To ask landlord if I pay the rent late?

[needtogobacktowork]

Hi, our rent is due today but we are a little short after paying an unexpected bill and also DH taking a week off work when the babies were ill to help look after them.

I have enough to pay it but it will leave us with nothing to live off for the next to weeks. Do you think it's a reasonable request if I ask to pay £100 less and catch up in 2 weeks when I get my maternity pay?

We have no previous rent arrears and have been in the property did over s year but he was also out landlord ar our last property so we have known him s while.

I’ve been a landlord and would be fine with this. You’ve been there long enough for the LL to know this is unusual for you.

I wouldn’t do this. You are asking him to take the hit for your misfortune. If he refuses you might be offended. If you ask he might be offended. Keep your nose clean with your rent.

I'm a landlord and that's perfectly reasonable. I would have no issue with that at all.

Could you or your DH ask for an advance on your salary / maternity pay? Some employers will do this so it could be worth asking.

OP and DH both work so unless they have poor credit they're likely to get some sort of credit card even if it's only 0% for 6 weeks. I'd be trying anything to pay the rent.

Thank you, I'm going to try and borrow off some family first before I ask, obviously it's not an ideal situation but if nobody can help I will have no other option than to ask landlord.

Not that it should make a difference to me paying the rent on time but he is the owner of an estate agency and has a lot of properties so I don't think it will affect him too much if I pay some of the rent late.

I agree with DH needing to go to work , I didn't ask him to take the time off but was glad he did really as our newborn was very ill and needed me constantly and I had no time at all for ds1, he was poorly too but not as bad as baby.

I know he may not see it that way but it's not a sign we can't afford the rent it's just been a tough month, the property ha gas and electric pay as you go metres which are obviously more expensive and with it being so cold the heating has been on all the time.

Also he knows what I earn when I work so hopefully he won't look at this like it will be a regular thing, all our savings have been used up buying things for the new baby and topping up our income while I am on smp.

Is there nobody you can ask to borrow the £100 from? I’d be looking to do that rather, and only be asking the landlord as an absolute last resort. It will flag up that you have money issues (however temporary they may be) and while they’re not likely to turf you out right away - it takes time to find a new tennant, and time is money - they may not be keen to renew your tenancy.

OP have a look into getting a credit card for emergencies. Uswitch provide an eligibility check to see how likely you are to be accepted for different cards.

It doesn't matter how rich the landlord is or how many properties he's has, it's important not to get into rent arrears for you.

Oh and no I don't have any credit cards I have always avoided then and I really don't want to get s pay day loan.

Bit off topic and not a dig, just wondering, but why did you have to spend all your savings on things for a new baby when you already have one? Didn't you keep anything from the first baby?

You don't need to avoid credit cards if you're sensible with them and money. Do agree with avoiding payday loans though, like the plague!

What was the unexpected bill?

Could you ask the bank for an overdraft/increased overdraft then pay it off as soon as the money comes in.

You are where you are, so you have to do whatever you need to get through.

We had a tenant who did this a lot. It was a lot of hassle to sort out. Do it once and I think anyone would make an allowance though.

Congrats on the new baby, focus on that and hopefully everything will sort itself out once your maternity pay kicks in.

If you are otherwise good tenants I would agree to this (and have agreed to similar when a self employed tenant missed work due to illness).
However, if it kept happening then my patience would wear thin. So, put a plan in place e.g. save up an emergency fund or get a credit card for emergencies or an agreed overdraft with your bank so you can cover a situation like this again.

If I was a landlord again I would be very wary of your request.
Only because I have been bitten before. What seemed to be a reasonable request that I granted was the start of a slippery path of erratic and then final no payments.

Personally as a LL I would say no.

I’d be even less likely to ask if he’s the owner of the agency. If he does have an objection and chooses not to renew your tenancy then that’s a whole agency and all of their properties that you’ll essentially be blacklisted from. Fingers crossed you can borrow some money.

In future, if the kids both get sick again (kids get sick, it’s going to happen) as the SAHP you need to deal with them on your own. Yes it will be difficult and horrible but it’s really not sensible for your DH to take an entire week off when things are so tight financially. SMP sucks but you need to make smarter choices that don’t leave you short to pay your rent.

I would rather get a credit card than risk being asked to leave my home. Rent and council tax are priority bills - I would make sure they are paid above anything else.

Apply for a credit card or an authorised overdraft and pay them back with your maternity pay. You'll be £100 in "debt" either way but I'd rather owe £100 on a credit card or overdraft than be behind on my rent!

Good luck.

It sounds like you are going to have to start making a few sacrifices. It might not have been a good decision for your dh to take time off work when both of your dc were ill as it was something you couldn’t afford to do. Same with the heating really. Mine isn’t on all day. We are cold instead.

I think it's a bit cheeky to be honest. How many properties the landlord has is irrelevant. I think you should be looking at other ways of raising what is a relatively small amount first. Maybe sell stuff or a credit card?

Ask, as a land lord I'd have no problem as a one off and being ignored would be a huge red flag.. But if it happened again it would indicate that you can't afford the property and I wouldn't renew your tenancy. Given tenants can stay for free until eviction - lack of rent doesn't speed up the process - and property rental is a business, late payers don't get many chances.

Please please please do NOT get a payday loan if you can avoid it.

I'm a LL and get asked this quite a bit and we don't mind. As long as it's paid later. We understand these things happen and would hate to see someone short or go without if it's in our power to help them.

We fallen on hard times but the rent has always been a priority. I think if the rent is due today why did you not inform your landlord sooner it’s far too short notice.