To think that giving letting agents advance notice of a short rent delay is pointless and that some actually behave worse when you try to communicate properly?

[NewMauveScroller]

I recently told my letting agent ahead of time that my rent would be a few days late due to an admin issue with incoming funds. I thought being transparent would help.

Instead, the reactions were:
-multiple pushy emails
-incorrect legal claims
-pressure to sign a contract instantly
-a surprise phone call despite my request to communicate in writing
-insistence that it was “unacceptable” not to speak on the phone
-the manager insisting on attending an inspection for no real reason

It’s left me feeling that some agents simply weaponise communication rather than appreciate it. Had I said nothing, it would’ve been a straightforward email from them saying “your rent is late”’and I would’ve replied “rent will be paid when funds clear” and done.

AIBU to think it’s actually less stressful to wait until they ask, instead of giving them advanced warning that they then use to behave unprofessionally?

A reasonable person who isn't taking the piss would, if they knew there was going to be a cash flow issue with 3 days' notice, go and speak to their bank and arrange a temporary overdraft so that they can pay their rent on time. Why should the agent or landlord take the financial hit? If the cashflow issue is the undisputed fault of someone else (eg admin cockup with new job meant you missed the deadline for being registered with payroll in month 1 of a new job) then you get that individual or organisation to pay for the expenses you incurred due to their cockup. If it was your fault then you pay the costs - delaying paying your rent is ultimately forcing someone else to go into unexpected debt for a few days and making them bear the cost. That is not reasonable.

Another reason for regulation. Yes you would end up with some frivolous complaints, but it would raise standards.

Hey, I’ve just received an email of retaliation that I’m being evicted due to paying my rent late by 3 days

I actually can’t believe this, I’m so upset. Yesterday one of the letting agents came to intimidate me in my flat. A man, I was so shaken up afterwards

You wouldn't last 5 minutes as a landlord with that attitude. Rule number 1 is recognising when you have a good tenant. Coming down hard on someone who has otherwise paid on time every month and who looks after the property well, could be a disaster. Believe me, I would not want to piss off a good tenant and then find myself with an empty property while I search for someone else who, for all I know, could trash the place and/or default on payments. Seriously, 3 days late on one occasion is not a huge deal.

Also, a landlord / tenant relationship should be equal, like any business relationship. A bit of give and take on both sides if needed. "Coming down hard"? You must have had some terrible landlords.

What? That's terrible. Eviction for being 3 days late? That sounds overly harsh.

Absolute rubbish, if you paid your mortgage 3 days late there would be no issues at all -I’ve known people be 2 months behind and only at that point did they even get any communication

If you haven’t already - would speak to an organisation such as shelter who can advise you of your rights / due process.

Letting agent agreements usually have a late payment clause - would expect a late payment fee not an eviction notice ! They were doing well to issue a section notice so quickly 🤷🏼‍♀️

But you do seem to think it's OK to pay late, as long as you tell them. Or you wouldn't be annoyed with their reaction.

I don't understand tbh. I've been short for some bills because clients didn't pay. The rent was first priority.

Now that is harsh. I would have expected late fees as first recourse.

And this is why I really think buy to lets are a really bad thing although I accept have been kind of necessary due to shortage of other rental options. It’s brought in all kinds of people mortgaged up to eyeballs often on multiple property’s.We pay huge rent , several thousands a month and have been here for 3 years- I once had to pay 4 days late due to my quarterly bonus not having been signed off before someone went away , I bi passed the agent who is useless anyway and went straight to landlord who loves us as we have always paid on time prior to that one time, have a Gardner, look after property well and he said ‘no issue at all , thanks for letting me know ‘ but this isn’t a buy to let , it’s a beautiful family house owned outright - if you were a persistent late payer then that’s different , as it is they are being twats but I think the new rules may be in, check them out. And some of the responses on here are truly awful - just getting overdrafts at the drop of a hat isn’t that easy these days , even if you could get one by the time it’s in place there probably wouldn’t be an issue -

Yeah I’m quite upset tbh.
I’ve just had an email telling me that a Section 21 will be delivered next week and I’ll have two months to leave, all because my rent was 3 days late.

For context, I reported mould and a different female staff member was due to visit yesterday. Instead this male manager took over (told me via email) and he has been unpleasant and increasingly aggressive ever since I told him the rent would be slightly late. I’d already asked for communication in writing because of the tone of his emails, and he told me that was “not acceptable”

Then yesterday he came to my flat alone, said he was looking at the mould, and used it as a reason to go through the entire property even though I had a normal inspection only last month. It was very intimidating. I reminded him this was supposed to be a mould check, not an inspection, and he told me it was “unacceptableto tell him what he can and can’t do in my home.”

He wouldn’t leave for a long time and continued talking even as he stepped outside. I was shaken afterwards. Then today, out of nowhere, I get an email saying they’re issuing a Section 21.

It really does feel retaliatory.

@NewMauveScroller check with shelter if the new rules are in- I didn’t think they could do that now

That should be a police matter.

I believe there is a law against retaliatory eviction but I'm not a lawyer

Speak to Shelter

When I initially saw your post, I thought that perhaps they were looking to serve section 21 (a lot of landlords are doing this) and they seized upon your information about late payment as some sort of excuse.

But that's weird, because they actually don't need an excuse do they? I don't know what has happened under the renters reform bill or when it becomes enforceable.

But in your follow-up post, you have mentioned that you reported mould. I would hope that they would be obliged to fix that.

And I think something about retaliatory eviction can be linked to them being asked to make improvements. Any element of retaliation would make the section 21 invalid I think.

I would strongly suggest contacting Shelter for up-to-date legal advice. 💐

do you think proper regulation would help with you getting away with paying your rent late ?

I think there’s an issue with your particular agent. What contract are they expecting you to sign?
My tenant was a few days late. I informed the letting agent and only then did they chase it up. She had just signed a new lease with a rent increase but hadn’t set up a new mandate. Fair enough these things happen. But then she was late again - because she was away and ‘forgot’. So then my agents insisted she set up a direct debit. After all if she doesn’t pay they don’t get paid.
Sounds like they’ve had a few tenants missing rent and are coming down hard on everyone.
Also my tenant being late paying has a knock on effect - my own direct debits will not get paid if I don’t get her rent. I can’t afford to have that happen, not even once.

Estate agents are always terrible in my experience. I’ve never met a good, ethical one. YANBU, and I say that as a landlord.

You need to take a very firm line with letting agents. You (trhe tenant) are in business with the landlord and part of your rent pays their fee. Agents are mere employees and providers of services. They are not your manager or your parents. They are there to provide a service to you, their customer. If you find the agent intiidates or harasses you then you can report them to their regulator. The address should be on their website but there are only 3 so its easy to find out which one they belong to.

In cases of real communication problems I would bypass the agent and go straight to the Landlord. You can find their address by looking up the property on the Land Registry website. It costs about £5.

To the poster who mentioned a mould issue I would go straight to the council. Tell them you reported a disrepair and they have threatened you with eviction. The council can issue an improvement notice. This invalidates a section 21 and they have to wait 6 months before taking any further action. By then the new legislation will be in force and saction 21 will no longer be available.

Well i presume you signed a contract at the start of renting so have you read the requirements of what you are legally responsible for

Yes, tell the council - this is a retaliatory eviction which can be stopped

they’re cunts, so sorry for what’s happened to you

Of course it would. Do you think the bank can foreclose if you’re slightly late with one mortgage payment?

Take @Friendlygingercat ’s advice OP. Ignore the lunatics here who agree you can be rightly made homeless for a 36 -hour delay.

I'm not sure that this is the case regarding retaliatory evictions unless OP has been through a very specific process and got an emergency works or improvement notice against the landlord. I assume they would have mentioned this so assuming that the landlord has issued a valid Section 21 notice then they can indeed be evicted under the current law.

Just to play devil's advocate, OP does come across as quite a difficult tenant. Obviously the late payment of rent isn't great in itself but their attitude towards it is really odd and entitled and their insistence that they can't communicate through phone calls at all and will only deal with specific people makes me think that the landlord may have concluded that they want to evict OP prior to the new laws being implemented which will make eviction much harder. You may think that's harsh but if you were a landlord then you risk someone like OP making your life very hard indeed if late payment of rent becomes more common and they start to make communication even more difficult. From their perspective, OP could become a nightmare tenant that is only just getting started and will enjoy far more protection in the near future.

I would strongly disagree. The OP seems to feel written communication is needed to protect their position and the agency being weird about it suggests they don’t want things in writing. The OP has reported mould and can therefore ask the council to delay the section 21. The behaviour from the inspecting agent was perceived as outwith the remit of a mould inspection and sounds like it may be considered harassment.