Standing order or direct debit for rent, and what happens on a weekend or bank holiday

Across the UK, rent can be collected by standing order, direct debit, bank transfer or another agreed method unless the tenancy agreement says otherwise. In England, a landlord must also avoid charging the tenant a fee just for using a payment method, because the Tenant Fees Act only allows payments that fall within its permitted list.

Should you collect rent by standing order or direct debit?

Most private landlords should collect rent by standing order unless they have enough tenancies to justify a direct debit processor, because rent is usually a fixed monthly amount and a standing order is simpler for the tenant to set up with their own bank. The practical confusion is that many landlords say rent is a Direct Debit when they actually mean a standing order; the Property Investment Project puts it bluntly: “99% of times, when a landlord says they want the rent paid by Direct Debit, they actually mean Standing Order.” A standing order vs Direct Debit decision is really about control and cost: the tenant controls a standing order, while a landlord using direct debit normally needs a Bacs-approved processor, and Rentdocs says, “Most individual landlords cannot set up direct debits directly with banks.” Direct Debit is better suited to larger landlords or agents collecting variable amounts from many tenants; standing order is usually the cleaner rent answer for a single fixed payment.

What are the disadvantages of collecting rent by standing order?

The main disadvantages of a standing order are that the tenant controls it, the landlord is not told if the tenant cancels or changes it, and a rent rise will not update automatically. Rentdocs states, “If a tenant decides to cancel or change the standing order, you will not be notified by their bank,” and adds, “If the rent changes, the tenant must manually amend the standing order with their bank.” That makes standing order reliable only while the tenant’s bank instruction, account balance and payment amount all remain right; a forgotten setup, a missed update after a rent increase, or insufficient funds can leave the rent unpaid without the landlord getting a bank warning. Another disadvantage of standing order is finality: GoCardless says, “Customers can neither stop nor reverse (chargeback) a standing order once it has left their account.” That finality helps the landlord once money arrives, but it does not help if the wrong amount was sent or the payment never left.

What are the disadvantages of collecting rent by direct debit?

The main disadvantages of direct debit for rent are processor cost, tenant cancellation, and the Direct Debit Guarantee refund risk if a payment is taken wrongly. Most individual landlords cannot simply create a direct debit mandate with their ordinary bank account; Rentdocs says, “You will need to use a Bacs-approved direct debit payment processor, which will incur fees.” Direct debit also does not remove tenant control, because “tenants can still cancel a direct debit at any time by contacting their bank.” The bigger landlord-side risk is reversal: under the Direct Debit Guarantee, “If an error is made in the payment of your Direct Debit, by the organisation or your bank or building society, you are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from your bank or building society.” In England, the landlord should not pass the payment-method fee to the tenant, because “a payment is a prohibited payment unless it is a permitted payment by virtue of Schedule 1.”

What happens if the rent is due on a weekend or a bank holiday?

If a standing order rent payment date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, the bank will normally send it on the next working day, but only a bank holiday carries the statutory payment deferral. MoneySuperMarket states the banking position: “If a standing order falls on a non-working day, the payment will be delayed until the next working day.” The legal rule is narrower: under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971, where a person would otherwise have to make a payment on a bank holiday, the obligation is treated as complied with if it is made on the next day on which they are compellable to make it. Shelter’s rent-law summary puts the distinction clearly for rent: “Rent can be due on a Sunday, but where the rent due day falls on a bank holiday, it is not payable until the following day.” In practice, a standing order bank holiday and a standing order rent weekend both usually mean next-working-day arrival.

What happens if a standing order does not go through?

If a standing order does not go through, the rent has not been paid, and the tenant normally needs to make a replacement payment manually or correct the bank instruction. The legal payment-services rule treats a refused payment order as not received: “a payment order of which execution has been refused is deemed not to have been received.” In everyday banking terms, the most common reason is insufficient funds; MoneySuperMarket says, “Your bank will usually prevent a standing order payment from going out if there isn't enough money in your account to cover it.” A NatWest standing order not paid is therefore not the same as rent being in transit: unless the bank actually sends the payment and it reaches the landlord’s account, the landlord has not received the rent. The tenant should check whether the standing order still exists, whether the amount and reference are right, and whether the account had enough cleared money before the bank’s processing time.

Can you cancel a standing order?

Yes, you can cancel a standing order, and NatWest’s real online cut-off is 6:00pm on the previous working day before it is due, not the two-working-day wording on another NatWest page. NatWest’s cancellation page says, “You can cancel a standing order online up to 6:00pm on the previous working day before it is due,” which matches the Payment Services Regulations 2017 rule that, for a payment due on an agreed day, the payer “may not revoke a payment order after the end of the business day preceding the agreed day.” Only the payer can cancel it with their own bank; GoCardless says, “you are the only person who can instruct the bank to cancel your standing order.” So the answer to whether you can cancel a standing order on the day is usually no for that day’s instalment once the bank’s deadline has passed, though future instalments can still be cancelled.

Can you reverse a standing order once it has been paid?

No, a standing order paid to the right account cannot normally be reversed by the bank; cancelling the standing order only stops future payments. The Payment Services Regulations 2017 say a payer “may not revoke a payment order after it has been received by the payer's payment service provider,” and for an agreed payment date the cut-off is no later than “the end of the business day preceding the agreed day.” MoneyHelper’s statement that “You can ask your bank to cancel or change any of the details at any time” is about changing future instructions, not pulling back money already paid. Standing orders also lack the Direct Debit Guarantee: PocketWise says, “standing orders give you no automatic right to a bank refund because you are the one who instructs the payment.” A different caveat applies if the money was sent to the wrong account entirely: under the misdirected-payments code, Which? says the bank should act within two working days, but “doesn't guarantee that you'll always recover any money paid in error.”

Last reviewed September 2026.

Sources

• Tenant Fees Act 2019 s.1 — “A landlord must not require a relevant person to make a prohibited payment to the landlord in connection with a tenancy of housing in England.” Source
• Tenant Fees Act 2019 s.3(1) — “For the purposes of this Act a payment is a prohibited payment unless it is a permitted payment by virtue of Schedule 1.” Source
• Property Investment Project, rent collection by Direct Debit or standing order — “99% of times, when a landlord says they want the rent paid by Direct Debit, they actually mean Standing Order.” Source
• Rentdocs, standing order vs direct debit — “Most individual landlords cannot set up direct debits directly with banks.” Source
• Rentdocs, standing order vs direct debit — “If a tenant decides to cancel or change the standing order, you will not be notified by their bank.” Source
• Rentdocs, standing order vs direct debit — “If the rent changes, the tenant must manually amend the standing order with their bank.” Source
• GoCardless, guide to standing orders — “Customers can neither stop nor reverse (chargeback) a standing order once it has left their account.” Source
• Rentdocs, standing order vs direct debit — “You will need to use a Bacs-approved direct debit payment processor, which will incur fees.” Source
• Rentdocs, standing order vs direct debit — “While you initiate collections, tenants can still cancel a direct debit at any time by contacting their bank.” Source
• Direct Debit Guarantee — “If an error is made in the payment of your Direct Debit, by the organisation or your bank or building society, you are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from your bank or building society” Source
• MoneySuperMarket, standing orders — “If a standing order falls on a non-working day, the payment will be delayed until the next working day.” Source
• Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 s.1(4) — “where a person would, apart from this subsection, be compellable to make any payment or to do any act on a bank holiday under this Act, his obligation to make the payment or to do the act shall be deemed to be complied with if he makes or does it on the next following day on which he is compellable to make or do it.” Source
• Shelter Legal, rent lawfully due from the tenant — “Rent can be due on a Sunday, but where the rent due day falls on a bank holiday, it is not payable until the following day.” Source
• Payment Services Regulations 2017 reg.82(6) — “a payment order of which execution has been refused is deemed not to have been received.” Source
• MoneySuperMarket, standing orders — “Your bank will usually prevent a standing order payment from going out if there isn't enough money in your account to cover it.” Source
• NatWest, cancelling a standing order — “You can cancel a standing order online up to 6:00pm on the previous working day before it is due.” Source
• Payment Services Regulations 2017 reg.83(4) — “Where a day is agreed under regulation 81(5) (receipt of payment orders), the payment service user may not revoke a payment order after the end of the business day preceding the agreed day.” Source
• GoCardless, how to cancel a standing order — “Furthermore, you are the only person who can instruct the bank to cancel your standing order.” Source
• Payment Services Regulations 2017 reg.83(1) — “Subject to paragraphs (2) to (5), a payment service user may not revoke a payment order after it has been received by the payer's payment service provider.” Source
• MoneyHelper, Direct Debits and standing orders — “You can ask your bank to cancel or change any of the details at any time.” Source
• PocketWise, refunding a standing order — “Unlike direct debits, which carry the Direct Debit Guarantee, standing orders give you no automatic right to a bank refund because you are the one who instructs the payment.” Source
• Which?, recovering money sent to the wrong account — “Your bank should take action within two working days under the misdirected payments code of best practice.” Source
• Which?, recovering money sent to the wrong account — “The code doesn't guarantee that you'll always recover any money paid in error, but in most instances your bank should be able to get it back for you.” Source