In the middle of a lease, can new management change the waythat tenantsare allowed to pay their rent?
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In the middle of a lease, can new management change the waythat tenantsare allowed to pay their rent?
The new management of my apartment building has decided that any payment after the 7th of the month must be in the form of a money order or cashiers check. This is not in the lease and a personal check has always been excepted before they took over. Is it legal to change the way payments are allowed without it being in the lease?
Asked on October 17, 2010 under Real Estate Law, Missouri
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 14 years ago | Contributor
As long as the lease is still in force--i.e. as long as the term has not run out and a new lease is being put in place--the landlord, anyone who buys the building or takes over from the landlord, and anyone hired by the landlord to manage the building is bound by the lease. That includes accepting payment in whatever forms and as of whatever dates where allowed by the lease. However, if the former management was voluntarily allowing you to pay later or in a different way than the lease itself indicated, then the new management does not need to continue that voluntary arrangment--that is, they can insist on strict performance of the lease terms. However, again, they can't change those terms, so they are bound to the payment methods and dates in the lease itself.
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