Rent you collect for a landlord is client money. It should land in a designated client account, be matched to the right tenancy, and go out to the landlord minus your agreed fees, promptly and within the timescale your scheme or professional body sets (one calendar month of becoming due for Propertymark members). Most payout delays start earlier, with rent that arrives late or can't be identified.
In this article
The short version
- Letting agents in England who hold client money must belong to a client money protection scheme and a redress scheme.
- No statute sets a deadline for paying landlords, but Propertymark members must pay out within one calendar month of the money becoming due.
- Match each payment to the tenancy, deduct only fees and costs the landlord agreed in writing, and send a statement showing rent received, deductions and the amount paid.
- Paying landlords as rent clears means more runs and reconciliation, while one or two runs a month means landlords wait longer, so put your choice in your terms of business.
- Most payout delays start earlier, with unidentified payments, cancelled standing orders, unchased late rent or direct debit clearing time.
What the rules expect when you hold rent
A landlord rings on the 9th asking where the rent is. The tenant paid on the 1st, but the payment came in as "J SMITH FLAT" with no tenancy reference, and it's still sitting unallocated. Nothing has gone wrong legally yet, but it's the kind of delay that turns into a complaint.
If you hold client money as a letting agent in England, you must belong to a government-approved client money protection scheme (required since 1 April 2019) and a redress scheme (since 1 October 2014). You must display your CMP certificate in your office and on your website, and tell clients in writing within 14 days if your membership changes.
The law itself doesn't set a deadline for paying landlords. That comes from your scheme or professional body. Propertymark's conduct rules, for example, require members to:
- bank client money into a client account within two working days of receiving it
- make payments out of client account promptly, and within not more than one calendar month of them becoming due
- reconcile client accounts at least every two calendar months
- name the account with the word "Client" and the firm's legal name.
The RICS standard asks for monthly reconciliation in most cases. If you're with another scheme, check its rules, because the numbers differ.
How a rent payment should move
The path is short, and every step needs a record:
- The tenant pays into your client account. Rent that reaches you any other way is banked into client account within your scheme's time limit.
- You match the payment to the tenancy and post it to that landlord's ledger.
- You deduct only what the landlord has agreed in writing: your management fee and any approved costs, such as a repair invoice.
- You pay the balance to the landlord and send a statement showing the rent received, each deduction and the amount paid.
Say a £950 rent arrives on the 1st and your management fee is 12%. You post £950 to the landlord's ledger, take £114 as your fee, and pay the landlord £836 with a statement showing all three figures. If a £180 plumber's invoice is approved that month, it comes off as its own line, and the landlord receives £656.
How often to pay landlords
You have two broad choices, and both can sit within the one-month rule.
If you pay landlords as rent clears, they get their money within days and call you less. The trade-off is more payment runs, more statements and more reconciliation work, which suits agents whose rent arrives in a predictable pattern.
One or two payment runs a month mean fewer transactions and a tidier month end, at the cost of landlords waiting up to a few weeks after their tenant paid. Late or unidentified rent also gets pushed to the next run, which eats into the one-month limit.
Whatever you choose, put it in your terms of business so landlords know when to expect payment, and stick to it.
Where landlord payouts get held up
Payouts rarely fail at the last step. The usual causes are upstream:
- Unidentified payments. Garbled payer names, missing references and shared houses paying in one lump all sit in suspense until someone works out whose rent they are.
- Standing orders that stop. Tenants can cancel or change a standing order without telling you, so a missed rent often only shows up when you prepare the landlord's payout.
- Late rent with no follow-up. If chasing depends on someone finding time to phone, the landlord's money waits too.
- Clearing time. Direct debit money takes a few working days after collection to reach the account, so build it into your payout dates.
Fixing these is mostly about how rent comes in. Adfin gives each tenant their own bank details, so standing orders and transfers arrive already linked to the tenancy, and rent by direct debit is collected on the due date. Payments reconcile with Xero or QuickBooks, the weekday payout isn't reduced by fees because they're invoiced separately, and reminders go out by WhatsApp, SMS or email, with AI Customer Agents chasing to a policy you set. Adfin isn't a client account and doesn't replace your landlord payment run, so before changing how rent reaches you, check with your CMP scheme how the new route fits your client money procedures.
Common questions
Is there a legal deadline for paying rent to landlords? Not in statute. Your CMP scheme or professional body sets it, and Propertymark members must pay out within one calendar month of the money becoming due.
Do letting agents have to have client money protection? Yes, in England, if you hold client money in letting or management work. It has been mandatory since 1 April 2019, alongside redress scheme membership.
Can I take my fee before paying the landlord? Yes, if the landlord has agreed the fee in writing. Show the rent received, the fee and the amount paid on the landlord's statement.
How often should I reconcile my client account? As often as your scheme requires. Propertymark asks for at least every two calendar months, and RICS asks for monthly.
What should I do with rent I can't identify? Hold it in client account as unallocated, contact the likely payer quickly, and post it to the right ledger once confirmed. Don't pay it to a landlord on a guess.
Is Adfin a client account? No. Adfin collects, chases and reconciles rent, and your client account and landlord payments stay with you.
Sources
- GOV.UK - Mandatory client money protection: enforcement guidance for local authorities (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mandatory-client-money-protection/mandatory-client-money-protection-enforcement-guidance-for-local-authorities
- GOV.UK - Lettings agents and property managers: which government approved redress scheme do you belong to? (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/lettings-agents-and-property-managers-redress-schemes/lettings-agents-and-property-managers-which-government-approved-redress-scheme-do-you-belong-to
- Propertymark - Conduct and Membership Rules (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.propertymark.co.uk/static/1b740fbb-8cc0-4ed4-8a5bd9b5d006d765/75f8bfdf-f1b8-471f-8b342051082cc258/propertymark-conduct-and-membership-rules.pdf
- RICS - Client money handling (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.rics.org/content/dam/ricsglobal/documents/standards/Client-money-handling_Oct22.pdf
- Adfin - An introduction to Adfin bank transfers (accurate as of October 2026) https://support.adfin.com/en/articles/12600901-an-introduction-to-adfin-bank-transfers
- Adfin - Property management (accurate as of October 2026) https://adfin.com/for/property-management
