UK Landlord Forum / Life

  my tenants moved in 27/09/13. they are always paying late. I've agreed they can pay me on the 30 th But I am now being paid 3rd of every month. It goes to the agent 3rd (if it is a working day and I get it 3- 5 days after that date,). I even agreed to sign an addedunm from 27/12/13-02/01/13. Tenant is refusing to sign what can I do . Agents are no help

Its not really late. It's just banking and administration delay.

As long as its the same each month, I would say no biggy.

Your cash flow is too tight if this small issue is causing you a problem, you need to address that.

Thanks for your reply. What I was trying to get at was they have signed a tenancy agreement to pay on the 27 th of every month. They should be paying letting agent  on 23rd of every month. SO have they broken their tenancy agreement.? . I agreed verbally to let them pay me the 30th  nothing is in writing. BUT now I receive it may be the 10 or 11 th of every month.  I have a mortgage to pay and have been asked by the letting agents can I pay them later. I think not. I am sorry if you think I am making a mountain out of a mole hill BUT where is the tenants responsibility in all this.
So we gone from the 23 of every moth to the 10 th of every month that I am receiving rent, is this fair
regards

N.B I would also like to add; that under the residential tenancy act. I am entitled to receive the rent by midnight on the day it is due

Why people think that this thing called the law is there to protect them I'll never know.

If you know the law, crack on, issue a writ, a summons, instruct your legal team to pursue those nasty slovenly tenants with the full might of the law.

Even though you verbally agreed that they could pay it on the 30th, meaning it reaches the Agent on 3rd - 5th depending on weekends, and you get it on the 8th- 11th, again depending on weekends......

Come on, if you got paid monthly at the end of the month, you asked to pay it at the end of the month, and then your landlord who can't manage his own cash flow starts getting upitty when it's not with him the same day, HOW WOULD YOU FEEL??

Oh I know you would probably post a question on a forum, then when you dont get the reply you were after start getting shitty and quoting legal text, saying its not fair and spitting your dummy out the pram.? Or is that just me??

excuse me but who is getting out of their pram. Not me. I didn't want to say all the other things that have gone wrong  regarding tenants I just thought that I might get some sound advice silly me...  The tenants demand 24/7 which I as a good landlord reply. There no need to be so awful at me. How would you feel if your pay day was changed for work. And you didn't receive your money on time who would be shouting then.
The tenants have broken kitchen equipment broken gas cooker although some how it's my fault and put nails in all the walls without asking. I won't go on.
It isn't a cash flow problem it is a mortgage problem. We all have our bills to pay.  Come on who is being reasonable here
Could it be that you are a tenant?

P.S CAN I now not verbally agree for them to pay me on the 30 th as they are refusing to pay me the extra bit. Please note that I thought that I might get some help from my letting agents that is why I approached this forum for sound advice.

sloughj - you say that the rent goes to the Agent first.

Can I ask - what is the Letting Agent doing for you? It sounds, to me, like you are employing them to do rent collection for you. In my eyes that means you should not be getting involved at this level. The Letting Agent is supposed to be there to remind the Tenant, to chase the Tenant, to ensure the Tenant pays their rent. They do this via text messages, calls, home visits (to a certain extent). I am genuinely unsure what you are involved at this level for. A clear demarcation of responsibilities when you are paying a Letting Agent for a rent collection service says you should not be involved like it seems you might be. Can I enquire why you are not talking to the Letting Agent and laying things on the line for them? Something along the lines of "if you can't collect the rent when you are supposed so, I will find someone who can"? On the other hand, if you have been verbally agreeing things directly with the Tenants (say it ain't so) then the Letting Agent might be pulling their hair out with you... I dunno, you have to tell us.

My perspective is simple, though - you appear to be paying a Letting Agent to do rent collection (in practice this means receiving a bank transfer, reducing the amount by their fee, sitting on it a few days, then arranging a bank transfer to you) so why not encourage them to do this, on time, each and every month? I say this understanding that there may well be further background I'm not aware of.

Quote from: sloughj on February 03, 2014, 04:58:54 PMPlease note that I thought that I might get some help from my letting agents...

Agreed. You should step back and instruct the Letting Agent to do what you are paying them for - that is to collect the rent on the date that is written down in the contract, then pass some of it onto you, surely?

Thank you for all your replies. The tenant since moving in have been receiving 7 days late letter. I have had an e mail from the agent in Oct 13 telling me that tenants cannot pay QUOTE " bad news I am afraid the tenants are struggling to pay their rent." ( they earn over 70 k a year). I have asked letting agents what happens when late letters keep being sent how long does this gone on for, but have not had a direct answer. Unfortunately the tenants have had a few things go wrong central heating broke down had heaters provided by me but are now trying to reduce rent and charge me for their electricity bill. I thought the letting agents acted on my behalf.
I think that the tenant has a legal background and are afraid to act.. Yes I know what am I paying them for. This is all new too me and I am uncertain where I come into the picture. I don't want to be too specific about everything. But we did and inspection recently letting agent said nothing about nails in the wall broken kitchen unit that has been fixed. I was invited by agent but told by tenant that it was unusual for landlord to attend and legally I should not be their. See what I mean . I don't want it to sound that it is all me as I have said they have had a few problems which have been addressed almost immediately. I just feel fish out of water thanks

If I was paying an Agent for a Full Management Service, I would want to be as removed from the situation as I possibly could be. I do not know if you are paying them for this, but it's obviously not just Tenant Find (could be something more bespoke, inbetween). That said, I'd never pay an Agent for Full Management Service as I have not yet come into contact with one who was trustworthy or competent. You do appear to be in a muddle with a complete mix-up in responsibilities.

Agents are supposed to be able to have difficult conversations with Tenants on the Landlord's behalf - that's part of the 'service', right? If things don't change for the better, the Agent is supposed to be able to advise you and progress things for you... using their 'skills', their 'knowledge' and 'experience'.

I don't think I can advise you any further other than to say you should possibly consider ceasing working with the Tenants and give your Agent a quick kick up the backside (especially if they are employed on a Full Management Service basis - which only you will know).

thanks for the advice. and yes  am paying for a full managed service. Can I say no to paying electric bill and reduced rent

It wasn't so much me acting like a tenant ( heaven forbid) BUT you choose to exclude some vital information.

The central heating had broken
They were inconvenienced by this, and by the costs of your interim measure.
You are unhappy with a nail being put in the wall
You are aware of some damage.

I stand by the fact you agreed a change in pay date, and fail to accept that the fact you use an agent will delay this by the 10 days or so you described.


I stand by the fact that cash flow wise you should NOT be relying on getting the rent to pay the mortgage in the same month. What if the property goes void? You should have enough cash to support a three month void minimum. Shoulda woulda coulda, I know, but it's what you should be aiming for to reduce this sort of stress.

Please don't give half the facts and expect a balanced and fitting reply to your specific issue.

Reading the replies, I think you are just a little naive, and would support the assertion you do more to make the Agents work for you.

Good luck.

The advice about the letting agents is sensible.
The tenants are probably paying you when they get paid - they have cash flow issues too.

If you're not happy with the tenants behaviour, why not ask them to leave (whenever you can do that).

If you're having issues paying your mortgage, call your building society and change the date you pay.
It's normally not difficult - you might have an admin fee and a small adjustment in interest, but you lose a lot of stress.

Hi My letting agents have stated that I signed a  24 month AST. They have stated in the clauses of the tenancy agreement. The tenants signed 26/09/13.-27/09/15.
There is a break clause in the agreement, however this is after 18 months duration, this means that you are unable to serve notice until March 2015.
If they are in serious breach of their tenancy agreement then you can seek legal advice and request that your solicitor serves notice but this would be for i.e.  rent arrears, or anti-social behaviour etc.
sss Does this mean that I am unable to ask them to leave. I now have a list of things that they say need doing to the house which I dispute. I really just want them to leave.  Please note dates that agreements was signed is this significant . Sorry but I don't think I am getting this out of proportion. The lettings agents have not contacted tenants re late rent every month .What can I do. Can I refuse to do  the things on the inventory that they have stated or am I obliged by law to do them. (I.E. broken blind)
thanks

The Inventory is a document that describes the contents of the property. This nearly always acts in a secondary / double capacity, as a Schedule of Condition - describing the condition of the contents, as well as things like walls etc. - like "good condition" / "3 inch scratch in wooden floor" / "showing signs of wear-and tear".

If the Tenants agreed with the Inventory (and Schedule of Condition) at the time of moving in, then they agreed with the condition of the property and its contents. There is no obligation on the Landlord to fix things like broken blinds (although it does not say how they are broken). However, a Landlord has other obligations - a Landlord must keep the structure of the property in good condition, you must ensure there is a supply of hot water, that kind of stuff.

It sounds like you are in for quite a long ride - I have not heard of anyone ever signing a 2 year AST in this manner. You may have been taken advantage of by your Letting Agent, I don't know. The Tenants cannot be evicted for rent arrears due to what you have described so far. Your Letting Agent still appears to be doing nothing for you. What do you think you are actually paying them for? How much are you paying them? Do you feel you are getting value for money?

The AST dates are... er... interesting... 2 years and 2 days?

All that said... I, personally, would not probably be classing what is going on here as a "serious breach of their Tenancy Agreement". You are getting paid, in full, I gather... but you feel aggrieved by the delays being experienced.

Hippogriff
many many thanks for your help and advice. It was very informative.
I am just now waiting for them to provide me with electricity bill for not have central heating for 2 days (advise by my letting agent) Secondary heating was provided for. But hey ho that's life.

Not sure how blind got broken it was fine 3 months ago.. Anyway thanks once again much appreciated

can I also add that one of the tenants failed there CRA  check. I did not find this out until I signed tenancy agreement. I did queried it but felt pressurised to sign as they were moving in. Can I do anything

Don't know how long you have been a landlord but you will soon realise everything is stacked against us .its not like any other business if you get the rent late so be it .once you get a bad tenant not paying ,you'll look back on these as being fantastic tenants.

Thank you for your reply. and I don't think so. Am new landlord talk about a learning curve

Have you tried speaking to a body that estate agents register with? Someone who could tell them that they are not doing their job? Also, did you not say in the contract that rent should be paid by standing order? I put that as a condition of the contract - that way it's easier to avoid delays.

Just read thread in more detail I take back that I said they are fantastic tenants .But at least your getting paid that's the main thing .

I am told to treat this as a business. ok so if they signed agreement on 27th do they still have until 26th to pay me. I have so far provided gas cooker fixed kitchen unit, tightened bathroom tap been as obliging as I can. Can they pay me when they feel like it. They have gone back to the letting agent refusing to sign addedum .What do I do if 1 of them fails there CRA check. Sorry to go on but--- my plumber is fed up with them to....

Why not terminate the let?
They don't sound like tenants that you want to work with.

When does the assured term end?

24 MONTHS AST. Am going to take a step back. It has been a very steep learning curve