Bounced rent check?

Question

Okay, I am going to come off sounding really irresposible here but I'm very worried. Two months ago I my rent check bounced due to poor book keeping on my part. My landlord called me and was not angry but stern about it. I sent him another check for rent plus fee. This month,my rent check has bounced becasue a check I deposited bounced. I live in Mass. Can he evict me for this. I will have the money on Friday. I'm worried that if I call him, he won't bealive me. What is the best plan of action?

Answer 1

Mistakes happen, but you can believe me when I tell you that the landlord has heard every "the dog ate my homework" and "the bank screwed up my account" and "I mailed your check last week" excuse in the world. He would much prefer to keep you in place and get paid on time rather than spend the time and effort to evict you.

Call him immediately and appologize. Tell him that you know he does not want excuses, he wants to be paid. Tell him that you will absolutely have his money on Friday and that you understand that he needs to be pain on time or you will be evicted. Take your responsibility seriously and understand that if he gives you another chance, you owe it to him to keep your word. Don't cut things so short that you will have trouble again. Everyone makes mistakes, but habitually breaking your word with BS excuses is kid stuff and no one wants to do business with someone who does that.

Answer 2

I would call him and tell him about the situation.

I would explain to him that you took him very seriously the 1st time this happened and that you did not want this to happen again. Unfortunately, a check that you deposited into your account bounced.

You can get documentation of the bounced check from your bank.

Explain that you will have the money on Friday (plus fees). Hope that your landlord is understanding of this.

An option to try to mend the fence is to offer to your landlord to give him money orders for rent for the next 6 months to help gain his trust back and so that you can show him that you are a responsible tenant.

Getting money orders will require responsibility and care on your end to balancing your books and making sure that you have the cash to pay your rent.

In the end, your landlord does have the right to evict you if your rent is not paid. These rights are outlined in your rental agreement (you should have one in writing) ... always make sure that you are aware of your renter's rights!

Be honest, that is the best. Good luck!

Answer 3

Call him and let him know, apologize and say you will pay the check bounce fee.

Eviction is a process that has to go through the legal system and can take months, generally landords won't do this unless you owe back rent for a few months.

See if you can get overdraft protection on your checking account, they will link a credit card to your checking account and if you overdraft they will deposit the money in your account and charge it to your credit card, there is a fee for this but it is less expensive than a bounced check fee, and it will spare you the embarrasment as well. Also it will be better for your credit rating. But do not use that credit card for anything else and always pay it in full every month.

Answer 4

To avoid further bounced checks consider a money order or a cashier's check. A cashier's check freezes the funds in your account (in the amount of the check) so that it is guaranteed not to bounce.. It costs anywhere from .75 cents to 1.25 depending on your bank but better than the emabarresment (sp) and the bounced fees not to mention your late fees.

Be honest with him, tell him what happened and just don't pay with a regular check anymore.

Get debt counseling. It helps!

Answer 5

Call your landlord or go see him in person. Inform him of the current situation and bring proof that the check you deposited bounced otherwise he might not believe you. Since you say you are going to have the money on Friday, ask him if he will accept payment for late rent on Friday.

Answer 6

I would call him before he calls you. Though its not any of his business, I might show him proof that the check you deposited bounced. I would also give him a Cashier's Check instead of a personal check to replace the one that bounced.

You should probably contact your local housing agency to see what the law is on evictions. If you've been a pretty good tenant to this point, that certainly can't hurt you. Just don't avoid him.

Answer 7

I would call him first before it comes back to him and come clean to him. Show him that the check you deposited bounced causing this chain reaction.

He could evict you if he wanted to go through all of that. Or he might just make you give him money orders from now on. That's what we do to our tenants. If they bounce a check just once, we make them pay by money order or cashiers check for a year before we'll allow them to pay by check again.

Answer 8

Discuss it with him. He re-started any possible legal process by excepting a check as payment on a returned check the first time. Eviction is a long way off due to all the filing of warrants and court procedures. He will have to refuse your payment Friday if he wants to start legal proceedings for this reason only.

Answer 9

Just tell him that from now on you will give him a cashiers check for the rent so he won't have to worry. This should calm him down. He would rather have you living there than have to re-paint and try to get a new tennant.

After a few months of giving him a cahiers check he will start to accept checks again.

Answer 10

No he can't so long as you actually do pay him the rent.

If you are late, the courts will not evict you. It is not easy to get a residential eviction. You need to have a solid reason not just a technical default that was later corrected. It will lower his lack of trust for you so if you are late on the rent in the future he will become worried and will not trust your checks.

You are demonstrating to him (regardless of your excuses) that you are unable to pay the rent.