Incentives for Tenants to Pay on Time

[Jonathon White]

Situation: Have a single Property in Ontario, Canada.  Ontario does not allow late fees to tenants.  So previous guests have been paying 2 to 3 months late (i.e. unilaterally deciding to pay the whole quarter at a time!). This provides difficulty as bills come in monthly. Now a new guest will move in...

Solution:  Some articles have mentioned "tenant incentives" to pay on time.  If you have used this technique, what incentive (Grocery gift cards, cash, Gas cards) and what % of rent?  Please advise.

[Linda S.]

Can you offer a steep discount if they pay by the first?   It's not a late fee, it's an incentive to pay early.    As an example, we're looking to rent out a house, and the lease will be for $1,000, but if the tenant pays by the first, it will only be $925.