Should You Charge Weekly Or Monthly Rent?
Being a landlord is much more complicated than it first sounds! It seems simple doesn’t it? Get a house, find a tenant, introduce one to the other and collect rent.
There are so many more things you need to note, organise and be responsible for aside from maintaining proper utilities and collecting rent. In fact, a common question next to how much you should charge for rent is when you should charge the rent. Should you charge a weekly or monthly rental fee? Could it be spaced out to Quarterly? Would we accept a one-time annual payment and offer a discount?
Whilst it is your property and your choice, you have to take into account when the tenants will have money, and when they can afford your rent. If you charge your rent weekly, but they are paid monthly, there will be some weeks when they are asking for an extension. If you charge monthly, but they are paid weekly, they might ask to pay a bit every week.
It is a common practice for landlords to bill rent on a monthly basis, and there are many good reasons for this. Common pros of charging monthly are that more people are getting paid monthly in their job, it is easier to remember, and it is a standardised practice. In other words, provided you have a compelling justification to differ, remain with a monthly billing cycle. Whilst in a monthly rental cycle, ask the tenants when in the month they get paid. If they are paid on the 25th of the month, charge your rent on the 25th or 26th of the month. You never know if they have spent all their money by the 30th of the month and if they will fall into arrears with you.
There are a few landlords that do charge rent on a weekly basis, but they are the exception rather than the rule. Some tenants may be leasing out apartments for just a few weeks at a time, usually, advertisements for apartments in the United Kingdom are on a weekly basis. This makes it simple to calculate the real rental amount which will be expected. In some cases, the majority of renters believe their monthly rent will be equal to the weekly rent amount multiplied by four. Hence, calculating the monthly rent is based on the fact that there are not always four weeks in a month. So if you go by weekly charging of rent, you can try to compute it according Co Apt wherein, weekly rent x 52 (weeks in the year) x number of tenants ÷ 12.
Should you charge weekly or monthly? It actually depends on the market and what the localised standard is. No matter whether you charge weekly or monthly, it doesn’t really create a change to your yearly rental income. Payment terms and frequency are a part of the negotiated contract, and therefore can be different for each tenant. Be responsive, and your tenants will appreciate it, but draw up a contract, and stick to it.
