Landlord insistent on standing instruction. Any idea why and can that really be imposed?!

I'm renting a room in a 2BR apartment in Kowloon Tong (the landlord/owner lives in the other room) and recently paid my second month's rent via a normal bank transfer only to have the landlord flip out and send me a photo of our handwritten agreement (she was insistent on NOT signing a proper lease agreement with me) saying that I had agreed to an "autopay".

Technically with individuals, it's standing instructions not autopay but I had paid much attention to that clause to begin with. I'm now paying her the rent 5 days before the due date and she's still unhappy.

I opened a Standard Chartered bank account just so I can pay her the rent without transfer fees as I only had an HSBC Premier account and to set up standing instruction at SCB would cost an additional $150 which is not worth it given my lease is just for a few months.

I'm really curious as to why the landlord is so insistent on a standing instructions (she says she's afraid I wouldn't pay but even after paying her early she's still unhappy). Despite not having a formal contract signed, she was also insistent on having a copy of my passport but not willing to show me any form of her ID for me to confirm that she is who she claims to be.

Any advice would be really appreciated as I'm getting really frustrated with this matter. Have been renting for close to 16 years now across various countries and have never had such a thorny and seemingly petty landlord nor issue to deal with. Thank you

As a small landlord, I would never agree to lease one of my properties without an autopay clause in the lease - the amount of time I had to waste chasing tenants who "forgot" to pay their rent on time (or were travelling or whatever other excuse they would come up with each month) was ridiculous. I have better things to do with my time than chase people who can't be bothered to honour legal commitments they voluntarily entered into. It's not like I get the option of delaying paying the mortgages or the rates or management fees just because a tenant is in default. There have been enough scams where "professional tenants" move into a place and promptly default on the rent and force the landlord to go into a lengthy eviction process to recover possession to make most landlords cautious. http://www.com.cuhk.edu.hk/varsity/0301/socialissue2.htm

(As an aside, I would never hand over the keys until a formal lease has been signed either.)

Proof of ID and proof of employment are standard checks that any landlord should be making - if a landlord didn't ask for them, I would be worried that it is a scam and you are not dealing with the real owner. Since renting a property out is a business, basic checks against money laundering are (strictly speaking) required by the landlord, though I would be surprised if the JFIU ever took an interest in these sorts of dealings.

As a tenant, you should be checking with the land registry that the person you are paying the rent to is the same as the person who is the legal owner. If there was a licensed real estate agent involved, they should be doing this as a matter of routine and provide you with a copy of the print out. If the person you are dealing with can't or won't do this, then I would be concerned. At the very least, you should be getting a receipt that says what your payment was for.

Thanks @traineeinvestor for your thorough response, I really appreciate your time and it's good for me to get some perspective as when I asked around. literally all the agents and landlords I spoke with were extremely surprised at the autopay clause. They all told me that as long as the rent is paid on time, there is no way to force / coerce the tenant to pay via autopay. In fact, a more correct term would be standard instruction - which really, if a tenant had the intention of NOT paying, they could also cancel the standing instruction at any point in time so standard instruction or not, there doesn't seem to be a difference. It is no guarantee that the rent will be paid.

I guess in the case of my landlord, I've figured out that not wanting to sign a proper lease is possibly due to tax evasion. I did check the land registry to confirm the name of the owner but without seeing her ID - I have no way to know she is who she claims to be.

Having been a tenant for years in the US, I guess I'm not used to such informal arrangements but i guess I got myself into this one so tough luck. Thanks again for your reply!