I have had four conversations with Consumer Affairs asking them is this legal. Each time I get a different answer.
I understand that If your tenant is to pay rent “Weekly” the landlord cannot ask for more than 2 weeks rent in advance. But that in any other case you can ask for up to a months rent in advance.
My question is, “If your tenant is happy to pay “Fortnightly” Is the landlord allowed to ask for 4 weeks in advance?
I imagined that this would result in the tenant paying 4 weeks rent on day one, a fortnightly rent on day 14 and simply using up the additional 2 weeks “in advance” at the end of the tenancy.
The tenant would cycle between 4 weeks and 2 weeks in advance depending how close it was to “rent day”.Forgive me If it seems like a silly question.
Regards
Michael[blush2]The best way to do a rental is on a monthly basis to be paid on a specific date each month. If the rent is $200 per week then multiply it by 52 weeks in year and divide by 12 for months of the year. That comes to 866.66 per month. So if the new tenant moves in on 10 March then he/she is to pay up front 866.66 and then until the lease expires pays you this same amount on the 10th of every month. Best electronic transfer to your account so that you can see it online.
Carpe
may vary from state to state. it will all depend on what is on the origional lease! i do all leases on at least fortnightly figures so that i can ask 4 weeks rent in advance. and it runs exactly as you have suggested.
Section 40 (Residential Tenancy Act) VIC Limit on rent in advance. A landlord must not require a tenant to pay rent under an agreement more than 1 month in advance
Section 41 a landlord must no require a tenant to pay rent under a tenancy agreement more that 2 weeks in advance in the period in respect of which rent is payable under that agreement is not more that 1 week.
so provided you have a lease agreement that states that the rent is fortnightly or above you can ask for 4 weeks in advance.
Also see tenants union of Vic handbook – clearly explains rent in advance
http://www.tuv.org.au/homepage.aspx
and click on new publication tenant handbook[exhappy]If you push the issue and the tenant gets annoyed, then they may refuse to pay any rent and then you have to wait until they are at least 2 weeks behind before you can even ask them to leave.
If they are spiteful, they will pay at this point just enough to bring rent up to date. Then let it go for two more weeks.
If they push the issue and have a valid reason why they cant pay rent, ie Struggling Single Mum, they may not pay you for months and months….. nothing you can do.
Even though you own the house, the Tenant has a lot of rights. It is well worth the effort of looking after your tenant with regard to maintainance and respect…. before you try to push them for extra rent. They may just push back.
Live, Learn and GrowLifexperience
In NSW, once the tenant has moved into the property under a lease, then the tenant can pay any amount they like in any erratic fashion and there’s nothing you can do about it provided that the rent is never in arrears.
e.g. Rent is $200 p.w.
Rent is paid up to and including today.
Tenant can pay $500 today and wait until rent is nearly used up, then pay $100 and wait again, then pay $200 and wait , and so on.
The payment for the same amount say every week or month is not enforceable because the Residential Tenancies Act says the rent must be paid in advance. The lease says rent is payable ” at the rate of $200 per week ” . As long as it’s always in advance, and the sun never sets on an unpaid day, there is no breach of the act to enforce. Don’t tell them if you don’t have to though. It’s a damn nuisance, but that’s how it is.
cheers
thecrestthecrest | Tony Neale - Statewide Motel Brokers
http://www.statewidemotelbrokers.com.au
Email Me | Phone Meselling motels in NSW
Callander wrote:may vary from state to state. it will all depend on what is on the origional lease! i do all leases on at least fortnightly figures so that i can ask 4 weeks rent in advance. and it runs exactly as you have suggested. Section 40 (Residential Tenancy Act) VIC Limit on rent in advance. A landlord must not require a tenant to pay rent under an agreement more than 1 month in advance Section 41 a landlord must no require a tenant to pay rent under a tenancy agreement more that 2 weeks in advance in the period in respect of which rent is payable under that agreement is not more that 1 week. so provided you have a lease agreement that states that the rent is fortnightly or above you can ask for 4 weeks in advance.I just found a tenant for my investment property who wants to pay 12 months rent in advance as he can not be bothered paying rent every month.
S41 says a landlord must not "require" as we are both agreeing to this, does that mean I can take 12 months rent in advance?
propertyboy wrote:S41 says a landlord must not "require" as we are both agreeing to this, does that mean I can take 12 months rent in advance?I would love to know the answer to this too. Anyone?
Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
Email Me | Phone MeVIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.
Hey guys, You can't REQUIRE a tenant to pay more than one month in advance in VIC, however, if they WANT to pay the 12 months up front there is no problem with you accepting it.
If a tenant signs on to a fortnightly lease then you can still ask for a month up front (or four weeks which will be far easier to keep track of payment dates) and if they are on a weekly lease then you can ask for no more than 2 weeks up front.
Now days when you go to VCAT for rent arrears and a tenant is put on a payment plan, the order always states that the payment plan is to stay in place until the tenants rent is up to date and in advance
.You can't take a tenant for rent arrears until they are 14 full days in arrears so a lot of landlords find that tenants are the full required period in advance with them not being able to do a lot about it unless you want to go to tribunal over a general dispute for a compliance order.
Hope this helps!
PS – everything I've mentioned comes back to VIC laws, I don't know about other states as it does vary.
I’ve been waltzed around by some slick tenants in many tribunals during my time as a PM in NSW, and this is what the Tribunals told me to adopt as an attitude. Someone please correct me if the law has changed, I’d appreciate an update.
Apart from the initial rent in advance at the start of a lease, the Act says a tenant must always pay rent in advance. It does not say how much or how far in advance. Fine. This means that paid days are days that the rent is paid for, and a tenant is not in arrears until the sun sets on an unpaid day.
So demands for rent cannot be enforced unless the rent is ” in arrears. “
If the law has changed in this respect it’d be very good news.
Cheers
thecrestthecrest | Tony Neale - Statewide Motel Brokers
http://www.statewidemotelbrokers.com.au
Email Me | Phone Meselling motels in NSW
My tenant paid a month in advance from the start as that was how the agent does things as a rule. The tenant was PERFECT though and had a very reliable history elsewhere (she thinks we are the best landlords she ever had too
). Previous tenants also paid monthly and were on time but only stayed for the 6 month lease period.
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). Previous tenants also paid monthly and were on time but only stayed for the 6 month lease period.You must be logged in to reply to this topic. If you don't have an account, you can register here.
