Bad Start Letter?

[Kristin Boekhoff]

I put a tenant in my first rental property two months ago. Last month she paid the rent seven days late and this month she is ten days late and counting. (In Baltimore City there is a mandatory 10-day grace period and in Maryland the max late fee you can charge is 5%.) I happened to speak with the leasing agent who found her and she suggested that I send her a "bad start" letter. Has anyone else done this? If so, any suggestions of what to put in the letter?

[Nathan Gesner]

I don't have time to read all the posts, so maybe this has already been said.

1. Rent is late on the 2nd. The law doesn't allow the landlord to charge a fee until the 10th, but rent is still late.

2. Repeated late payments is often a sign of bad things to come. Accepting late payments and fees as "additional income" is a fool's errand that will eventually cost you much more than the late fees will earn you.

3. Yes, I would start with a fairly stern letter reminding them of the due date. 

4. I also recommend you start figuring out how to terminate a lease when the tenant is consistently late, or how to evict if they fail to pay by a certain date. DO NOT let them go the entire month before you act. If you can't figure it out or don't feel comfortable, then find an attorney that can handle it for you.