Rent due date change

[Quan Chau]

Hi guys!

I have a SFR and my tenant wants to change the rent due date because of COVID. The tenant was paying rent on time at the height of COVID last year, but now is saying she wouldn't be able to pay on the 1st because of COVID hardship. She gave me an excuse that it was "her sister has COVID" and was not able to pay rent. Did not make any sense to me. Now she is saying because of her grandson starting school and she was not able to pay rent on time due to school supplies and she got reduced hours at work because of COVID cases rising again.

Should I make a change to the lease to change the rent due date to the 15th of the month? Or stick with the 1st of the month? I read Brandon Turners book on how to manage rental properties and one of the advices is to train your tenant so they make their rent a priority. I feel that if I change the due date then I’m giving the impression that their rent is not a priority.

Any advices or suggestions are greatly appreciated!