Tenant has not signed the rent deferral agreement

[Michael Balcom]

I have a lease with three college students on it. Two of the three students paid this month, but the third said she could not since she lost her job due to COVID. My PM talked to her about a rent deferral program and she said yes. My PM wrote the agreement, sent it to her and she has yet to sign it. My PM has tried multiple times to get ahold of her with no luck. How would you handle this situation?  

Thank you and stay safe! 

[Nathan Gesner]

Your Property Manager should be answering this for you. They're supposed to be the expert but it sounds like they're just figuring things out.

Any time you send a document for signature, there should be a deadline and that deadline needs to be tracked. Once the deadline passes, the offer is removed from the table. Instead, your PM sent it out with no express deadline or consequence and now she's spending time chasing the tenant down, increasing her workload and your stress level.

Tell your PM to put her shoes on, get in the car, and go visit the property. The tenant is either avoiding contact or has already abandoned the property. Your PM needs to verify the tenant is still living there. IF she is, get her to sign the deferral or tell her she needs to move out. If she refuses to do either, your PM should know what the next step is.

Personally, I wouldn't even offer the deferral again and would focus on getting rid of the tenant. She's unemployed so there's no excuse for not answering the phone or signing the agreement. It's the sign of a bad tenant and bad tenants should be removed, even in the midst of a crisis.