Payment of arrears by cheque

Day v Coltrane (CA TLR 14 April)

In a claim for possession on the grounds of arrears of rent the legislation gives the tenant time to pay the rent up to the date of the hearing, in which case the court has no power to make an order for possession. What if the last-minute payment is by cheque? An uncleared cheque delivered to the landlord or his agent at or before the hearing and which was accepted by him, or which he was bound by earlier agreement to accept, is to be treated as payment at the date of delivery, provided the cheque is subsequently paid on first presentation. Accordingly, the judge has jurisdiction to adjourn the claim for, say, seven days to see whether the cheque is paid, although the judge would not be bound to do so if he had reason to conclude that the cheque would not be met. If the cheque were not paid at the first presentation then the order for possession ought to be made, the date of the hearing for the purpose of ground 8 of the Housing Act 1988 being the earlier hearing and not the adjourned hearing.