Landlord's agent + rent book question..

tenant_

Can someone tell me or point to a definition of what exactly is a landlord's agent?
Do they have to be a proper employee of the LL, and registered in some way?
What if the person is a family member or 'friend' of the LL - is it illegal for them to collect rent and claim to be 'the agent' if they're not?

And if they sign a rent book is this enough to 100% cover the tenant that rent has in fact been (a)paid and (b)received by the payee?
I don't think it is. (I've never needed a rent book - just monthly cheque and cheque copy for myself for peace of mind).

I'm now in a situation where I've been asked by the person charged with collecting the rent every month, to pay cash after years of no problem paying by cheque. They are claiming to be 'the agent' - though I know for a fact because they told me they are receiving cash-in-hand for what they do and through experience I know they can't sign official documents etc wherever a LL signature is asked for. (so not really an agent?)
I know I could track the LL himself down and ask him straight out but I'd like to try get this sorted somehow with the person themselves before doing that.

Thinking further about it I also have a feeling that the LL(hit by recession) might be pressuring this person to get at least a % of his payments in cash, so that this person can keep their job. I've no proof of this and I could be wrong but there's definitely something amiss about this 'agent' being suddenly all desperate and coming on abit strong for absolutely no reason as far as I'm concerned.
If this is the case then I have been placed in an awkward situation...

Xiney

Tell him that since you've been paying rent for years with a cheque you will continue to do so, or if the landlord prefers you can transfer the payments directly into his/her bank account, but that you will not be changing to paying in cash at this stage because it is highly inconvenient and less secure for you.

tenant_

Thanks for the quick reply Xiney.
What you suggest is basically what I plan to do if(and most likely when) I have to talk to the landlord himself. But like I said I just want to know what an agent is in Irish law etc so that I can tell the so-called agent directly that I will not hand over cash to her on the basis that she’s not an agent and also to defuse any potential situation that she possibly planned to create...
Or would it be better to go behind her back and just ask the landlord anyway?
Thing is I got the impression she wanted it kept quiet.
And she’s not a bad person. But could turn that way I think potentially as in try to make her problem my problem etc and basically I can't trust her, but of course I can't really say that to her outright because it would be taken as a personal offence and adds fuel to whatever fire in her own mind. (And I have nothing to hide etc, I am honest to a fault if anything when it comes to dealing with this sort of stuff).
I looked up Landlord's Agent Ireland on google but couldn’t find anything. So I thought someone here might know..

convert

If you suspect there's a potential problem, then either continue to pay by cheque or else directly into your landlord's account. That way you can have a paper trail for your rent.

As for agents signing rent books, etc: I lived in a house where I paid my rent by cash and had a rent book which was signed by the landlord's agent, who happened to be a family member as was not being paid, and that was adequate.

Granted it's not the most preferable of situations, but it was the landlord's way of doing things so that's what we did. We were very lucky in that our landlord was extremely decent and reliable, so there was no issue, but looking back on it I can see how it could have potentially been a nightmare, and it's not something I'd really like to do again.

BostonB

I would not pay by cash. Everyone needs a paper trail.