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Landlord cash rent check before rent is due?
At the end of November the oven broke in our rental house; the landlord asked us to pay for the repair and deduct the amount from the January’s rent check, as December’s check had already been mailed. We complied. This month after returning home from Christmas vacation on the evening of December 25th, the furnace was out. It was 56 degrees in the house and freezing. When we spoke with the landlord she asked us to make the same arrangements we had with the oven repairs. However, this month we owe my OB $600, a portion of my overall labor and delivery fee (I am 6 months pregnant, due in April), and we did not have extra money to repair the heater. I explained to her that that wasn’t an option this month and she agreed to pay for the repairs, scheduling them for today, Thursday, December 30th.
This morning my husband checked our bank account; I always send the rent check a few days before it’s due (in this case Monday, December 27th) to ensure that it arrives on time, as my landlord lives out of state. We get paid the 1st of every month; the same day rent is due. Needless to say, we didn’t have the funds in our account to cover the rent check before its due date. Because of our overdraft protection, the bank took all of our money in checkings and savings to cover the check. It wasn’t enough and we were then charged overdraft fees for every transaction made the previous day. The check was post dated for January 1st, 2011, but the bank teller said they no longer honor post dated checks. But in the same token, why, seeing the funds were unavailable, was the check not refused?
We’ve come to the conclusion that the landlord probably opted to cash the check early to pay for the furnace repairs. Reviewing our lease, it’s extremely vague in regards to this issue and whether her actions were acceptable from a legal standpoint. “Tenant will pay the monthly rent so that the Landlord receives the monthly rent on or before the first of every each month during the lease.” It goes on to say that, “Weekends, holidays, and mail delays do not excuse Tenant’s obligation to timely pay rent.” So essentially, if I send the check early to make sure it is there on time, the bank won’t protect me if she chooses to withdraw the money early, whether the funds are available or not.
At the same time, if I send the check a little later and it happens to not arrive by the 1st, I’m not paying “timely” and am liable for any issues with the mail delivery, etc. How is this fair? I’m trying to be a good tenant and pay her on time, but I’m not willing to allow her to overdraft my account again if the check winds up in her hands before rent is due. Do I have any rights whatsoever? Or am I just supposed to take it up both ends as it were?
Yes, I understand that the bank can accept post dated checks regardless of the date marked on them; the date on the check was more for my landlord's benefit. However, what I don't understand is seeing that the funds were NOT available, why was it not refused? The check should have been returned to the landlord and bounced. Instead, the bank allowed her to cash it. The only reason I can see for this is to get more money by over-drafting me for everything I had paid for that I now did not have funds to cover. I had $150 in checking and $500 in savings; rent is $1200.
In addition, it should also be noted that in the 4 months that we've lived at this residence, the landlord has NEVER taken the money early. In fact, most months she waits until the last week before she'll deposit the money.
I do NOT have an over-draft account. I have a SAVINGS account that it hooked up to the CHECKING account to cover minor accidental over-drafts. I do not have any credit cards or accounts specifically designated for this sort of thing. My accounts are simply synced as a precautionary measure. And I have NEVER prior to this incident over-drafted my account. I'm not some derelict person who doesn't take care of their bills. I am a tenant who, wanting to ensure my landlord had her check on time, sent it early as a courtesy to her, and am now being penalized for that through my bank because she chose to take the money before it was due. BTW it is not illegal to postdate a check and I did not knowingly write a bad check. I wrote a check to be cashed on a specific date when I knew the funds WOULD be available, the same way they are EVERY month. If I gave my rent check to an apartment complex before the due date, it would not be taken from my account until that day. Bottom line, the bank took t
the funds from the account knowing they weren't sufficient because they wanted to incur over-draft fees. It is money right into their pocket.
5 Answers
- LILLLv 71 decade agoFavorite Answer
It does not matter if you post dated the check. A check is a legal instrument of payment can be legally cashed/deposited the moment your landlord receives it.
EDIT: The funds were not refused because you chose to have an overdraft account. If you don't like the policies of your bank...close your accounts and move them elsewhere.
BTW...you should be happy the bank covered your check since in most states it's a criminal offense (felony) to write a bad check...regardless of the date.
- Anonymous5 years ago
Pay up or get packed. Where did you get the idea that it was ok to prorate your lease? This would be perfectly ok to do if there was a clause in your lease stating so, but that is not the case. Yes your landlord has a responsibility to provide repairs, but there is right way to inform the landlord of such repairs, and a wrong way, and you chose the wrong way. The little bird who told you that the landlord can't cash the check and evict is mistaken. They would be correct if you paid the full amount and the reason for the eviction was solely based upon money (and it sounds like it is based upon your quit notice), but today you are in breach of contract for failing to pay the full rent and now are subject to late fees too (and you don't have the power to prorate those either). When you breach a lease you automatically forfeit your deposit too. Somewhere along the way you got the idea that you had the power to make the rules, and it is simply not true. By law all requests for repairs must be made in writing. The landlord has a certain amount of time to think about how to resolve the issue and another period to begin working on the issue. Even if the issue is never resolved the law is on the landlords side as long as he is making an active effort to resolve the issue. And not all requests for repairs are required to be completed under the law (but a leaky roof is). I know it doesn't seem fair, but it is the law.
- acermillLv 71 decade ago
Dear, the funds WERE available, through your agreement with your bank to provide overdraft protection. That is what 'overdraft protection' is all about. So that your checks do NOT bounce. With a sincere explanation to your bank, they MAY waive all those fees, if you talk nicely and have been a good customer in the past.
- philospher77Lv 61 decade ago
You are out of luck. When you write a check and hand it to someone, the assumption is that you have the money in your account at that time. In fact, many companies now automatically deduct the money electronically, so you hand them the check, they insert it into their register to do the transfer, and hand the check back to you.
What you are supposed to do is budget so that you have the money in your account when you write the check.
- ?Lv 71 decade ago
You have no "rights" here. Send it on the 30th or 31st. If he gets it on the 2nd the world won't come to an end.
