Initial Rent Payment

Hi,

I am moving to Malta next week and will be staying in a hotel for a few days whilst I look for a place to rent. I have been told before that payment for rent is usually by cash but am a bit unsure whether this applies to the initial payment. If I was to rent somewhere that was €500+ and pay a full month upfront as well as a months deposit and 50% to the agent plus fees would this be expected to be paid in cash or could the payment be made via card or transfer?

There is a limit to the amount of cash I can take out each day and there is a charge each time so just trying to work out the best way to do it, Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Andrew

Difficult to answer as it will depend upon who you are paying.
Probably a question to ask them?
You could always bring sufficient cash with you though I understand a reluctance to do that.

best to ask what method they prefer - some solely want cash (no records) to avoid the taxman.....

and if that cash request also applies to bills payment with cash paid every month against a future bill beware be wary and be aware - always make sure you know what tariff you will pay before signing a lease - DOMESTIC IS NOT NORMAL FOR RESIDENTIAL LIVING - IT IS HOWEVER THE MOST EXPENSIVE...

DONT GET CAUGHT OUT
PROTECT YOURSELF BY ASKING THE AWKWARD QUESTIONS
READ OTHER RENTING SUBJECTS HERE

From my experience at least the payments you refer to will be expected in cash ( rent +deposit+1/2 amonths rent as agent fee).

Sometimes you can arrange to pay by direct deposit.

I pay my rent by bank transfer, receive a receipt including VAT but the initial payment was .....cash at the moment the contract was signed.

Cheers
Ricky

I'll check with a few agents to see how it works, hopefully they can take card payments.

ricky wrote:

From my experience at least the payments you refer to will be expected in cash ( rent +deposit+1/2 amonths rent as agent fee).

Sometimes you can arrange to pay by direct deposit.

I pay my rent by bank transfer, receive a receipt including VAT but the initial payment was .....cash at the moment the contract was signed.

Cheers
Ricky


Ok thanks, I will be prepared!

Cheers,
Andrew

Thanks for all your help and speedy responses!

I always paid mine by cheque.... and the rents plus utilities etc paid by bank transfer to allow for tracability

thats the path i chose for my own safety.. if they wouldnt accept that then i walk away ... simple really

i had four flats in 6 years and it worked fine for me..

and i use the same plan here.... and t works fine here too

We're arriving next week and were wondering too, as we're a bit reluctant to travel with so much cash with us... Good to hear that some landlords accept bank transfers !

Don't count on it !

Having no cash to pay will limit your options substantially.

Cheers
Ricky

some do - but sadly many dont  -  we were probably lucky in our choices and werent under pressure to find something quickly...so it was easy for us to walk away....

so be prepared to do the very thing you dont really want to do... its important to be sure of what you are signing for and who you are paying (owner or agent) = ALWAYS MAKE SURE OF GETTING A RECEIPT

make sure that the person renting to you is the owner and can prove ownership and thus has the right to rent it to you- a recent rental scam comes to mind.. also dotn hand over money until you know the place is empty and you have the keys to hand