yes I agree, that’s why I suggest letting him pay late, and monitoring him, but not keep giving him chance after chance as I did with my bad tenant.

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Take 6 days rent away from his deposit or
make him pay 6 days arrears assuming he moved in on a month with 31 days. Agree with him in writing. Problem solved

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Back in the days when I ran really large estates I learned the hard way that tenants who persistently miss rent days are never good news, always bad. Persistent arrears seldom improve, they usually get worse, and tenants who cause trouble are always bad news. I had my share of tenants who fell on hard times, and I hated having to deal with those situations, but I was employed to run a business, not a charity, and it’s best to leave charitable work to those who specialise and are trained in it.

Are you saying that the following is the case?
Rent due----Rent received
25 April------28 April - 3 days late
25 May------30 June - 36 days late
25 June-----3 July - 8 days late
25 July------31 July - 6 days late
25 August–1 September - 7 days late

I am not giving advice but if it were me I think I would recognise that there are no actual arrears at the moment and they have paid the rent which was due each month - they are just late every time. What I would do is calculate the interest which is due on the late payments, according to what the tenancy agreement says, and write a letter enclosing an invoice for the interest and stating that I do not tolerate late payments of rent and if the late payments persist I will re-possess the property in accordance with the Landlord & Tenant Act 1988. No need to be specific at this stage about which section of the Act I might have in mind. This tenant found the money to make payments of two months’ rent within 4 days of each other (30 June & 3 July) so they do seem to have access to funds.

By the way, if I have to write letters like this I do it the old fashioned way, by Royal Mail with a filed paper copy, but nowadays I always send an email with a copy of the letter.

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