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We pay our rent on the 1st every month using an electronic check from ING Direct. The last couple months he's been asking us to pay it early because it takes a couple days for the funds to clear, so even though he gets an email notification of the payment the funds are not available immediately, just like if he'd deposited a paper check.
Are we obligated to do this? The way I see it we've paid it on time, not to mention saved him a trip to the bank. If we were paying by paper check and he asked us to pay early so the check would clear by the 1st I would certainly think that was an unreasonable request, and I don't see any difference here.
Most residential rental agreements require rent to paid in advance on the first and allow a grace period anywhere from 3 to 5 days...
Part of this is cover bank holidays when payments are carried to the next banking day...
What does your rental agreement specify?
I have a loan from a private seller on a property I purchased about 7 years ago... the terms state I have to the 15th of the month... my payment is always personally delivered on the First or earlier if I will be away...
One thing I noticed... especially with older people... they are much more exact and respect those that pay early or on time...
Is there a downside to making the pay date one day earlier?
The rental agreement specifies that rent is due on the 1st, with a grace period until the 5th. We paid late (on the 6th) one time when our account was frozen for a couple days due to the address change, paid right on the due date 3 times, and paid early 6 times.
No significant downside to paying it early, the funds are withdrawn from our account instantly but we keep enough cushion in the checking that it's not an issue. But it's the principal of the landlord asking us to pay early for the simple reason that funds are not available right away. If we were paying by check and he asked us to pay on the 29th so that funds were available on the 1st we'd have no obligation to do so, no reason it should be any different paying electronically. If rent is due on the 1st we'll give you a check on the first, if you don't have cash in hand for a couple days that is not our problem and is a pretty standard scenario for paying bills.
He even gave a vaguely threatening warning of "you've been paying it late but I haven't charged you", but we've been paying him on time. Check clearing times are not the responsibility of the tenant, correct?
Two non-honored personal checks and we require cash at the office or money order/bank check... and it states this in the rental agreement.
Your situation sounds like a problem or delay on the Landlords side... as long as the terms of the Rental Agreement are followed... can't see where there would be any dispute.
He even gave a vaguely threatening warning of "you've been paying it late but I haven't charged you", but we've been paying him on time. Check clearing times are not the responsibility of the tenant, correct?
I agree with you. I've been a landlord and a tenant over many years and have always gone by the premise that as long as the rent is paid (whether in cash or by cheque) on or before the date agreed to in the lease agreement, the check clearing time isn't relevant. If the cheque fails to clear for NSF then that's of course a different matter but in my opinion your LL is mistakenly barking up the wrong tree by commenting that he should have charged you a late fee for giving him a cheque on the day the rent is due. If he brings it up again I'd be inclined to nicely but firmly set him straight!
As a landlord, under the lease terms you have said here, if a tenant gives me a check by the 1st (or deposits it in my account by the 1st) and the check is good, the tenant is in compliance and is not late. If they pay between the 1st and the 5th, they are technically late, but still in compliance, and there would be nothing to be charged.
But I have never had a tenant pay by ING direct either, so I don't know if there is something hinky in the process there. When I (or tenants) deposit money in my account, it is available for my use the same day or possibly the next day if the deposit is made late in the day, so I'm not sure why this would take several days for the money to be available.
Maybe ING is doing something weird, like sending him an email that you have scheduled a payment and taking the money from your account, but then not actually making the payment until several days later. Banks sometimes do that sort of thing. Floating the money for a couple of days is why they provide that as a free service, because they don't have to pay interest on the money for those couple of days, while still getting the use of it. For example, if you do bill pay with Wells Fargo, and it is to a small company where they have to send a paper check, the money is withdrawn from your account after 2 days, even if the other party hasn't cashed the check yet. Maybe check on that with him, write down the dates the money was withdrawn from your account and see if they correspond with the dates that he received the payment. Maybe you are scheduling payment on the 1st, but he isn't getting it until after the 5th.
we are renting and use web bill pay. We do pay early so that our LL has the check in the mail from the bank by the 1st. It's not a big deal for us to do that. It keeps them happy and so we are all on good terms. They didn't ask us to do that, but we want things to be easy for everyone.
As a landlord, under the lease terms you have said here, if a tenant gives me a check by the 1st (or deposits it in my account by the 1st) and the check is good, the tenant is in compliance and is not late. If they pay between the 1st and the 5th, they are technically late, but still in compliance, and there would be nothing to be charged.
But I have never had a tenant pay by ING direct either, so I don't know if there is something hinky in the process there. When I (or tenants) deposit money in my account, it is available for my use the same day or possibly the next day if the deposit is made late in the day, so I'm not sure why this would take several days for the money to be available.
Maybe ING is doing something weird, like sending him an email that you have scheduled a payment and taking the money from your account, but then not actually making the payment until several days later. Banks sometimes do that sort of thing. Floating the money for a couple of days is why they provide that as a free service, because they don't have to pay interest on the money for those couple of days, while still getting the use of it. For example, if you do bill pay with Wells Fargo, and it is to a small company where they have to send a paper check, the money is withdrawn from your account after 2 days, even if the other party hasn't cashed the check yet. Maybe check on that with him, write down the dates the money was withdrawn from your account and see if they correspond with the dates that he received the payment. Maybe you are scheduling payment on the 1st, but he isn't getting it until after the 5th.
He gets an email instantly, and the funds are avaialble in his account 2 days later, similar to an out-of-state check, which it basically is. I know this is how it works because it's my girlfriend's account, and we do the exact same thing to transfer money to my account all the time. He doesn't get a paper check or anything, the money just goes right into his account.
We did look back at the history, and we've initiated the transfer on the 1st or a couple days before every month.
He lives in a different city, and if were mailing him a check that arrived on the 1st, which would be perfectly acceptable under the terms of the lease, he wouldn't get the money any quicker, and he'd also have to drive to his P.O. Box to pick it up, and go the bank to deposit it.
we are renting and use web bill pay. We do pay early so that our LL has the check in the mail from the bank by the 1st. It's not a big deal for us to do that. It keeps them happy and so we are all on good terms. They didn't ask us to do that, but we want things to be easy for everyone.
This is not a mailed check though, electronic transfer. When we signed the lease I suggested two different options, using the electronic transfer so he didn't have to deal with paper checks, or I would just give him 12 post-dated checks for the 1st of each month in advance. He chose the first one. I want things to be easy for everyone too, and was very flexible about how he wanted to get paid. If a tenant offers to pay a year's rent in advance and you don't take it, it's pretty shady to then complain that you have to wait for the monthly checks to clear.
He gets an email instantly, and the funds are avaialble in his account 2 days later, similar to an out-of-state check, which it basically is. I know this is how it works because it's my girlfriend's account, and we do the exact same thing to transfer money to my account all the time. He doesn't get a paper check or anything, the money just goes right into his account.
Lets just clarify.
Lets say your rent is due on the 1st of each month. You said he gets an email, but is the funds actually deposited (not to be confused with cleared and available) on the first or is he just notified by email that a transaction from you has been initiated but the funds or a deposit isn;t actually made to the account ont hat day?
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