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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Landlord chasing rent - AIBU?

273 replies

missverstaendnis · 02/10/2022 13:09

I am feeling rather upset after receiving an email last night from my landlord informing me that my rent was overdue for payment (due on the 1st) and to make arrangements ASAP for payment.

For background. For the last 5 years of living in this house my rent has been on a monthly standing order for the 1st of the month. This has ALWAYS been paid, have never been late to pay rent EVER.
Fast forward to this month as the 1st falls on a Saturday, DDs/ Standing Orders get paid out following working day (tomorrow, the 3rd).
I have never wasted a thought on this nor has it ever been raised as an issue.

Called the landlord to inform of this to which I was told her needs to pay his own outgoing on the 1st and that rent needs to be paid on a 1st of each month. I wasn't believed that payment will automatically go out Monday morning.

So I have cancelled my standing order and made a transfer last night to him.
Now it looks like it was too late to actually cancel the standing order from leaving my account tonight, so I will be catapulted into my overdraft.

Who is being unreasonable here -
landlord for requesting payment on a weekend and chasing me on it on a Saturday night with a harsh email,
or me for not monitoring that the 1st fell on a non-banking day and not cancelling the standing order sooner to arrange for the transfer on the morning of the 1st?

OP posts:
Original poster
missverstaendnis · 02/10/2022 18:31

Confuzzlediddled · 02/10/2022 18:16

Love it when people are so confident they know what they're talking about when they're completely wrong, it's laughable to try and suggest my employer has 26,000 standing orders to pay salaries, which could vary at any given month due to tax changes, deductions, overtime and many other combinations 🤣🤣 laughing at the thought of some poor sod manually adjusting them all (salaries and benefits are paid by BACS, in a bulk CVS file)

yes, this. 😂
thanks for making me laugh, this really tickled me.

OP posts:
Original poster
missverstaendnis · 02/10/2022 18:36

and thank you for everyone's input on this.
I have now decided to cancel the SO all together and just pay manually on last working day of the month as that seems, after all, the least fiddly option.
Setting up a SO couple of days before potential pay day (last working day of the month, not last Friday of a month), is not really a viable option as anyone who is forcing to rent might understand.

OP posts:
LGBirmingham · 02/10/2022 18:52

You are definitely not being unreasonable. All my dds go out the first working day after if they fall on a bank holiday or weekend. I just thought that was normal?

This stinks of an over-extended landlord to me. Probably can't keep up with rising interest rates.

Original poster
missverstaendnis · 02/10/2022 19:03

in the last 4 weeks I had landlord:

  • come over with 1 hour notice of a weekend morning to collect a user manual for an appliance that was delivered the previous' day (why??)
  • book in a survey on the house which I had to take a day of work off for as the actual appointment time was only confirmed a working day prior
  • sent an email, again not during working hours, about additional rent increase on top of an already increase
  • claimed that his mortgage payments had now doubled three days after the survey
  • chase me via text when a whatsapp wasn't responded to within the hour (nothing that needed extra chasing but just a confirmation of something)

I feel like I am constantly being chased, checked up on and made uncomfortable

OP posts:
GoldenElephant · 02/10/2022 19:05

LGBirmingham · 02/10/2022 18:52

You are definitely not being unreasonable. All my dds go out the first working day after if they fall on a bank holiday or weekend. I just thought that was normal?

This stinks of an over-extended landlord to me. Probably can't keep up with rising interest rates.

But this thread, and this issue, is nothing to do with direct debits…

Yucca78 · 02/10/2022 19:31

missverstaendnis · 02/10/2022 19:03

in the last 4 weeks I had landlord:

  • come over with 1 hour notice of a weekend morning to collect a user manual for an appliance that was delivered the previous' day (why??)
  • book in a survey on the house which I had to take a day of work off for as the actual appointment time was only confirmed a working day prior
  • sent an email, again not during working hours, about additional rent increase on top of an already increase
  • claimed that his mortgage payments had now doubled three days after the survey
  • chase me via text when a whatsapp wasn't responded to within the hour (nothing that needed extra chasing but just a confirmation of something)

I feel like I am constantly being chased, checked up on and made uncomfortable

Yes...he is an arse

xogossipgirlxo · 02/10/2022 20:24

missverstaendnis · 02/10/2022 13:24

Why would I have to pay rent early?
Thanks for clarifying, I will now cancel the standing order completely although I was asked to have this in place by the landlord.
What happens with the double payment? Do I request to have it transferred back to me? Or do I just have to suck it up as it is (as I have learnt know) my mistake in the first place?

And why would you pay it late? 1st is 1st not 3rd of the month.

Original poster
missverstaendnis · 02/10/2022 20:29

xogossipgirlxo · 02/10/2022 20:24

And why would you pay it late? 1st is 1st not 3rd of the month.

Show quote history

thanks for going back to an earlier reply instead of reading the updates since of me saying I have made arrangements to avoid this scenario in future. helpful.

OP posts:
Crunchymum · 02/10/2022 20:33

So the 1st of the month hasn't fallen on the weekend in the past 5 years? Why has this just become an issue?

If LL circumstances have changed, in that he needs payment on the 1st even if it falls on the weekend, then he needed to let you know.

LGBirmingham · 02/10/2022 20:38

missverstaendnis · 02/10/2022 19:03

in the last 4 weeks I had landlord:

  • come over with 1 hour notice of a weekend morning to collect a user manual for an appliance that was delivered the previous' day (why??)
  • book in a survey on the house which I had to take a day of work off for as the actual appointment time was only confirmed a working day prior
  • sent an email, again not during working hours, about additional rent increase on top of an already increase
  • claimed that his mortgage payments had now doubled three days after the survey
  • chase me via text when a whatsapp wasn't responded to within the hour (nothing that needed extra chasing but just a confirmation of something)

I feel like I am constantly being chased, checked up on and made uncomfortable

Definitely sounds like he might be going bust from rising interest rates. I really hope a lot of landlords do to be honest as they're a big part of the problems we have in this country. Sorry you're having these troubles op.

Original poster
missverstaendnis · 02/10/2022 20:42

Crunchymum · 02/10/2022 20:33

So the 1st of the month hasn't fallen on the weekend in the past 5 years? Why has this just become an issue?

If LL circumstances have changed, in that he needs payment on the 1st even if it falls on the weekend, then he needed to let you know.

that's exactly where my surprise and upset has come from - and I have checked my online banking and can see that the 1st had fallen on a weekend twice per year on average (I have a list of dates of when the SO has been paid out). Never has been raised or mentioned. There was plenty of opportunity to raise this as I see rather a lot of this landlord as it is.

Like I said, I have now cancelled it all together to avoid this scenario in future. Also, don't fancy an email on New Year's Day to chase me for rent so I shall transfer last working day of the month going forward.

OP posts:
LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet · 02/10/2022 20:54

errnerrcallnernnernnern · 02/10/2022 13:19

YABU I’m afraid. If the 1st falls on a weekend, then you need to ensure the money gets to him on the Friday.

I’m a LL and this is total garbage. It goes out on the Monday

LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet · 02/10/2022 20:58

xogossipgirlxo · 02/10/2022 20:24

And why would you pay it late? 1st is 1st not 3rd of the month.

Show quote history

Because standing orders can’t go out on a weekend. Generic tenancy agreements state that rent due on a weekend must be paid next working day. HTH.

GoldenElephant · 02/10/2022 21:18

I have seen plenty of tenancy agreements, @LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet and am yet to see a clause about payment dates due on a weekend!

ASTs state that rent will be due “on or before the X of the month.”

In any case, this is not applicable to OP.

Ladyof2022 · 02/10/2022 21:21

I speak as a long time landlord.

Your LL is a twat. He should not have set any outgoings dependent on your rent to be paid on the 1st, if that is the date you pay him. The 1st is often going to fall on a weekend, bank holiday etc and not be paid for a day or so. He should have set his outgoing payments to leave his account on 3rd or 4th or even 5th, to be sure.

When he contacted you, you should have said it will be paid automatically in a day or so, and left it at that. It's not your fault that he's been a twat with his own finances.

Ask him for an immediate refund, and don't jump to his orders again.

He cannot evict you for paying your rent 2 or 3 days late once in a while.

Ladyof2022 · 02/10/2022 21:24

Starting to sound like harassment.

Any chance of you moving, or is the place worth putting up with this wanker for?

xogossipgirlxo · 02/10/2022 21:25

missverstaendnis · 02/10/2022 20:29

thanks for going back to an earlier reply instead of reading the updates since of me saying I have made arrangements to avoid this scenario in future. helpful.

Show quote history

You’re welcome. You know very well now YABU then by even opening this thread.

xogossipgirlxo · 02/10/2022 21:25

LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet · 02/10/2022 20:58

Because standing orders can’t go out on a weekend. Generic tenancy agreements state that rent due on a weekend must be paid next working day. HTH.

Show quote history

And why would you make standing order to pay rent knowing delays like this might happen? Is one payment a month too much to make it manually?😂

xogossipgirlxo · 02/10/2022 21:26

Btw.nothing like this in my agreement. I signed contract to pay on or before x day of the month. HTH.

WisherWood · 02/10/2022 21:27

If he can't afford for the OP to be a day late with rent, he can't afford to evict her and risk time without any rent at all. Having said that, I wonder if he's trying to bully her out for some reason. It's all very odd behaviour on his part.

LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet · 02/10/2022 21:29

xogossipgirlxo · 02/10/2022 21:25

And why would you make standing order to pay rent knowing delays like this might happen? Is one payment a month too much to make it manually?😂

Show quote history

Does a LL ever need their money on a weekend so much that it’s worth making it harder for their tenant 😂

When I rented we had a SO which obviously sometimes went out on a weekend and LL never said a word.

Surprised by the responses, LLs in MNland are usually the spawn of the devil. It’s almost like people just wanna stick the boot in the OPs

LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet · 02/10/2022 21:31

My tenant pays me every 4th Friday meaning if it lands on Good Friday I don’t get the money til the Tuesday because he has a SO. Never occurred to me I needed to kick off. Anyone know knee cap breakers in the Yorkshire area??

Original poster
missverstaendnis · 02/10/2022 21:40

xogossipgirlxo · 02/10/2022 21:25

You’re welcome. You know very well now YABU then by even opening this thread.

Show quote history

yes, was very U to open this thread and take onboard the comments to make amendments to also consider LL side despite it never having been raised in the past. GBP70K in rent payments in total over last five years I may add, none of them ever 'late' bar a couple of times a year when SO was on a weekend/BH.
Very U to have made a bank transfer within 5 minutes of being chased for being late on the actual due date this weekend.
Very U for keeping the house in pristine condition and allowing LL to inspect twice a year even 5 years in.
Doesn't go both ways to be accommodating, considerate and kind about an honest oversight. Got it.

OP posts:
Cw112 · 02/10/2022 21:59

Landlord is being unreasonable as you've been there 5 years and this is a banking issue not an arrears issue though my bank takes standing orders and direct debits early so I would have expected this to go out on the Friday rather than the Monday. I think it's unreasonable for him to chase you further when you've already explained the issue and have never been late on your rent before. I would contact your bank and ask if you can move your payment date earlier maybe to the 29th so you're paid in good time in advance.

Matildahoney · 02/10/2022 22:32

@xogossipgirlxo every single one of our tenants (through work) pay their rent by standing order, it is standard practice in the world of renting. They are set up for the 1st of the month & if it's a weekend or a bank hol then they come in the next working day.
OP is not in the wrong, the LL is being very unreasonable!