February 2023
Question?
My tenants pay rent directly to my bank account – do I still need to provide them with a Rent Book and/or a receipt for payments?
Response:
As a Landlord, you are obliged to provide your tenant(s) with a ‘rent book’ at the commencement of a tenancy or another equivalent document providing the same information. A rent book is a document that records details about a tenancy and notes all rent payments that are made. The requirement to provide a rent book is set down in legislation since 1993.
The rent book must contain specific particulars relating to the tenancy including, among other things:
- the name and address of the landlord and of the landlord’s agent (if any),
- the term of the tenancy,
- the amount of the rent and of any other payments to be made by the tenant to the landlord
- details of any advance rent or deposit paid
- an inventory of furnishings and appliances supplied with the house
- the rent book must also include a basic statement of information for the tenant which is set out in the Schedule to the Regulations.
- If your tenant makes payments in person:
You should record all rent payments in the rent book, you should sign the book or give a signed receipt with details of the payment.
- If your tenant pays in another way, such as through the bank as in your case:
You should either sign the rent book or give a written receipt for payment within 3 months of the payment. You may wish to do a statement/receipts at 3 month intervals.
All rent and other payments under the tenancy must be acknowledged by you the landlord.
* Take note of the date of publication of this piece. Information on this website may change with the passing of time and the law is constantly changing. Whilst we take steps to ensure the accuracy of the information, we cannot guarantee this. Clarification should always be sought.