What to do when a tenant offers partial payment

[Joseph W Lennon]

What do I do if my tenant offers partial rent payment? The say they will be able to pay the remaining balance on their next payday? Do I accept it? I've heard that accepting partial payment makes it harder to win an eviction case. How do others handle this situation? I'm investing in Upstate New York.

[John Warren]

@Joseph W Lennon the answer to this question is a little more nuanced than some. How long have you had the tenant in place for? What is your relationship like with the tenant? Did the tenant communicate in a timely fashion that there would be an issue, or were you chasing the tenant for information? 

I self manage 13 units locally in Berwyn and Lyons, IL. I have two tenants who occasionally have contacted me that they are a little short on the rent. They have consistently followed through with catching up, so I am willing to work with them. In addition, they have always paid my $50 late fee, which compensates me for allowing this behavior temporarily. You should always charge a late fee ( I give all tenants one "free pass" and then charge late fees). This is part of the tenant good behavior training process. 

If your tenant pays late every month, and you are getting more than 30 days behind then you may have a problem. I also have a tenant in one of my lower end rentals that consistently pays almost one month late. She is behind now more than one month, and I am having to watch my property manager on this one to make sure it doesn't get worse.