Should I give him a 3 day notice?

Question

I have a tenant that moved into this single family home last October, the first few months he was on time when I pick up the rents. But the past four months, including this month, he had been late as much as a week. Then he promised it won't happen again, but then it happens again. I have really lost my patience and also he is not taking care of the property. Weed are over a foot high in front or back yard, then he would say ok i will take care of it. But the next time I stopped by, it just got higher and higher. Seems to me that he is a good liar, every month he comes up with an excuse so that he doesn't have the rent. The house is being rented at below market rent, I thought this would keep people live there longer. But I guess this is not the case.

Should I give him a 3 day notice next time when he is late again? I expect him to do this again, if so, how many days after the 1st should I wait?

Should I give him a 3 day notice next time when he is late again?  I expect him to do this again, if so, how many days after the 1st should I wait?

Max T. · Answer

If you're asking the question then you already know the answer.

Sam Shueh · Answer

Suggest you serve and cancel the lease. You will get a better tenant next time.

Account Closed · Answer

I know that some loans allow you to get a small discount if you choose to have the payment automatically taken out. I wonder if this is possible with rent. This is more of a question than input but if it were possible, you could offer him a similar incentive. Some people hate that their landlord is profiting off of their needs and do everything possible to give them a hard time.

Thomas S. · Answer

Unfortunately you have trained your tenant to pay late. You should have given him the 3 day notice four months ago. Had you properly managed this tenant the first late you would have prevented your problems today.

At this point your only option is to wait and do not renew his lease in September.

Next time do not offer a term lease. M2M is your safest approach to managing tenants.

If rent is due on the 1st and not received by 12:01 PM you deliver the 3 day notice on the 2nd. Rent is late the day after it is due and has nothing to do with late fee grace periods.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

@Roy Lam you are having problems because you've allowed him to get away with it. I agree with @Sam Shueh that I would get rid of this guy asap because he's probably a lost cause.

Sit down and develop policies. If you already have policies, start enforcing them. The "easiest" way to enforce policies is to communicate in writing. If you talk to the tenant they will find ways to manipulate the conversation. Don't accept extensions. Don't accept excuses. If your policy says you file a 3-day Pay or Quit notice on the 10th, then file it on the 10th.

Marcia Maynard · Answer

@Roy Lam  You need to have the moxie to enforce the terms of your lease agreement. Be firm and fair, polite and quick to act.

I downloaded our Rent Past Due letter into the BiggerPockets File Place, which you might find helpful.  I hand deliver this letter whenever a tenant hasn't paid their rent in full and the grace period has elapsed. Go to Tools>File Place>Other Documents and look for the documents with my name attached.

At this juncture, I would revisit  the terms of tenancy with your tenant. Your leniency in the past has lead to this situation getting out of hand. You may be able to turn this around and save the tenancy. But you need to get into the driver's seat.

Let your tenant know that paying rent late is not an option. If he doesn't abide by the terms of the rental agreement, then it's time to talk about a move-out plan. Take a listen to BP Podcast #83 where I share landlording tips and strategies. Good luck!

Roy Lam · Answer

I like to get some reference on an attorney who specialize in rental and eviction laws in the Los Angeles area?  The ones I find on Craigslist seems only to help delaying the eviction for the tenants.  Can someone help?

Roy Lam · Answer

Thanks Tim

I charged him $50 this month, but I didn't charge him late charge before.  I am planning to charge him late charge after the 5th from now on.  He is on a lease until September,2017.  I am not sure if I should lined up a real estate attorney first, just in case if I have to give him a 3 day notice or eviction.  The attorney I had before is not in business anymore.

Tim Porsche · Answer

@Roy Lam Here are a few things I would try first in that situation.

1. Is this person on a month to month or year lease? If on a year lease, I would let them know within 60 days of the lease ending that you are going to go month to month and why (in a friendly way). This gives you more leverage, as you can choose to just end the tenancy within 30 days at any time, so if they want to stay they'll know they have to do a better job of paying on time and following the policies as outlined in your lease.

2. If you don't have a late fee built into your lease you really should. If rent isn't paid by the 3rd or 5th of the month they should be paying a decent size late fee.

3. Another incentive is to give them a little discount if they pay rent in full BEFORE the due date. It doesn't have to be much, $15 - $20 maybe. Carrot and stick method.

4. I'm sure you already know this, but to reduce the possibility of situations like this as much as possible, screen screen screen before accepting an applicant. Check their credit, do a background check, get references from previous landlords, verify income, etc. If you screen well it will help you eliminate or greatly reduce the number of issues like this.

Best of luck to you.

Should I give him a 3 day notice?

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