Recurring late rent payments

[Tracey Reinbrecht]

We have tenants that always take advantage of the 5 day grace period we have in the lease. Today we received a text that they had an unexpected emergency and that they aren't sure they will be able to get the full rent to us by this Friday. They want to know if they can split it up over the next 2 Fridays. My husband and I are concerned that they have become a credit risk because the wife slipped once and said she wasn't working anymore. Is there anything we can do to put them on notice? Can we charge them a double late fee? Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

[John Ching]

Sounds like the couple are fairly new tenants to your property. I would toss them out. 

Not necessarily evict them, but give'em the, "...Hey, I think this place is a little too expensive for you and your husband's budget right now. Let's get you moved into something cheaper that would give you a chance to get your finances in order...". Words to that effect. 

You want to get them out of your hair since they have already started down the path of, "let's see how much we can get away with". It only gets worse. It's best to stop things now before it does.

Most tenants follow a pattern - the legal system actually helps them (in my opinion). Once a tenant knows how to work, "the rental cycle", they get better at screwing you out of money. It could take months to get them out of your property using legal methods.

If this was an established tenant, with a solid on-time payment history, have a one-on-one chat with them and get to the root of their problem. It may just be temporary. Bad things happen to good people, but you have to get to the true cause of their issue.