Rent payment question. Accidentally wrote wrong date on rent check. (leases, tenant)
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I paid my rent on the first of April. After submitting it in person, I realized I had gotten confused about the month and had written "May rent" on both the envelope and the check itself. I emailed the landlord immediately to inform him of this (on April 1st).
On April 7th I received an email stating that the check had been dated 5/1/2014 and that I should submit a new check. I did so immediately. Now my landlord is demanding late fees for the check being 7 days late. Do I have to pay these?
I feel I shouldn't be penalized for the 7 days that it took the landlord to inform me of the issue. My thought process is that if this policy is legal, then there is nothing to stop the landlord from sitting around for 30 or so days before informing me of the issue and then demanding 30 days worth of late fees (or 364 days if I had written the wrong year). Thoughts?
Edit: I did not realize the dating issue until he informed me of it on April 7th.
Okay, you're contradicting yourself here. First you said you realized it right away and emailed the LL on April 1st. Then you say you didn't realize your mistake until the LL told you on April 7th.
I agree with the others when they ask you why you didn't follow up by submitting a corrected check immediately?
And as far as banks cashing post dated checks... The owner I worked for had an account with Wells Fargo. I tried to deposit an incorrectly dated check (neither tenant nor I noticed - it was for a January check and he put 2013 instead of 2014) and the teller would not deposit the check. In this case, the check was dated for the prior year, so I asked why she couldn't cash it as it wasn't post dated, and she said checks dated a year ago are too old.
So, yes, it's possible the bank wouldn't accept the check. It happened to me.
I can understand your LL asking for a late fee. He gets an email from you saying your check is dated wrong. And then nothing. So, he waits for a corrected check...but then he has to contact you after your rent is 7 days late to ask you to send the check you knew you should have sent. I would have been mad, too, and made you pay the late fee.
What did you expect would happen? Welcome to the grown-up world.
And, your landlord isn't going to wait around 30 days to let you know you haven't paid rent next time. You'll probably just get evicted.
Okay, you're contradicting yourself here. First you said you realized it right away and emailed the LL on April 1st. Then you say you didn't realize your mistake until the LL told you on April 7th.
What the OP said was that he marked the cheque as "May rent" and also noted the same on the envelope containing the cheque. He only realized he had actually dated the cheque May 1 instead of April 1 when the LL advised him. Nothing contradictory.
Have you ever been late on rent before? How long have you been a tenant? Is this a private landlord or large community? If you have been a good tenant and always on time in the past with rent I would think the landlord would just see it as a mistake and not want to create bad feelings. If you have had past issues then I can see why they would charge.
I know sometimes it is not possible but I always like to get a receipt for payment or confirmation if online.
STT is correct in saying I was aware of the fact that I had written May on the bottom left of the check and on the envelope, but unaware I had physically written 5/1/2014 on the date for the check. The reason I did not go immediately in person to correct the issue is partly because I did not know there would be any issue in cashing the check and partly because the landlord refuses contact by any means other than email or certified mail. When I say I delivered the check in person, what I mean is I dropped it in his mailbox.
sj08054, yes my landlord and I are definitely having a communication issue. I thought everything was just fine between us until three weeks ago when I made the original thread. I feel I have been civil (though firm) with him since that incident and this check dating issue really was an honest mistake.
As for the other issue, as it stands now I am subletting my apartment until the end of my initial lease and have informed my landlord that I will not be paying any rent past that point. I have provided him with a replacement tenant who is suitable and wants to rent the apartment beginning September 1st, but as of yet he refuses to consider her and says he has no reason to consider a replacement until a replacement until there has been a breach of the contract (I'm not disputing that he may be right about this, but I'm slightly confused about what he stands to benefit from doing this. I live in a college town and what he intends to do (I'm assuming sue me for a few months of lost rent) would leave him having to re-rent the apartment mid-semester. I'm really not sure what his angle is. I'll update the other thread with a more in-depth version of this later when I have time.
To the person who sent me a PM: thank you. I will respond to it soon, when time permits.
Thank you to everyone who has posted in both threads. I really appreciate the thoughts, advice, constructive criticism, and general encouragement that each of you have provided. This has been a very difficult experience, but at the same time I am learning a lot from it. I think it will help me grow and make me better prepared and more cautious in the future.
Okay, you're contradicting yourself here. First you said you realized it right away and emailed the LL on April 1st. Then you say you didn't realize your mistake until the LL told you on April 7th.
I agree with the others when they ask you why you didn't follow up by submitting a corrected check immediately?
And as far as banks cashing post dated checks... The owner I worked for had an account with Wells Fargo. I tried to deposit an incorrectly dated check (neither tenant nor I noticed - it was for a January check and he put 2013 instead of 2014) and the teller would not deposit the check. In this case, the check was dated for the prior year, so I asked why she couldn't cash it as it wasn't post dated, and she said checks dated a year ago are too old.
So, yes, it's possible the bank wouldn't accept the check. It happened to me.
I can understand your LL asking for a late fee. He gets an email from you saying your check is dated wrong. And then nothing. So, he waits for a corrected check...but then he has to contact you after your rent is 7 days late to ask you to send the check you knew you should have sent. I would have been mad, too, and made you pay the late fee.
What did you expect would happen? Welcome to the grown-up world.
And, your landlord isn't going to wait around 30 days to let you know you haven't paid rent next time. You'll probably just get evicted.
You are confusing post/pre- dated checks with "stale/out of date" checks. A check cannot be cashed after 6 months of the date.
People, this is LAW. It isn't my interpretation or legal advice. A check dated early is a valid instrument. A check is a "bearer" document. "Pay to the Order of" is written on checks for a reason. It means: PAY - not pay after. However, by statute, banking law, it is not valid AFTER 6 months.
I find nothing contradictory with what the OP has said.
Quote:
Is My Bank Allowed to Cash a Check with a Date in the Future? Generally, a bank may cash your check when they receive it, even if your check is paid before the date you wrote on the check. However, in some circumstances if you give the bank reasonable notice, they will be prevented from cashing it until the date on the check.
STT is correct in saying I was aware of the fact that I had written May on the bottom left of the check and on the envelope, but unaware I had physically written 5/1/2014 on the date for the check. The reason I did not go immediately in person to correct the issue is partly because I did not know there would be any issue in cashing the check and partly because the landlord refuses contact by any means other than email or certified mail. When I say I delivered the check in person, what I mean is I dropped it in his mailbox.
sj08054, yes my landlord and I are definitely having a communication issue. I thought everything was just fine between us until three weeks ago when I made the original thread. I feel I have been civil (though firm) with him since that incident and this check dating issue really was an honest mistake.
As for the other issue, as it stands now I am subletting my apartment until the end of my initial lease and have informed my landlord that I will not be paying any rent past that point. I have provided him with a replacement tenant who is suitable and wants to rent the apartment beginning September 1st, but as of yet he refuses to consider her and says he has no reason to consider a replacement until a replacement until there has been a breach of the contract (I'm not disputing that he may be right about this, but I'm slightly confused about what he stands to benefit from doing this. I live in a college town and what he intends to do (I'm assuming sue me for a few months of lost rent) would leave him having to re-rent the apartment mid-semester. I'm really not sure what his angle is. I'll update the other thread with a more in-depth version of this later when I have time.
To the person who sent me a PM: thank you. I will respond to it soon, when time permits.
Thank you to everyone who has posted in both threads. I really appreciate the thoughts, advice, constructive criticism, and general encouragement that each of you have provided. This has been a very difficult experience, but at the same time I am learning a lot from it. I think it will help me grow and make me better prepared and more cautious in the future.
As I posted earlier. This is usually not an issue but you and the landlord is not communicating well. How did you leave it with him in the email you sent telling him you mistakenly wrote May on the envelope and check? Did you ask him to go ahead and apply it toward April and confirm that you are good for April? Or was it something like "Hey, mistakenly put May in this month's rent." and nothing else. In the future, when you are communicating with your landlord (by email or text), just confirm things.
Now.. have you gotten confirmation from your landlord that it's OK to sublease? You two are not in good terms and some landlords/tenants will go out of their ways to make the other miserable.
Now.. have you gotten confirmation from your landlord that it's OK to sublease?
Already addressed by the OP in post earlier today.
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