Desk research against primary sources, with the issuing authority linked where a page states an official fee, rule or deadline.
The cheque count is really a proxy for how much cash the landlord wants upfront: a single cheque means the full year due on day one, while 2, 4 or 6 cheques spread it across fewer, larger payments rather than a true monthly schedule. Ask which option is actually being offered before assuming “instalments” means a small payment every month — it usually means fewer, larger ones instead.
The 5–10% premium for monthly flexibility is the landlord’s way of pricing in payment risk — more instalments mean more chances of a late or bounced payment, and effectively less certainty than a stack of post-dated cheques banked upfront. If a landlord refuses monthly outright, offering 4 cheques instead of 1 or 2 is often the easiest compromise, since it still reduces the up-front sum without asking for a schedule they consider risky.