Contacting the commanding officer of a military tenant that is chronically past due

[Kory Sheldahl]

Hi everyone,

I'm seeking some advice regarding a property I own in Hawaii that is currently rented to a military tenant. Unfortunately, over the 11 months he has lived there, he has only managed to pay the rent on time once. For the past six months, he has been consistently 1-2 months behind on payments. Despite this, I have tried to be patient and haven't initiated any eviction proceedings, even though Hawaii Tenant Law allows me to issue a "notice to pay rent" after just 5 days of delinquency.

I've heard that if you're having issues with a military tenant, you can contact their commanding officer to help resolve the problem. However, I haven't been able to find any official information confirming whether this is legal or if it violates any laws.

I'm hoping someone here might have experience with this or know of a reliable source that can clarify the legality of contacting a tenant's commanding officer. Your insights and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your time!

[JD Martin]

Quote from @Kory Sheldahl:

Hi everyone,

I'm seeking some advice regarding a property I own in Hawaii that is currently rented to a military tenant. Unfortunately, over the 11 months he has lived there, he has only managed to pay the rent on time once. For the past six months, he has been consistently 1-2 months behind on payments. Despite this, I have tried to be patient and haven't initiated any eviction proceedings, even though Hawaii Tenant Law allows me to issue a "notice to pay rent" after just 5 days of delinquency.

I've heard that if you're having issues with a military tenant, you can contact their commanding officer to help resolve the problem. However, I haven't been able to find any official information confirming whether this is legal or if it violates any laws.

I'm hoping someone here might have experience with this or know of a reliable source that can clarify the legality of contacting a tenant's commanding officer. Your insights and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your time!

 Yes, you can, and at least when I was in the military they will kick him in the pants and get him straight right aways - they would garnish the wages of guys that were in arrears when I was in, whether for rent, car payments or anything else. On a side note, you should be issuing "Pay or 'Quit" notice as soon as you can and quit being a "nice guy". Being a nice guy will get you nothing but broke. Also, for what it's worth, just because someone is in the military doesn't mean he isn't a bum. I served with plenty of guys that I wouldn't give you 5 cents for.