Leap Year Rent

[Malachite]

I am living in a housing association rented property and I have a question regarding this year's rental charge.

We (I share with a few others) are quoted a weekly rent figure but can opt to pay monthly, which is what I do.
They have told me that the monthly rent is calculated thus:
"52 X [weekly rent] divided by 12" and that is what I've been doing.

This year however, I have been told that the monthly charge includes a 12th of one week's rent added on per month as:
"This financial year is 53 weeks as it is a leap year. There is an extra week that needs to be calculated. As soon as the new financial year starts, it will go back to 52 weeks".

Call me old fashioned but the leap year consists of ONE extra day (29 days in February rather than the usual 28) so they are telling us that we have to pay a FULL WEEK'S rent for ONE DAY.

Is this normal practice? Please explain if you know why, if I'm missing something obvious, and if I have a legal obligation to comply.

Thanks in advance

Mal.

[Cloverjo]

This year isn’t a leap year.

[Mamyalynne]

Think 2020 is being referred to.

[Buenchico]

The housing association are correct. A calendar year normally consists of 52 weeks and 1 day, with an extra day added on in a leap year. However a 'tax year' is always 52 weeks long (which is actually 1 day short of a calendar year, or 2 days short in a leap year) until such time as all of those missing days add up to a full week. Then, to get the system synchronised again, a 53rd week is added into the tax year.

Looking at it another way, the calculation in your second paragraph should really have '52-and-a-seventh' in place of '52' (because there are 365 days in a year, not 364) or '52-and-two-sevenths' in a leap year. So, in most years you pay slightly less than a true calculation would yield, so there's some 'catching up' to do periodically.

It complicates PAYE for employees too (and even more so for their employers, who have to check that their tax calculations are correct). This link confirms that there were 53 weeks in the 2018/19 tax year:
https://www.dataplanpayroll.co.uk/payrollblog/tax/when-is-a-52-week-year-not-a-year-when-there-are-53

[Cloverjo]

I’ve never heard of any landlord being fussy about a leap day. If you’re paying per month, then it’s per month regardless of how many days are in any month. Ridiculous, imho.

[Malachite]

Sorry (Cloverjo) I meant the financial year starting April of this year and ending April next year which includes the 2020 leap year.

[Malachite]

Thanks Chris, that adds a new slant for me.

[Cloverjo]

Still seems unfair. Do people on a salary get paid extra in leap years? I don’t think so.

[Mamyalynne]

Depends how you are paid Clover.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/35686753/leap-year-why-you-wont-be-paid-for-working-leap-days

[THECORBYLOON]

If the landlord is not getting the additional day each year, they would total seven days every six years (two days in a leap year plus 5 x one day in non-leap years).

That would mean collecting an additional week's rent every six years.

[fiction-factory]

Seems straightforward to me. If rent is paid monthly you pay it every month- ie 12 times a year.
If you pay rent weekly you , you pay rent once every week- say every Friday. In some years there are 52 Fridays but sometimes 53.
If you pay rent weekly but can opt to make monthly payments you should multiply the weekly payments by circa 4.34, or you should pay the annual amount divided by 12 plus pay an amount for the additional week once every 7 years.
As some have said it works the same with pay for those on weekly pay- there are 53 paydays in some years. Those on monthly pay lose out it can be argues as they get the same annual pay whether it's a leap year or not (so work an extra day for nothing).

[fiction-factory]

The written rental agreement should have made it clear though that if you opt to pay monthly you will have to pay and extra 12th of a month in one month every leap year (or maybe the March after a leap year instead depending on when they use tax years or calendar years).
If it just said "you will pay £x every month" then they would need to change the rental agreement. But that's not a problem for a landlord really.

[Old_Geezer]

Surprising the things one doesn't think of.

Should've agreed 365.25 X [weekly rent / 7] divided by 12. (Or cunningly got out just before the leap year period started.)