Is it usual for tenants to pay monthly in Victoria?

? This doesn't make any sense to me at all. At 14 days overdue, the rent is 14 days overdue - in both scenarios.

 

Uh, a bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush

 

Both.

Vic renters talk about their weekly rent to each other all the time. That's what is advertised.
They pay their agents monthly, and that monthly figure is adjusted as $weekly x 52 weeks / 12 months.
The Bond held by the RTA is the entire month's rent, in case one of your scenarios above occurs.
Couldn't be simpler.

2 days after your rent is due, if unpaid, any PM worth their salt is already bombarding your phone and email with reminders. You'll be a very lucky tenant to make even 10 days unpaid, unless your PM is an absolute dunce.

This is a lot about nothing, honestly.

 

Bombarding is a good word. A good PM will assess applicants so that they are unlikely to miss a payment. In 1992 I bought Loud Whoopee Cushions (LWC) for $3.28. LWC is currently trading in the $42-46 range. I have got over $10 in dividends. During the pandemic dividends ceased for a year, and price fell like a broker during the 1929 crash. Dividends have commenced and the price is way up on the pandemic low. A short period of no income and a share price down to just 10 times what I paid for it is acceptable.

Similarly, with most properties well up in value and giving good rental income, a month or two of no rent every few years is if not welcome acceptable. The last time a tenant did not pay was ... never.

 

Perhaps in your experience.

 

Of course, but my experience is literally 40 years of renting in all areas of Melbourne, across all agencies.

 

Sometimes people misunderstand MONTHLY rent and weekly rent.

1. A month does not contain 4 weeks. A month is calendar period of 28, 29, 30 or 31 days duration.
2. ONLY a month of 28 days has 4 weeks which comprise a period of 7 calendar days.
3. It is rare that a MONTH for leasing spans a period commencing on the 1st and ending on the 28th even when a month contains 28 days (Feb)
4. Most advertised rents are commonly expressed in weeks. Its a simple concept to understand and pay.
5. A fortnight is simple as its 2 x weekly.

6. Weekly rent x 4 is NOT monthly rent. eg Fred owns a property let at $450 a week. A months rent is a calendar period and the duration varies as noted below. He COULD calculate monthly rent is $450x 52 = $23400 and divide that by 12 = $1950.
7. Paying on differet days can create arrears. eg Paying fotnightly. If someone pays on Thursday and then changes to Wednesdays then Tuesdays then Mondays they are now likley 4 days in arrears in a relative way. But if the lease required fortnightly or weekly payments by Wednesday they are only 2 days in arrears. BUT by Tuesday in 2 weeks time they are 16 days in arrears.

It is necessary to refer to a lease and the rate of rent period and its frequency at which it is due. Then the payment of rent is generally to be maintained in advance. Again refer to the lease. The lease usually allows a PAYMENT frequency that is different to the lease requirements. In fact advance paymnet is not just acceptable but expected. But it isnt stated how much. However it may not be less to leave arrears.

PM software generally allocates to a paid date. Its does this by dividing the due rent by a frequency eg $600 a week = $85.71 per day. If someone pays a week or two weeks at a time its simple. The software updates the "paid to" on the agent system and this is often shown on LL statements issued each week/fnight or month. Tenants can pay a week of rent, a fortnight or even a werd amount if they want. Its confusing for them as they wont know where they are paid up until.

 

He could also divide by 7 to get the daily rent, then multiply by 365/366, and THEN divide by 12, which would give him different figures, because

a) Most years have 52 weeks and 1 day ---> $1955.36 /month
and
b) Some years have 52 weeks and 2 days ---> $1960.71 /month

 

Most REAs with monthly payments have something like this:
$500/week
X 52 weeks is $26,000/year
divided by 12 months is $2166.66 a month.
The rent is due on a numerical date of the month. If the lease is from 20 January the rent is due on the twentieth day of the month.

Some months will have a bit of overpayment, and some will have a bit of underpayment. It works out fairly accurately over a year. I have never looked at the number of weeks from, say 20 January 2023 when the lease starts to 20 January 2024. One may be a Monday and one may be a Thursday, and this seems to be accepted.

 

Fortnightly is simpler and has better cashflow implications for tenants. Monthly payments seem to be entrenched in Victoria and will probably not be changed.

 

People paid monthly may like to pay monthly to align with pays. Otherwise nobody like monthly really. Where it becomes a problem is when someone things 4 x week = month. The example posted by @Burramys would be $2000 v $2166.66 leaving arrears that build. Why ? Because they would be only paying 48 weeks not 52 weeks ina year.

Its the opposite of the loan issue. Car loans are often $XXXX a month. Better to divide that by 4 and pay weekly. You will overpay and also pay earlier to reduce interest