Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Re: Uncashed Rent Check

So, your landlord loses your rent check, does not notify you about it for over a year, then upon discoverying his accounting error, seeks the payment along with a late charge? First, you do owe the money, but a landlord cannot legally recover rent which is over 12 months past due. Therefore, you have a bargaining chip to get him to waive the late fee and interest. If he sues you for the rent and it is over 12 months past due, he will lose the lawsuit. But a suit will cost you money. Best thing is to avoid the suit, and pay the month's rent on the condition that the landlord waive the late fee in writing. Good Luck.

Re: Uncashed Rent Check

(1) Yes, you stlll owe the money; (2) you should pay it at soon as possible; and (3) charging a late fee would be questionnable because it was largely the landlord's fault.

It is worth noting that you never "paid" the money and you should have known the check did not clear. You could have brought this to your landlord's attention when you were reconciling your bank statements, but you did not. Although the landlord is mostly at fault, you are not completely innocent in this.

Re: Uncashed Rent Check

Yes you do owe the money and should pay it as soon as possible. However, a late fee at this junction, and due to the landlords mistake, is probably not an option. However, if the landlord applies it you will have a fight on your hands, so the best thing to do is pay ASAP.

Please note that a check is not payment, but a promise to pay. Until the check is cashed no payment was made. Please understand that if you do not pay the amount within a reasonable time, the owner may elect to evict you for non-payment of rent.