How soon can I legitimately send Notice to Pay or Quit

[Yvonne H.]

I'm in NC. Rent is due on the 1st. By law, we cannot charge a late fee until the 5th. I have some troublesome tenants who need to be dealt with accordingly and most of all swiftly.
My question is, can I send them a late notice on the 2nd of the month even though the late fee is not in effect until the 6th? Or do I have to wait until the 6th? 

[Account Closed]

A lease agreement is a legal and binding contract.  It has a beginning rental date and a due date of when rent is due. 

If the tenants rent is due on the 1st of the month they have until 11:59 pm to pay the rent on that day.  At midnight you could send them a Notice to Quit.  But I'm sure nobody will go to the post office at midnight the day rent is due.  Therefore, the Notice to Quit should be sent out the very next day; on the 2nd.

It is crucial that you send out a Notice to Quit on the very first day rent is past due. Remember that this form is called A NOTICE and must legally be sent to the tenant to tell them their rent is past due before you can even file for an eviction.  Remember this is just a NOTICE, nothing more at this time, but very crucial for us, as landlords, to send it out immediately. 

Some states have a 7 day Notice to Quit, others a 3 day, etc.  I'm going to us my 7 Day Notice to Quit for an example. 

My tenants rents were due on the 1st of the month.  If rent was not received in my office on or before the first of the month than on the 2nd of the month I sent out that NOTICE TO QUIT.  This means they have 7 days to pay their rent or I take this notice to the court house and then it now becomes more than a Notice.  Now I'm allowed to send the tenant a Summons and Complaint for Non Payment of Rent and the court, in my state, will issue a court date usually within 10 days from the date I filed that Notice to Quit. (So it doesn't allow me to take legal action against the tenant until the 7 days have passed)

FOOT NOTE:  In Michigan we must not only allow 7 FULL DAYS to pass before we can file a Notice to Quit in a court of law and turn it into a Summons and Complaint, but if we mail it out, we must allow TWO MORE DAYS FOR MAILING TIME.  So in Michigan I must allow two full says for mailing.  This means I can't file the Notice to Quit until the 11th of the month.   (I couldn't send the Notice until the 2nd. The 2nd and 3rd day equals the two full days for mailing.  From the 4th to the 10 equals 7 full days,  which now brings us to the 11th of the month where now I can file that Notice in a court of law.   See how long the eviction process takes.  That is why this Notice should be sent out immediately.  Therefore, the tenant now had 11 more day to pay their rent. Once I file that Notice in a Court of Law it becomes a Summons and complaint and usually a court date is scheduled 10 days after I file the Notice giving the tenant another 10 days to pay their rent.  It will then be the 21st of the month. 

Even though I sent them a 7 Day Notice to Quit, if rent hasn't  been received in my office on or before the 5th of the month, I charged them a late fee of $25.00, this doesn't change the fact that their rent is still due and a NOTICE of Quit is still pending. 

NOW, If rent is not paid within that 10 day court period, we go to court and on the Judgment Form I will be asking for the months rent that is due as well as the $25 late Fee, and court fees as well. 

Now the tenant better have a good excuse for not paying their rent, and usually they don't and I am then awarded in the Judgment the full amount that I'm asking, which is court cost, late fees, and the month's rent that is due.

If the tenant tells the Judge that they didn't pay their rent because I didn't fix anything, that I'm a slum lord and the Judge believes them and tells me I have so many days to fix the so called repair, I request that the Judge have the tenant place their rent money into an Escrow Account with the court. And that request is usually granted,  and if the tenant does not put their rent money into the Escrow Account with the court, then I win the case.  

This process makes the tenants put their money where their mouth is,  if they are just trying to get more time to move out without paying their rent.  (Usually the court will give the tenant 10 more days to pay their rent or move).  This means that we are now into the end of the month, meaning that if the tenant does pay their rent, then their rent is due again in a few days.  And that means, you file that Notice to Quit again if their rent isn't in your office on or before the 1st of the month, which it probably won't be because they just paid you last month rent a day or two ago.  Most likely you will be evicting these tenants this time. 

If a Tenant calls and says, Hey why did I get this notice to quit, it's only the 2nd of the month, you remind them that it's only a NOTICE and that you haven't received their rent yet and nothing more.  And you should explain this process to them at the signing of the lease so they will be prepared for what is to happen if rent isn't receive in your office on or before the due date.

Tenants will rebel at something new.  Many landlords allow tenants to pay rent anytime during a rental month when in actuality, rent is due on the 1st or such and such a date.  Once they rent from you, who implements the Notice to Quit will be hard on them, but if you prepare them for it during the signing of the lease they will know what's coming.  Stress the point that it's only a NOTICE.

Once tenants are prepared and expect something they become comfortable with it.  They become prepared and all is well.  Therefore, don't worry or be embarrassed about sending out that Notice to Quit on the very next day rent was late. 

PLEASE SEE MY POST ON THE TENANT PHASE...

Nancy Neville