collecting rent bi-weekly through payroll deduction

[Marquis W.]

Hey BP, 

I am considering renting a property to a co-worker and would like to get rent pulled directly from his payroll into my account which he is agreeing to do. I like this method but a bi-weekly payment is also a partial payment  which in the state of Georgia you don't want to accept because you can end up stuck with a tenant you can't evict if for some reason he stops the automatic draft. How could I utilize the convenience of the automatic draft every 2 weeks but avoid the pitfalls that could come with it if payments stop? Being that its automatic it should never be late, but if it is late for some reason how would I enforce a late fee if I already received half of the rent from the previous 2 weeks. 

[Levi T.]

The rental agreement should NOT be structured in such a way that someone can pay some of the rent but not all. The balance must be paid in full by an agreed date, and any payment made, will first go to any out standing balances, such a late fees, rent, or others charges.

So if your friend would pay rent through automatic bi-weekly payments, he is pre-paying rent before its due, if the amount owed is not paid in full by the said date, then he would be late, and would get a charge.