Do I owe two weeks’ rent after changing payment date?

[Tas86]

looking for someone else’s perspective on this ..
I have just moved out of my rented property. I moved in on the 16th of the month 12 years ago and gave my months notice on the 16th of April and moved out on the 16th of may.
I paid the rent on the 16th of the month per the tenancy agreement , however a few years ago due to my pay date from work I paid the rent at the end of the month instead of the 16th .. making my payments effectively 2 weeks roughly late, still paying the full months rent . My landlord is now saying I owe 2 weeks rent . My last payment was made 30th April which is effectively the 16th April - 16th May (the day I moved out)
my landlord is disputing this and threatening to take out my deposit.
if I owe the money I will pay it but I don’t think I do.

Why don't you think you owe it?

So you've been paying 2 weeks in arrears & 2 weeks in advance (roughly).
You've paid to 16th May & moved out on 16th May.
Unless you've actually missed a payment somewhere then it sounds like you have fully paid.

Did the landlord agree the change in the payment date & do you have any documentation of it?

Because although it was 2 weeks late it was still the full month paid and when you move in you pay for the month ahead . I moved out the same date my tenancy started

Did you go back to the right day after your late payment?

Not really got anything documented , he has never done anything correctly to be honest , all contact has been done via what’s app , even rent increases have been verbally or on a message. But that’s what I thought, surely if I owed 2 weeks rent then I would have missed 2 weeks somewhere which I haven’t

From what you've said you don't owe any rent.

Which two weeks is he thinking you haven't paid? Maybe ask him that

Is your deposit protected (in a scheme)?

He’s trying to say I pay for the full month at the end of the month. No matter how I try and explain it he just keeps arguing and getting nowhere .

Asking which 2 weeks they think you owe is a good idea.

Edit: cross posted with above reply.

Yes it is .

As the deposit is protected you should be okay, presumably you do have the initial contract so can evidence the tenancy dates etc.

Frustrating for you atm though. Hope you get it sorted.

He seems to think you’re paying a month in arrears, instead of half a month in arrears.
Not sure why he thinks this though.

Stop engaging let him try dispute via the deposit protection scheme and they have to prove you owe it

how will he do that

In that case when you switched payment dates you paid two weeks twice.

e.g
Payment on 16 June 2023 £1,000 to cover 16th June to 15th July 2023
Payment on 30th July 2023 £1,000 to cover 1st July to 30th July 2023 (his understanding)

In his example you double paid 1st to 15th July 2023 which he can offset with 1st to 16th May 2026

Change the dates and amounts to the relevant ones and include the bank snip if you can.

Yes very frustrating , feels like I’m going mad. There’s no reasoning with him

He’s trying to say I pay for the full month at the end of the month

Ask him why you had to pay a full month in advance then when you first moved in? Surely this shows that you pay in advance, and moved to 2 weeks in arrears, rest of month in advance.

Don't even bother engaging with him. Ask for your full deposit back from the scheme and he'll have to prove money is owed. Have your bank statements ready so you can show them you're fully paid up. Be glad to be away from him!

Exactly he doesn’t make sense to be honest . Think I will just block him and then dispute through the DPS as it’s stressing me out . I’m just glad to be out the property , 12 years and he never done anything to the property , in need of repairs . Nothing was ever done correctly , out of date gas and electric checks etc .. I hope he quits being a landlord to save anyone else the stress.thank you all for your replies

Just go on to your bank statements and print off every payment made. He will have to prove you missed a payment.

I wouldn't advise blocking him OP.

You might need a reference or something later on? Just mute him if he's bothering you and archive the chat.

Luckily he already gave a reference and I am now in a new property but yes will probably just archive it . Thank you

My Landlord did the exact same thing with us and most of the tenants in the block. My partner moved in on the 8th but used to pay on the 25th before his rent was due however when he was off work due to a bad accident the landlord was stressing at his rent being late on the 25th however much we argued it's not late til the 8th he wasn't having any of it, it was even more worrying as hes an accountant. The neighbout had the exact same issue with him she told me. when I took the tenancy into my name he let me pay every 4th week but after a year or so I figured out I was paying extra that way coz he rounded up the rent and it cost me an extra £30 a year that way.
Honestly there must be a school for landlords on how to make more money from your tenants.
I've now learnt to just put the money aside til the rent is due rather than try to make life a bit more easier coz in the long term it doesn't.

It doesn’t sound like you owe anything.

Can you download all the payments you have made to him from your bank account onto an Excel spreadsheet? The landlord can then compare that with the rent you should have paid. The two amounts should obviously be the same.

You owe it.. so pay and be kind and thank them for your home.

Your notice is usually month for the pay period. So if you pay on the 30th then the properly is your till the 30th. Moving out earlier doesn’t mean you are not liable for rent until the next period..