Are your tenants lying about not being able to pay?

[Nathan Gesner]

Do you have tenants attempting to get out of paying rent - or paying on time - by blaming COVID-19?

One of my tenants emailed to say she won't be able to pay until May 10th, maybe later. I told her we would still follow our normal processes and late fee would apply.

"OMG!! I can't afford to pay! I've been out of work for a month!"

Here's the reality. She works four hours a week at the school cafeteria for less than $12 an hour. Her take-home pay is less than $200 a month so I am 100% certain her inability to pay rent has nothing to do with her being laid off. Her husband works full time as a mechanic and makes about $38,000 a year. She admits he's been working the entire time.

So they lost $200 a month because she's not working, but they gained $2,400 from their stimulus payment ($1,200 per adult, no kids) for a net gain of $2,200 last month. They basically doubled their income for the month of April, but they can't pay rent?

How am I handling it? I told her any exceptions to our lease agreement must be requested in writing. If she is claiming a financial hardship due to COVID-19, I will need enough evidence to verify the claim. She naturally rejected my offer to send the form.

Here's the reality. Unemployment checks increased by $600 per week in addition to the regular unemployment benefit. Most people are also receiving a stimulus check of $1,200 per adult and $500 per child. A family of four would earn $4,800 in EXTRA unemployment income and $3,300 in stimulus payments for a grand total of $8,100. Just the bonus income alone is 1.5x more than the average family earns in a month.

What excuses are you hearing from your tenants?