Many tenants will switch if it takes them a minute on their phone, they understand they're protected, and you tell them exactly when to cancel the old standing order. Move each tenant at a moment when their payment is changing anyway, such as a rent increase or the end of an old six-monthly or annual rent period, and set new tenancies up on direct debit from the start. Keep a payment link and unique bank details for the few who won't.
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The short version
- Switch each tenant when their payment is changing anyway, such as a rent increase or the end of an old six-monthly or annual rent period.
- Tell tenants they get notice before each collection, can cancel through their bank, are covered by the Direct Debit Guarantee and can't be charged for paying.
- Set the first direct debit for the rent date after their next standing order, and tell them exactly when to cancel the standing order.
- Check each bank line on the first direct debit date and refund any double payment promptly unless the tenant asks in writing for it to be held.
- Give tenants who won't switch unique bank details for their standing order and a payment link for any missed month.
Why this year is a good time to move
A six-bed student house that used to pay termly sent you 18 payments a year: six rooms, three terms. Under the Renters' Rights Act, rent periods for assured tenancies can't be longer than a month, so the same house now sends 72. Across a student portfolio, that's four times as many payments to match, most of them arriving by standing order with whatever reference each student types.
Where a tenancy's longer rent period was under way on 1 May 2026, it switches to monthly rent once that period finishes. If some of yours haven't changed over yet, that changeover is the natural point to set up a direct debit, because the tenant has to set up a new monthly payment anyway, and it may as well be one you control.
Rent increases work the same way. A rise needs two months' notice on a section 13 notice, and a tenant on a standing order has to edit it for the new amount. Sending the mandate link with the notice of the new rent asks the tenant to do one thing instead of two.
What tenants worry about
Tenants who've always paid by standing order tend to raise the same points, and each has a short answer you can put in your first message:
- "You can take whatever you like." They're told the amount and date before every collection, and if anything is ever taken by mistake, the Direct Debit Guarantee has their bank refund it in full, immediately.
- "I can't stop it." Their bank will cancel it whenever they ask. Cancelling stops the collection, not the rent that's owed.
- "It'll cost me." It won't. The Tenant Fees Act doesn't let you charge tenants for paying rent, so the cost sits with the agent or landlord.
Your own case for switching is late rent. Among the early, small group of property businesses whose rent Adfin handled in 2025 and 2026, direct debit rent reached them within five days of the due date 85% of the time, while rent paid separately by standing order or transfer managed 62%. That second figure depends on when each payment was recorded, so treat the gap as directional.
How to move a rent roll step by step
Take a 40-tenancy agent moving everyone over the next two rent dates.
- Choose each tenant's first direct debit date. Make it the rent date after their next standing order, so there's no gap and no overlap.
- Send the mandate link by WhatsApp or SMS, with email as a backup. Say what's changing, the first collection date and the amount, and keep it to a few lines.
- Tell them exactly when to cancel the standing order, for example after it pays on 1 November and a few days before 1 December. A standing order cancelled too early leaves a missed month, and one left running means paying twice.
- Check every tenant's bank line on the first direct debit date. If someone has paid twice, refund the extra promptly, unless they ask you in writing to hold it towards next month's rent, which a tenant is free to choose.
- Chase the ones who haven't signed, two or three times over a fortnight, each time with the same link.
- For new tenancies, get the mandate signed alongside the tenancy agreement. You can't take rent before the agreement is signed, and no more than a month's rent between signing and the start date, so set the first collection for the first due date.
Adfin sends the mandate links and reminders for you by WhatsApp, SMS or email, and tells each tenant at least three working days before every collection. A tenant who needs to pay now can do it from a payment link, by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or pay by bank, and add the direct debit afterwards.
What to do with tenants who won't switch
Some won't, and you don't need to force it. Give them their own unique account number and sort code for their standing order, so their rent still matches itself to their tenancy in Xero or QuickBooks, and send a payment link if a month goes missing.
Leave room for tenants who are struggling. Once a tenant enters Breathing Space you must stop asking them to pay the arrears it covers, and for a tenant you know is in difficulty, automated reminders can do more harm than good. Adfin's AI agents chase within the rules you set and approve, and you can pause them for one tenant without touching anyone else.
Common questions
Can I make tenants pay rent by direct debit? Take advice before making it compulsory. Making direct debit the default, with another route for tenants who ask, avoids the question.
What if a tenant pays by standing order and direct debit in the same month? Refund the extra promptly, or hold it towards next month only if the tenant asks you to.
What if a tenant cancels the standing order too early? Send a payment link for that month's rent so there's no gap, then start the direct debit from the next due date.
When should student tenants switch? At the start of their next tenancy, or now if they're paying monthly by standing order since their termly rent converted.
Can I collect the first month's rent by direct debit before move-in? You can collect up to a month's rent after the agreement is signed and before the start date, by direct debit or another method. Card or pay by bank also work for this first payment.
How many tenants will refuse? It depends on your tenants, so plan for a few holdouts and keep a fallback ready.
Sources
- GOV.UK - Assured periodic tenancies: a guide for landlords: Rent in advance and deposits (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.gov.uk/assured-tenancy-agreements-a-guide-for-landlords/rent-in-advance-and-deposits
- legislation.gov.uk - Renters' Rights Act 2025, Schedule 6 (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/26/schedule/6
- The Direct Debit Guarantee - directdebit.co.uk (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.directdebit.co.uk/DirectDebitExplained/pages/directdebitguarantee.aspx
- GOV.UK - Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space) guidance for creditors (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/debt-respite-scheme-breathing-space-guidance/debt-respite-scheme-breathing-space-guidance-for-creditors
- Adfin - Encourage direct debit usage (accurate as of October 2026) https://support.adfin.com/en/articles/12600720-encourage-direct-debit-usage
- Adfin - Credit control (accurate as of October 2026) https://adfin.com/credit-control
