Thread: Got a renter who always pays late

Of course there are actions that you can take against him.

In terms of the amount of the late fee, it should be mentioned on the lease that was signed by the tenant, and you should take action according to that.

You have the right to evict him for violating the lease agreement and late payment, or at least threaten him. I say this because it usually works after a threat of eviction or a call from you lawyer.

You can give him 3-5 days notice to pay the rent and the late fees.

Read these two articles:
The Eviction Process

How far a landlord can go

Originally Posted by Thufer

Hi,

I have a renter and he always pays late.

I let it slide once or twice, but finally after being 15 days late.

I told him that he was responsible for the late fee.

Is there any way I can force him to pay the late fee? Can I take him to court?

Hire a lawyer that is what they are for! Why do people look for legal advice on a bulletin board and then find out later it was bad advice? Don't be cheap!

Hi Thufer,

The thing with tenants is if you let them slide on something once, they are now condition to think it's okay. If you have it in your agreement that after a certain day of the month and rent is still not paid, eviction proceedings will be initiated, then you have to follow that exactly. Put a pay or quit note on their door, once that day has passed. If the tenant hasn't paid in 3 business days continue with the eviction. If the tenant pays, great. If the tenant is late again the following month, put a pay or quit sign on their door...even if you have to do this every month.

Just to prevent from this happening, I tell my tenants that I understand that snags happen and there may be a month or two that some people can't pay their rent on time. I say that I understand that and it happens, however, they have to let me know ahead of time if they are unable to pay the rent on time. And if they aren't able to pay on time, they also have to let me know when they'd be able to pay.

I hope this helps. Good luck.

One other thing to consider: if a person is consistently paying late, owes money, or always seems to be struggling to come up with the rent, then there is a 99% chance that you aren't the only person that this person owes money to. Working with people and trying to account for their situation is commendable and helps build a good relationship/reputation, but if a person owes money to you, then they probably owe money to three other people as well, and you don't want to be the nice guy that gets stuck footing the bill when the well runs dry.

I hate freeloaders!

Collecting late fees should be stated in your leasing contact. If you have a problem collecting rent or any late fees, I would highly recommend hiring a property manager to do it for you.

Were you able to talk to this guy and get your money? What happened w/ all that?

Looking forward to knowing and enjoyed following your story.

You can talk to him and try to find out first why always pay late. If there's no valid reason, you can warn him. But if he still do that, better to kick him out in your apartment. Don't let your tenant more powerful than you. You are the landlord so be it.

you can issue Rental property eviction notice to your tenants if they are not doing good. In earlier days, issuing notice to the tenants would be a hectic one, and you need to so many manual work. In these technology days, there are so many free online eviction forms are available in the internet, and you can issue rental clearance notice to your tenants from your comfortable chair.