Standing order payments

[Sparky]

Hi i'm a new tenant and i've setup my standing order payments to come out on the 20th of each month as it stated in my AST payment must be made on or before the 20th of each month, yet my Landlord phoned me to complain that he never received my payment untill the 22nd.

i have bank statements showing my standing order payment was made on the 20th but the Landlord says he never got it untill the 22nd of the month.

if it continues to take 2 days for the funds to get transfered every month i think my LL will get annoyed especially as i'm a new tenant.

i've offered to pay an extra weeks rent in advance to cover this 2 day bank transaction, but he declined it and just said he would make a note on my file.

my LL has one months rent paid in advance when i signed the AST and also 6 weeks rent as a deposit.

Any advice please

[Preston]

Hi

I understand your point of view but I think your landlord is probably correct. It depends exactly what your tenancy agreement says, but it is usual to say either that payment should be made by a given date or even that payment must be made by a specific means (usually standing order or direct debit) and that the funds must have cleared by a given date.

If your agreement says the latter, then technically you will need to make the payment a few days earlier so it gets there on time.

If it just says payment by a certain date and doesnt specify cleared funds or a payment method, then an alternative is for you to pay by cheque; if its received by the landlord by the payment date, it counts as payment on time even though it may then take a few days to clear.

As an aside, some banks do "same day" transfers for no extra cost - it may be worth investigating if it would be difficult for you to pull forward the standing order and paying by cheque isnt an option.

As a small time landlord, this issue can be quite difficult. I have mortgage payments going out a few days after the rent due day - which happens to be the end of the month for me. If one or two tenants' funds reach my account late, it does cause a real headache and I have to shift funds from ordinary current account to cover the deficit.

Anyway, glad things are generally going well

Good luck

Preston

[Sparky]

Hi Preston

it says on my AST agreement please setup a standing order for the 20th of each month, it didn't state please make sure all payments are cleared by the 20th otherwise i would have set my standing order up a few days before.

i'm with the Halifax so i'll phone them tomorrow and ask them if its possible to make a same day payment via standing order or by any other means.

i understand my LL has his bills to pay also, so if my bank declines a same day transfer on the 20th then i'll go see my LL and give him one extra weeks rent in advance in cash as i dont want him marking me down as a late payer.

thanks for your advice