Having a tenant get sick

[Jay Sechowicz]

Hey everyone,

My question is about a tenant of mine that might be getting pretty sick. We've had them for about a year and a half and everything has been going fine besides the normal landlord stuff. 

Within the last month or 2 this person has been in and out of the hospital and being tested for some pretty serious things.  I foresee them having trouble paying rent going forward. Has anyone ever dealt with something like this? How did you handle it and what might be my best route to take here?

Thanks a lot,

Jay 

[Jon Holdman]

This is going to sound harsh.   You are running a business selling a product.  You're not a charity.  People don't go to the grocery store or gas station and expect to get food and groceries for free because they're sick.  There are charities and government services that will help people in bad circumstances.  If anything, if this becomes a problem, provide a pointer to those services.

I have dealt with this from the tenant side.  When my grandma became unable to live by herself, my sister and I moved her into a skilled nursing facility.   We all hoped she could recover and move back to her apartment and kept paying rent and kept the apartment managers aware of the situation.   But there came a point when it was clear she was not going back.  We gave notice and cleared out her apartment.  I made the last rent payment after she passed away.