Today we are discussing what you should do if your tenant does not pay their rent. If you have a tenant that has not paid rent, there are a few steps you can take to ensure the collection of the rent payment as soon as possible.
Check the Lease
If your tenant has failed to pay rent the first thing you should do is check the lease agreement. You will want to confirm the rent due date and confirm whether there is a grace period in place. If rent is due on the first but the tenant has a grace period, you will have to wait until the stated time to take any further action.
Tenant Communication
You will want to contact the tenant and remind them that the rent is due. If you cannot get a hold of the tenant we recommend leaving a voicemail and then follow up with an email. In most cases the tenants will remit payment upon receiving a friendly reminder and no further action will be required. It’s important to act quickly and consistently. Apply a late fee if necessary, enforcing the terms of the lease will let the tenants know you’re on top of rent collection and will encourage prompt rent payment.
Taking Legal Steps
At this point if your tenant still has not paid rent and they are unresponsive to your attempts at communication, the next step is to post a Three Day Notice to Pay. The best way to serve this notice is to personally hand it to your tenant. However, if you tenant is unavailable, post the notice on the door and take a photo. You should then mail a copy of the notice to your tenant and keep a copy for your records. Now, the tenant has three days to pay their rent. After the three days has passed you can decide to pursue eviction. Once you have decided to pursue eviction its crucial not to accept any rent
otherwise you will have to start the process over. Do some research and consult with an attorney who does evictions in your area, laws may vary depending on where your property is located. If you need help dealing with tenants not paying rent or you have questions about our services, please contact us at Glendale Property Management.
