Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
He tells tenants upfront if one of these checks should bounce it will get prosecuted and he always ask for jail time. He even writes it into the lease.
The landlord is just huffing and puffing with no muscle behind it.
1. It is the Prosecutor/DA who determines if the case will be submitted for criminal prosecution and a Judge is the one who establishes the penalty if guilty. In a case like this, it's highly unlikely a criminal charge will be filed and even less likely a Judge will impose any jail time. Just because a landlord puts something in a lease does not mean it's enforceable.
2. The landlord (depending on the state) could actually find the tables turned. By accepting the checks (post dating means nothing in this issue) they are accepting the full value of the checks. It's possible that a smart tenant may ask for any overage back beyond the current rent due and if the landlord refuses, they may be able to sue over a refundable security deposit/advance rent violation.
3. A tenant always has the ability to tell the landlord not to cash any of the checks so long as its done before the landlord attempts to deposit it. Once the landlord is told the check is no good, it's on them if they ignore the notice and cashes it anyway. Additionally, the tenant can now just write the checks for the amount due When Due and there is really little the landlord can due about it.
So, the landlord is just acting all macho and stuff but in reality, the tenant's hold most of the card.
I would have no problem agreeing to such terms as long as they were cashed on the 1st of the month (or whenever the month "begins" on the lease). Saves me a 20 min trip across town and my money always is in the bank before i pay rent anyway.
I would be very hesitant to move into a place with that kind of landlord. What is my recourse if the place is borderline uninhabitable? I wouldn't be able to threaten to withhold rent if repairs were not made. It's a perverse incentive for the landlord to neglect the place and thus require a TREMENDOUS legal headache trying to deal with.
I LIKE the idea. Except find a place with jail space for someone with one bounced check. Not gonnahappen.
Modern landlords have direct deposit. I haven't handled cash or checks in years!
Writing a check with the knowledge that there are no funds in the account to cover that check is, technically, fraud. In many states, there is language which makes it a crime to induce someone to commit fraud. Aside from the landlord's grossly unethical behavior on a human level, that landlord is quite possibly engaging in felonious criminal activity.
Along the same lines, where I rent if your rent checks bounce once thereafter you have to pay your rent with a money order or cashiers check. Very inconvenient but oh well that's what folks get for writing a check with inadequate funds to cover it. Also if you don't pay by the EOB on the 2nd you are automatically charged an $85.00 late fee and so many dollars per day thereafter. Not sure as my rule is that when I get up on the first of the month my rent is paid and they put
my check thru electronically on the 31st or last day of the month and it has cleared by the 1st. Sleep better at night this way.
I would be very hesitant to move into a place with that kind of landlord. What is my recourse if the place is borderline uninhabitable? I wouldn't be able to threaten to withhold rent if repairs were not made. It's a perverse incentive for the landlord to neglect the place and thus require a TREMENDOUS legal headache trying to deal with.
Or in this situation you could cancel the checks, hypothetically.
A landlord I know would get his tenants into a 12-month lease and would have them fork over post-dated checks for each of the months in the lease term. If ever a check bounced he turned it over to the District Attorney for prosecuting. Doesn't this tactic seem a bit extreme and harsh?
Anyone who fell for this was a dummy or he must have been offering a great deal on a low rent for people to accept this.
Or in this situation you could cancel the checks, hypothetically.
Yes, but you have to pay to put a stopped payment on a check. What's the fee, like $30? You're looking at several hundred to cancel a whole years' worth of checks..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
