Tenant paying rent late almost every month now no payment

[Mina G.]

I have a tenant who was paying on time. Now the tenant paid late the last 5 out of 7 month. I charge about 10% late fee after the 5th of the month. and a flat rate fee each day after.

This month I still haven't recieved the rent. I'm constant contact with the tenant via text and the tenant has an excuse everyday for the past week. everyday I'm told wait until tomorrow morning, in the morning I'm told I will bring it at night etc.

Today I filed a complaint in court but it will take 3-4 weeks for a hearing.

My question here is:

Can I still evict the tenant or end the lease since almost each month the rent is late?

Another question: When the lease ends can I kick the tenants out?

[Bill S.]

@Mina G. be very careful of the advise you get regarding this issue. EVERY state is different. Generally the rules are different if you live in the property you rent so the conflicting information could all be true. I know there are some states that have special notice requirements and have weird (to me) rules about continuing a lease. GENERALLY once the lease ends, unless it is renewed, it's over (tenant moves out and you get your property back) GENERALLY you have say in whether or not that lease is renewed or the whether the tenancy can continue. You would then have to evict if they stayed without a lease.

Seems like being 13 days behind this month that would be a moot question. Follow through with the eviction for non payment.

If I was in your shoes I would press hard to get paid while working the eviction as fast as possible. If they pay and stop the eviction, I would approach them about moving, changing the payment schedule to line up with their pay check or something to get them to pay better. Beating them over the head with the lease won't work so you need to be firm but flexible. Offer biweekly payment, payday payment plan, you should charge a bit more for these but it might help the tenant manage their money better. Right now it's obvious that you are not a high priority. The key is to convince them you need to be a high priority and to make it as easy as possible to be 1st priority.