Rent collection is a rewarding task, but it is by no means easy. It can be very frustrating when rent cheques arrive late or when you are left with no choice but to chase down those payments.
While it is the tenant's responsibility to pay rent on time, the landlord's actions or the lack of it can contribute to instances of late payments. The following are some of the things that a landlord could prevent doing to minimize late rent payments.
1. Never enforcing or Inconsistently enforcing rules. As a landlord, you must be consistent in enforcing the rental rules. Allowing tenants to violate standards will give your tenants the impression that you do not care if your rental rules are followed. And just as bad is enforcing the rules inconsistently.
Ensure that you are thorough with your lease terms as far as rental issues, including the payment amount that is due each month, the manner of payment, amount of grace period, and applicable late fees. And be consistent and firm with your policies.
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2. Allowing renters to make partial payments. Allowing tenants to pay only a portion of their rent can be disadvantageous in the long run. Your tenant may think that making a full payment each time is not necessary. Ensure that you are clear as to when you expect the rest of the rent payment if ever you would accept a partial payment and charge a late fee (granted that you have it written into your lease). Or, better yet, have a signed agreement regarding incomplete or late payments.
3. Failure to track tenant's payment history. If you don't have a reliable system of monitoring your tenant's rent payment, you won't have a way of identifying tenants with recurring issues with their payments. Having a complete record of your tenant's payment is essential in case you need to provide a reason for taking action against your tenant.
4. Failure to deposit rent cheques immediately. If you want your tenants to take you seriously when it comes to prompt rent payments, it is essential to deposit rent checks quickly. If your tenant sees that you are holding on to their rent cheques for far too long, they might think you would be fine with late rents.
5. Failure to send a "Pay or Quit" notice. This notice is a form of notice that you give to the tenant who has missed a rent payment. Landlords use this to demand payment, and it usually states the number of days they have to settle the overdue rent or otherwise, you will begin eviction proceedings.
6. Illegally force the tenant out. Even if the tenant still refuses to settle his past-due rent, you can't just force or coerce them into leaving by doing actions such as changing the locks, turning off utilities, or removing sinks and toilets. You could end up getting fined for doing such things.
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