Its important to start this section by stating that different agencies and landlords may run a change in rent payment date differently to the way gps lettings handle this situation, so if you are not one of our tenant or landlords, you should seek advice from your own agency regarding this.
The date your rent becomes due each month will be the anniversary of the day you move into your rental property.
So, if you move into your new home on the 5th day of the month, your monthly rent will then be the 5th day of each month.
Paying your rent on the contractual day it is due is extremely important. Persistent late payment and non-payment of rent is a breach of tenancy, a landlord can seek possession for this under Section 8 of the Housing Act using Grounds 10 and 11, which specifically mention persistent rent arrears via late payments of rent.
Persistent late payments of rent also affect any references that may need to be provided for you in the future, most referencing companies automatically fail tenants for new properties if they receive a reference stating that the rent was always paid late.
Plus, constantly paying rent late will cause you to have a poor relationship with your landlord, who may be reliant on the rent entering their account on set days to cover important bills and mortgages.
If you are struggling to pay your rent on the day it is due, then the bets option is to apply to have your rent payment date changed to one that fits in better with your income stream. Maybe ask to change you rent payment date to a date that is closer to when you receive your wages?
To change a rent payment date, the process is to speak to us and advise us of the issue and let us know which date you wish to change your rent payment date to. We will advise your landlord of the situation, so they in turn can change any dates of their standing orders etc. We will then send you an invoice to cover the days in between your old and new rent payment dates
Example:
Your rent payment date is the 5th day of each month, but you would like this changed to the 15th day of each month. Your monthly rent is £1000.00pcm
We will send you an invoice that covers the period of 5th to the 14th – this is 10 days rent (calculated £1000 x 12 divided by 365 x 10) = £328.77
You would then pay £328.77, on the 15th day of the month your will pay your full rent of £1000.00. From then on, your new rent payment date is the 15th day of each month, and your rent will no longer show as being in arrears each month, as you will be able to pay your rent on time.
If you are in an Assured Shorthold Tenancy and do not renew at the end of the term, your last rental payment will be less than the others, to consider the change of rental payment dates. You would pay £1000.00 - £328.77
If you extend your tenancy, then for each new extension your tenancy will run from the 15th day of each month, instead of the 5th day of each month, to run in line with how you pay your rent.
It’s important to be open and honest and deal with any issues you may have in paying your rent in full and on time. Ignoring late payment notices and just paying our rent ‘late’ is not a solution, and can be harmful to your credit score, future renewals and landlord and agency relationships moving forward. Ultimately it is better to work together to address the situation and find a solution.
