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AIBU?

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Original poster

Landlord asking why we don’t have emergency funds

198 replies

JustDrained48 · 10/04/2019 23:52

We’ve rented the same property for 2 years.
We’ve always paid bang on date.
I’ve recently changed jobs which meant a change to my pay dates for the first month.
I immediately emailed our landlord to tell him this monthly rent would be a day late but would follow the original date here after.
Obviously I said I was sorry & hoped this was ok.
He sent a v long email by return stating that we needed to explain to him why we didn’t have emergency funds to cover these one off occurrences.
Should I even grace him with an answer?

OP posts:
KaleidoscopeEyes · 11/04/2019 02:36

Blimey, not everyone has emergency funds to fall back on! A lot of us live hand to mouth you know.

Mommaof2x · 11/04/2019 02:46

Wow that’s harsh
My tenants always pay me late and I don’t even say anything
Maybe I’m meant to Confused

Tweety1981 · 11/04/2019 02:59

I think it’s not a given that you should expect him to accept late rent .

I know someone ( a landlord ) who started accepted late payments and it just got worse and worse until the tenant owed 12 months rent . At that point it became very difficult to remove the tenant and recover the funds , which thankfully he did .

My previous landlord got jittery because my tenancy was agreed when I was on probation in a new job . I did get the room . But the landlord did want payments on time.

At the end of the day they can’t delay their mortgage repayments etc so they need to have the funds on time too... I must admit I’d be concerned that a tenant didn’t have emergency funds enough to cover a months rent ... it means that if you lost your job you’d be struggling to pay the rent immediately . Most people have back up funds I would’ve thought.

The only time my landlord has been ok to accept late payments for me was when the landlord was a university at student halls .

HalfBearOtherHalfCat · 11/04/2019 03:01

I'm a landlord, and a tenant letting me know they would be a day late with the rent as a one-off after two years of paying on time wouldn't cause me any concern, much less trigger a lengthy email response.

I'd feel glad I had actually been told, because it implies you are well aware that even being 'just' a day late is not good, and are bothered by it - so I wouldn't have to add you to my list of tenants to worry about.

I'd be sorely tempted to ignore his missive, but I suppose in the interests of not souring things with him any further you can offer another apology and emphasize that it will not be happening again and explain it is due to unique circumstances revolving around a new job.

ColeHawlins · 11/04/2019 03:06

He sounds like an arse.

PCohle · 11/04/2019 03:07

He's probably just worried that your finances are precarious and that you may have difficulty paying rent in the future in case of e.g. illness. Many landlords require credit checks etc. and I don't think it's unreasonable of a landlord to be worried about a tenant's financial position.

He doesn't sound like he's gone about it in a particularly polite manner but to be honest I don't think unilaterally informing him that your rent will be late is very polite either.

ColeHawlins · 11/04/2019 03:09

I don't think unilaterally informing him that your rent will be late is very polite either.

She can't negotiate if she doesn't have the funds. Warning him is politer than not warning him.

PCohle · 11/04/2019 03:12

Generally speaking the advice to tenants in these situations is to, at the very least, offer to pay as much as they can.

ColeHawlins · 11/04/2019 03:14

And to keep the landlord unilaterally informed.

PCohle · 11/04/2019 03:18

Well you can think it's acceptable all you want but clearly it does piss off landlords, because it has done here 🤷‍♀️

ColeHawlins · 11/04/2019 03:21

Well he can be upset, but that doesn't make OP's efforts to keep him informed impolite, and it doesn't make his questions about emergency funds polite. Neither will it help her summon up extra cash.

PCohle · 11/04/2019 03:25

I don't think having an upset landlord is really in OP's long term interests if she likes the property.

ColeHawlins · 11/04/2019 03:27

What else can she do?

PCohle · 11/04/2019 03:42

Answer his questions politely and offer to pay as much as she can on the date the rent is a actually due.

In the future, ask the landlord in advance if it's acceptable rather than just "informing" him it's happening. If at all possible given personal circumstances, consider the ramifications major financial decisions like changing jobs will have on your ability to make rent payments before committing, if you don't have any savings to bridge the gap.

IamtheDevilsAvocado · 11/04/2019 04:20

But you can't negotiate if you just don't have access to funds... Whether it be overdraft /card whatever...

Yes it's against the letter of the agreement.... But it is 24 hours.... Not a month late.... Often glitches in the bank system makes payments to up to 24 hours later....

Also... If he needs to draw the cash the DAY after you pay him, he needs to reschedule HIS payments... I once found this out about an old landlord... He was moaning that another tenant was always late paying... The pay date was 1st and he arranged a whole lot of debuts to come out of his account on the 2 and 3rd...leavibf absolutely no wriggle room.... He didn't seem to bright....

IamtheDevilsAvocado · 11/04/2019 04:21

Also I would ignore the question re emergency funds and say something like... I'm sorry for the 24 hour delay... It was a one off... Love and kisses... Etc etc

Playmytune · 11/04/2019 05:13

Shinesweetfreedom

“One answer could be “Well twat I am paying through the nose for a high rent So haven’t got bags of cash left over, and as someone running a business,which is what being a landlord is supposed to be why has you not got an emergency fund to cover these one off occurrences”
Pretty sure who the twat is, and it’s not the landlord!
Wouldn’t expect you to be a tenant for very long if this was your attitude!

As OhTheRoses says
“I’m a landlord. I'd have expected you to ask if it was ok, not tell me. You are breaching the contract and imo should have exhausted ways of not breaching and asked as a last resort.”

Pretty rude on your part to inform instead of asking. Apology is due to landlord.

pantsville · 11/04/2019 05:39

She didn't ask the landlord, because the matter is presumably not in her control.

If the landlord had said "actually, no, that's not ok" in response to her asking, the situation would still be exactly the same as OP wouldn't be able to magically summon the funds a day earlier.

I sort of get it from the POV of it sounding more polite to "ask" rather than "tell", but really it's just creating ambiguity by suggesting the landlord has a choice in the matter, when you could just be clear in explaining the situation.

Rezie · 11/04/2019 05:51

What a jerk. None of his business. Also I doubt inform a a landlord if I was paying a day late. I'd just pay late.

Rezie · 11/04/2019 05:55

Oh man, stupid typos. It's suppose to say that I wouldn't inform (in fact I haven't) if I was paying the next day.

Those saying he might need it for his mortgage payment...so it's ok for him to not have emergency fund?

Plexie · 11/04/2019 07:02

I think people are too hung up on the delay being only one day. The duration is irrelevant because the message the OP basically gave the landlord was "Our finances are so precarious that we can't afford a minor change in circumstances, let alone a longer period of being out of work, in which case we would be up shit creek". To put it very bluntly.

Yes, the OP might be on a minimum wage job in an area where most people live hand to mouth and the landlord shouldn't be surprised that his tenants don't have emergency funds. Or s/he might be a well-paid professional who fritters away money rather than save it, in which case it would be surprising that they don't have an emergency fund. (And I'm not suggesting that the OP divulge their finances to us.)

The landlord's response was unprofessional and intrusive but I think you should respond, although ignore the request for an explanation about your lack of emergency funds. Repeat that you are very sorry for the small delay but that you will revert to your normal reliability next month. If possible throw him a crumb of reassurance, eg the new job is a stable long-term position and you're confident you won't be in this position again. Or perhaps it's a higher salary and you'll be able to build up savings?

If he still kicks off after that then he's an arse.

CuriousaboutSamphire · 11/04/2019 07:11

What a jerk. None of his business. Also I doubt inform a a landlord if I was paying a day late. I'd just pay late. You can get a S8 for one penny owing for 1 day. If your landlord believes that your late payment is due to a permanent change n your situation then he has every right to protect his own income.

I can't believe some of the earlier responses - the twatty on inparticular. Such venom for LLs is one of the MN things that makes me shudder as it clearly identifies a certain mind set, a bit like identifying yourself as being a racist and thinking it makes you look/sound clever!

OP yes, you should grace him with an answer. We’ve always paid bang on date. That isn't a favour you are doing him, it is your part of a legal contract! His long email indicates that your actions have unsettled him, made him feel less secure with your tenancy. If you want to rectify that, to allay his financial fears, explain a little and apologise. Not answering, or not offering him even a small reassurance, will only end up with him issuing a S21 and you having to pay out lots of money to move!.

Boysey45 · 11/04/2019 07:16

I wouldnt even reply to him. Its one day, he'll get his greedy mits on your money the next day.
I'd be looking at all my options as well housing wise.

Mememeplease · 11/04/2019 07:23

I'm a landlord. I'd not be put out by a change of one day due to the one off circumstance of a job change that my tenant was courteous enough to tell me about. I would just be pleased that
A. They told me
B. It is a one off with a good reason.

I'd be less pleased with a longer time delay.

JinglingHellsBells · 11/04/2019 07:29

I think his reply is OTT and pretty unreasonable. Unless he too is hand to mouth, waiting one day for rent should not matter.

What I don't understand is that most people pay rent these day by DD so did you have to contact your bank, or do you pay by check or cash?

I'm also surprised that between the two of you ( you say 'we') you don't have enough savings to cover one month's rent .

Could you not have managed the payment by transferring money or dipping into savings? Not sure how much your rent is but if it's under 1K a month, do you not have a nest egg to use in circs like this?

If not, that ought to be a priority.

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