What to Do When Your Tenant Is Perpetually Late With Rent Payment 

There are over 48.5 million rental units in the United States.

If you own at least one of these, thumbs up! You’re undoubtedly enjoying the benefits of being a landlord. Investing in rental real estate is an ideal way to earn passive income and grow your wealth.

Being a landlord isn’t without its fair share of challenges, though. One of the biggest challenges is when a tenant is ever late with their rent payment.

It’s understandable when a tenant’s late once in a while, but when it becomes a habit, they can be a pain, especially if you rely on the funds to pay a mortgage.

So, how do you deal with such a tenant?

Get in Touch with Your Tenant

You might want to send a written reminder to your tenant to remind them of their obligations, but that’s really not the right thing to do at this point. 

It’s advisable to call the tenant and know why they’ve been paying the rent after the deadline. In many cases, tenants who pay late have something going on in their lives. Perhaps it’s because their employer hasn’t been paying wages on time or they lost a job.

While you can empathize with your tenant if they’re in a bad financial situation that’s affecting their ability to pay rent, it’s important to remind them of their obligations, as per the rental agreement.

You can even advise them to consider relocating to a cheaper house, lest their financial situation worsens and they can no longer afford the rent.

But what if your tenant is simply being mischievous or you can’t seem to reach them?

Issue a Pay or Quit Notice

Your property is a rental unit. It’s not a shelter where people can stay for free or pay rent as they wish.

As such, it’s very much in order to issue a pay or quit notice, in accordance with the laws in your state or local area. Typically, the tenant will have a certain period of time within which they ought to clear their rental balance.

A good tenant will at least get in touch with you after this notice, especially if they still need more time to pay up. Depending on your situation and your trust in the tenant, you can either allow them more time or turn down their request and take further action.

Start the Eviction Process

This is what happens when you don’t use the best tenant screening service to get high-quality tenants – you end up getting involved in an eviction process.

Eviction isn’t a straightforward process. You can’t just force the tenant to leave or even change locks. That’s illegal.

Eviction is a legal process, sanctioned but a court of law. This means you need to hire a landlord lawyer to help you out.

That’s How to Deal with a Tenant Who’s Ever Late with Rent Payment

It’s your expectation that your tenants will pay up the rent on time, every month. However, this isn’t always the case. It’s possible that a tenant can start being late with their rent payment, month after month.

Having read this guide, you now know how to amicably and legally handle the situation.

Keep reading our blog for more landlord tips and advice.