Does a landlord have to accept a partial payment?
Question Details:
We currently have a $1000 balance with our apartment for 1 months rent and $200 of the previous balance. We were given until today to pay the full balance but could only get $700. We got a money order and they said they may not be able to accept it since its not the full balance. They said they may have to get their lawyer involved at our cost. Since we are paying a major portion of the balance, with promise to pay the remainder before the end of the month, why can they not accept it?
Landlord / Tenant Law Answers
Unless the written lease that you presumably signed with your landlord for the rental that you have states that the landlord is required to accept partial payments for back rent, he or she is not obligated to do so.
One reason why the landlord may not accept the partial payment is a concern that by accepting not all of it, a claim could be made that he or she accepted the partial payment as payment in full for all that was supposedly due.
Good luck.
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