Help Me with My Landlord Who Loses Rent Check and Wants More

Do you have to mail in the payments or can you hand-deliver them? Sometimes you just have to do things the hard way due to incompetant ppl. I'd first ck w/the bank to see if it HAS cleared if you hadn't already. Let the bank know what's going on then find out where the landlord's office is & see about hand-delivering instead. If they refuse then tell them they need to start paying more attention to how they're receiving mail. You cannot keep paying extra for their incompetance & ineptness. Good luck!

You can contact the Texas Apartment Association to see if they are members....there is also a Resident Relations department through the Houston Apartment Association..you can possibly file a complaint on-line through the website. I believe the Resident Relations Dept. can act as a mediator between the resident and owner. Hope it all works out for you.

UPDATE: My husband checked with his broker (He's very smart in this arena) and will be posting a new post with what he had to say, which basically was if the funds are not received (not meaning a check being received but the actual funds) the rent is not paid. Please read his post for further detail.

S. B,
My wife grabbed me to read your post. I do prop.mgt. and this just baffels me. If I'm reading your post correctly, you have a signed certified receipt showing they received your rent? If that's the case, then I'd tell them tough. READ... and this goes for everyone renting out there, READ the "Tenant's Rights Handbook" linked here. This is for the state of Texas and gives you the law, published by the State Bar of Texas.

http://www.texasbar.com/Template.cfm?Section=Home&CON... (Don't click on the link but copy and paste the full link to pull up the handbook.)

Page 4 applies to your situation.

Once the manager/landlord receives the rent, it's on them to not LOSE the freaking rent check. How unprofessional. I know if I did, it would be ME eating the rent. You can google TAA and report them, but I have little respect for the TAA. Report it to the BBB and you might also contact the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) for advice.

I'm so sorry for this mess! Ugh... just makes my line of work that much more difficult. Best of luck to you though... and read the handbook.

Do not lose your receipts showing they received the checks in case they file for eviction. Read your lease on "Default" and see if it's possible to get out of your lease and move and not rent from them anymore. I know moving is the pits, but so is this.

Best wishes!

Hi S. B,
Leslie's husband here, I'm the guy with the link to Tenant Right's Handbook... and I got an update for you:

Talked to my broker, and I'm glad I did. He said the check you sent signifies your "intent" to pay the rent. Had the landlord done their job, your intent would have been fulfilled. BUT... until the actual FUNDS change hands, then the rent is very literally Not Paid and could be grounds for an eviction.

Fair? No. Might a judge side with you? Probably. But it's not worth it. Hand delivering the funds is best. If that's just not possible due to landlord not being where you are, then mail is the best option. If they ARE (and they are) losing the checks, then GET IT IN WRITING, from the landlord, that you may deduct the "stop payment" amount from the rent for you to have the first check stopped and a second check issued. But get it in writing, because ANY shortage in the rent is an evictable offense. The law states the rent is due "in full."

Okay, that will get the rent paid, so now let's move on to slapping this guy around: TREC, TAA, BBB are all avenues. Another I thought of was a simple "letter to the editor," those are nice. Also, someone is incompetent here and I'm guessing it's not the head cheese, so see if you can find a property owner, corporation, whoever you can appeal to and go over the head of the person you mail the rent to. If I owned a property and heard about this, I'd change managers post-haste.

Get the rent paid (funds exchanged).
Get everything in writing, and keep it forever.
Go over the head of the people screwing up. And if you are dealing with an "investor," see if they have a lender with a note on the property (public record at the county court) and let the lender/bankers know what is going on. Maybe they can help... or at least limit this dude's business in the future! Hit'em in the pocketbook.

Best wishes,
J.

PS: To all the "Mama's" out there, I'll not make it a habit invading "mamasource." My wife made me do it... ;)

I would suggest you set up your rent payments on line via your bank account. That will save you the hassle of trying to issue and reissue.

I would then suggest you contact The People's Lawyer - you can access him through www.abc13.com - and see what they say. This is an organization that offers free legal advice and they with Landlord issues all of the time.

S. B,
Is there any way you can hand deliver the rent? Or maybe just send it and if they call to complain, tell them too bad! This is rediculous that they want you to send two checks ~ I would let them know that you have a lawyer and will have this investigated if they don't get their %^&* together!
I'm sorry I'm not more help. But it is clear you need to take some action.

Maybe you should start sending them in certified mail that requires a signature when received. You get the receipt and can prove that they received it. It might be worth the $2.

Contact the Austin Tenant's Council for your rights...
www.housing-rights.org.

what about a cashier's check or a wire transfer into their account? get a real estate attorney n see what ur rights are. landlords can be shady and for all u know they r using u to do something that may not be right. be careful. also speak to them or send them a letter telling them no letter until u get a better way to send it. that will get their attention.

Sorry you are having so much trouble with your landlord. At least with the signed certified letter you know they got it and it is not lost in the mail. First, I would suggest you have your name and rental address in bold on the check. I have rental property and people will send me a check with their old address. That just makes is harder to figure out who it is from. Same thing with a money order. Make sure they can read the name & address on the money order. You can contact the TAAA to make sure they are a member in good standing. They might be able to give you someone to contact about the problem. Good luck!

The landlords we rented a house from lived in Mexico, so we deposited our rent check directly into their bank or did a wire transfer so it went directly. Not sure if this is an option for you.

I agree with the other posts I read that this is a situation you need to beware of and something needs to be done. We found out shortly after we moved out of there that the house was foreclosed on b/c they were taking our rent and not paying the mortgage.

You may have a way to get out of your lease without any legal or financial repurcussions. I know it's tough- we were facing the same thing when a realtor friend told us about our house that we bought last year. We weren't looking to buy, but the house was perfect and it all worked out. The timing was amazing!

If at all possible, hand deliver your rent payment and get a receipt. Do not leave without one. This is your protection. Also, if you have to mail in your payment, get it return receipt requested. Therefore they have to sign for it and you have your receipt showing that they got it. Get a money order...keep all your receipts, and I mean all of them. If they refuse to sign for it, it will be delivered back to you and the reason why it is being returned...therefore again your receipt. I know, I have been there and done that, too..

I wouldn't send two I would send only ONE but send that one certified mail signature required. It will cost you about $3. You will receive back from the post office a card with their signature showing the date received. Then if they call and say they never received it you will have the card to refer to. You could even mail them a copy of the card as proof they received it. Two checks out floating around risks them cashing both. Do you have enough money to cover both should they cash them? If not do not send two checks. Another option can you pay in person? If they live within a reasonable drive it might be worth it to deliver the check to them. Certified would solve the problem easiest and you would have their signature as proof.

I work for a professional property management company as their director of training. I would recommend you seek advice from your local "Tenant's counsel." For example, Austin, TX has the "Austin Tenant's Counsel." Also, if they are in deed members of the Texas Apartment Association, call TAA and talk with them as well. They may at least be able to offer you advice, although it won't necessarily be helpful in terms of sanctions against your landlord, etc.

Unfortunately, while you are in your lease, you may need to front the money to send a certified letter as part of your rent. Look at it as better than the headaches you are going through now. However, you are correct in thinking this is very bad business practice, in deed. When your lease is up, give proper written notice, and get out. Or contact a lawyer to get out early. Or pay the fees to break the lease. None of it is a great alternative when dealing with unscrupulous business people.

If you sent the check by certified mail I would not send another one. If they did this month after month to you, you would be out a considerable amount of money by the end of the year, and I am sure that money can be put to better use. I would definitely look into what the renter laws are. Also, can you pay them online?? I would think that this would avoid all the problems.

Protect yourself as far as you can by sending any and everything to your landlord with a signed delivery and copy whatever you send. I worked in real estate for years, what you are experiencing is not the norm for an ethical investor, but for the not so reliable investor this could mean they are taking in rent income and not paying the mortgage. In some cases someone can go a year taking in rent but not paying the mortgage before something is done. Protect yourself by being able to show you have sent payments - document everything including phone conversations, keep receipts and signature docs. That said, you may want to look for another house to lease. Depending on where you want to live, I may be able to give you the name of an honest investor/landlord. Good luck.

Well,it sounds like your landlord is not very organized.One option is to hand deliver it to him.Or if this continues get you some checks that have that carbon copy and send him his check and if he does'nt receive it its his problem and if he wants another one have him come get it.
If this continues and you know it's not on your behalf let him deal w/it since he can't organize himself.

Girl, Dont you dare send two checks. If you are allowing enough time for the check to get their on time, then that is all your responsible for. Also, if you are sending it with a return receipt then you are more than covered if he tries to evict you. As long as you have prove that you paid and on time, then dont worry about it. He has no legal grounds to do anything.Also, if you are getting confirmation that he received it, and he lost it, then I feel he should have to pay for the stop cancellation on the check. And I would not send him another check until you receive payment for that. Sounds like your covering your behind and keep it up because it sounds like they are trying to take advantage of you.

Obviously they have a problem in their business office. Do they have a phone number you can call? Let them know that you have all the signed receipts and the name of the person who received your payments. Advise them that you are sending only the payment that is due and the date it was/will be mailed. Call them again when you get the signed receipt back. Since they already have bad reports at BBB, that wouldn't be much of a threat to them, but being asked for double payments might be considered harrasment, and that is not legal.

I can only say this BEWARE! I have family that have been burned twice by "investors" there is no reason why you should have to send two checks each month. You need to make sure that your home is in good standing with the mortgage co. too many times I have seen and heard of rent being paid and houses going into foreclosure.