sending tenant late rent notice

[Jessica Flint]

I'm fairly new to rentals and haven't had to evict or even send a late rent notice.  Now with Covid and not being able to evict, what are landlords sending to tenants when late on rent?  Don't I need to send them something so if they don't pay, I can start the eviction process immediately when that rule is lifted?

[Jeff Copeland]

While you can certainly send tenants an account statement, or notice showing what they owe, be very cautious about sending a pay or quit notice (we commonly call it a 3-day notice here in Florida), or any type of notice that mentions or threatens eviction. 

At the Federal level, Section 4024 of the CARES Act prohibits "legal action to recover possession of the covered dwelling from the tenant for nonpayment of rent or other fees or charges" or the charging of "fees, penalties, or other charges to the tenant related to such nonpayment of rent" on covered properties (which is essentially any property tied in any way to the Federal government: i.e. a mortgage backed by FHA, VA, or sold on the secondary market to Fannie/Freddie, receiving Section 8, etc etc).

At the State level, many states still have eviction moratoriums in place. 

Here in Florida, there are law firms who are directing tenants to for a 3-day notice, in hopes of catching the landlord/PM in a legal trap that can be used against them in court.

Know the law and tread carefully.