Slippery-Fingered Landlord

[bookslover]

Well, he did it again.

My landlord let me know that he's "mislaid" my rent check. That's the second time in two or three years he's done that.

Legally, it's too bad I can't tell him: "Oh, you mislaid my check, which I mailed on time and in full? Well, that's on you! See you next month!"

What frustrates me is that he can just blithely mislay it - but I'm the one who has to do all the running around to contact the bank to put a stop notice on that check and then send him a new one, as well as correct my check register.

He's the one who screwed up, but I'm the one who has to fix it.

Sigh.

 

[Stephen L Smith]

Can you not pay the money direct into the Landlord's bank account? That is normally done in my country.

 

[Tom Hart]

I've had worse landlords.

 

[Ed Walsh]

but I'm the one who has to do all the running around to contact the bank to put a stop notice on that check and then send him a new one, as well as correct my check register.

You keep a check register? I haven't done so for probably 30 years. Yet.Yet I never bounced a check. And I've never been late on any payments of any kind, and I pay all the bills in the house. But I just never could get used to keeping a check register. Oh well. Whatever works.

I would ask him to pay the stop payment fee though since it's his fault.

 

[Ed Walsh]

I've had worse landlords.

Believe me, so have I.

Many years ago Mary and I had a landlord that had a peephole from her basement into ours so she could monitor our heating oil level for the furnace. It was a record cold year with temperatures below zero when my wife and I took a trip to Missouri to visit my wife's grandparents. We turned the thermostat down to around 55 since we weren't going to be home for about 10 days. But when we get home the temperature had been turned up to over 72 degrees twenty-four hours a day and drained our entire tank of fuel. Loads of stuff like that happened all the time.

What did we do? Well, we just ordered more fuel oil and let it go at that.

 

[OPC'n]

Make sure he pays the stop checks and pays for the new check you have to give. But ask him to set up automatic payments. Would benefit you and him

 

[bookslover]

You keep a check register? I haven't done so for probably 30 years. Yet.Yet I never bounced a check. And I've never been late on any payments of any kind, and I pay all the bills in the house. But I just never could get used to keeping a check register. Oh well. Whatever works.

I would ask him to pay the stop payment fee though since it's his fault.

Oh, I've already let him know that he's getting $30 less rent to cover the check-stopping fee. Glad this dude doesn't work in a bank. He'd have been fired by now.

 

[Tyler Spry]

We have two small houses that we rent out and one of my renters pays us through Zelle. It's very convenient for all parties. Sorry for your landlord problems!

 

[bookslover]

I went to the bank and stopped the check.

Then, I signed up for one of their automatic bill-pay thingees. So now, the bank will automatically send him a certified check each month for my rent. Helps to protect my personal banking information, etc.

And, the nice lady who helped me waived the $30 fee to stop the check. (I must have looked old and needy. Heh.)

So, I'm all modern now!

 

[RobertPGH1981]

And, the nice lady who helped me waived the $30 fee to stop the check. (I must have looked old and needy. Heh.)

This shouldn't have been your responsibility in the first place, and it should come out of your landlords pocket. Your choice to give him a pass.

 

[SavedSinner]

Well, he did it again.

My landlord let me know that he's "mislaid" my rent check. That's the second time in two or three years he's done that.

Legally, it's too bad I can't tell him: "Oh, you mislaid my check, which I mailed on time and in full? Well, that's on you! See you next month!"

What frustrates me is that he can just blithely mislay it - but I'm the one who has to do all the running around to contact the bank to put a stop notice on that check and then send him a new one, as well as correct my check register.

He's the one who screwed up, but I'm the one who has to fix it.

Sigh.

Well, he did it again.

My landlord let me know that he's "mislaid" my rent check. That's the second time in two or three years he's done that.

Legally, it's too bad I can't tell him: "Oh, you mislaid my check, which I mailed on time and in full? Well, that's on you! See you next month!"

What frustrates me is that he can just blithely mislay it - but I'm the one who has to do all the running around to contact the bank to put a stop notice on that check and then send him a new one, as well as correct my check register.

He's the one who screwed up, but I'm the one who has to fix it.

Sigh.

Electronic payment to the Landlord's bank account (better) or manually deposit the check in his bank. For electronic you can use ACH or wire which may or may not be free; or set-up a bill pay with your bank and your bank will cut the check free of charge (it will just post several days earlier than if you had mailed a check); or use Zelle which is co-owned by all the major US banks and is free. Your Landlord will need a Zelle account also. It is easy to set up using either your mobile phone or your email address. But the banks have their own rules and maximums for Zelle, so for your rent it may or may not work for you. BUT---Don't make a mistake on Zelle or you will never get your $$ back...

 

[bookslover]

This shouldn't have been your responsibility in the first place, and it should come out of your landlords pocket. Your choice to give him a pass.

Legally, I think, he suffers no negative consequences. He screwed it up, but it's up to me to fix it by stopping the first check and sending him another one. He can blithely misplace my check, but he's not going to go without his rent!

I agree that this shouldn't have been my responsibility. I'd love to be able to say, "You lost it? Your hard luck. See you next month." But, he'd probably either sue me or throw me out of the house.

I haven't checked into it (who can afford lawyers?) but my guess is that the law is entirely on his side.

 

[Username3000]

At least he’s not welding your door shut so that you are forcibly quarantined inside to die.

 

[bookslover]

At least he’s not welding your door shut so that you are forcibly quarantined inside to die.

LOL. Well, there is that.

 

[VictorBravo]

I haven't checked into it (who can afford lawyers?) but my guess is that the law is entirely on his side.

I'm not going to give advice on California law, but a common law rule is your obligation is to tender payment, not guard him from how he handles what you gave him.

But there are hassles in sitting on your rights.

 

[RobertPGH1981]

Legally, I think, he suffers no negative consequences. He screwed it up, but it's up to me to fix it by stopping the first check and sending him another one. He can blithely misplace my check, but he's not going to go without his rent!

If you have a text message or voicemail saying he lost then it then you have proof. Maybe let him go this time but mention that if he loses it again you will deduct the stop payment from the newly issued check. The only thing he can do at that point is lie and say he never received it rather than say he lost it which is dishonest and then you are stuck.

You should at least attempt this to try to prevent this irresponsible behavior in the future. Another way to avoid it is to hand him the check in person and ask for a receipt (if you live closeby). If you have a receipt then he can't do anything like this to you (FYI, he should have a receipt book for tenants who might pay cash). Just my two cents...