When is rent due. All rent is due in cleared funds on the first of each month. The payment method set out in your lease is by STANDING ORDER/ BANK TRANSFER, which allows us to identify and process payments quickly.
Missing rent. Standing order payments may not arrive in our account for a variety of reasons, the main ones being
- Insufficient funds in your account.
- Cancellation of a standing order by the account holder.
- Failure to process / set up the standing order (only the case in month one).
We have no ability to speak to a tenant’s bank. If there are insufficient funds or if the standing order has been cancelled or failed, the tenant must rectify the position personally.
Late rent policy. If rent is late or if it does not arrive at all, the landlord still has a mortgage to pay!
Under the terms of a lease agreement all rent must be paid on the first (1st) of each month. The lease you are in means that if you are in a shared property all tenants and guarantors are liable for missing rent.
If any rent is missing, we will telephone/email the lead tenant in the first instance. However, it is the responsibility of all tenants to make payments of any amounts outstanding.
Late rent fees. If no payment is received within a further 3 working days, we will have to take further steps to recover any amounts due. At this point we will charge an administration fee of £55, to cover the cost of chasing missing rent.
If further reminders to pay outstanding rent, including letters, and emails are required, tenants will be charged further administration fees of £10 for each email sent/ telephone reminder call and £20 for each letter. If the rent/ late fee still remains outstanding, additional charges may apply including debt recovery costs.
We will pass all unpaid rent matters to an outsourced legal team at 5 working days overdue! These admin fees (starting from £150) are clearly aimed at those tenants who fail to pay rent and are intended to cover the cost of the outsourced credit control and administration.
We believe that it is fair to all tenants that the direct cost of chasing late rent is charged only to those tenants who pay late. Our aim is to try and help/ encourage all tenants to pay on time! The cost of chasing missing rent is very high.
Legal action. Ultimately if no rent is paid, we will hand over rent recovery to a debt collection agency or legal firm to collect the rent arrears and, where necessary proceed to eviction. The decision to take legal action lies with the landlord and not Sherlock Homes.
If a court action is raised, it will be raised against all tenants and any Guarantors. The courts have the power to ultimately arrest bank accounts, property and wages. In very extreme cases an individual can be declared bankrupt. A judgment against an individual can result in future credit or mortgage refusal by a bank.
Your help in ensuring rent is received on time every month is greatly appreciated