Payment plan for Tenant late on Rent

[Fernando Roman Romero]

Hello! My Current tenant has been late on rent. He lost his job and found another one fairly quickly so I set him up on a Payment Plan to pay back his owed rent for the half of October that he owes to December 2022. The Plan states that he will pay every 2 weeks beginning on December 9th (he had some complications with his hire date and started work a week later than anticipated). He paid the first payment and then made a smaller payment ahead of schedule and then stopped paying. He told me his brother passed away and he would be out of work for a few days. I told him I would work with him and asked him when he could make a payment. He gave me a date and I agreed that it would be okay. When the day came he did not pay and I went ahead and posted an eviction notice on his door giving him a week to move out (generously). He stated to me that he just begun work and wouldn't have a check for another week which is next Friday, his move-out date is this Monday. By this time he will owe all of January's rent + late fees as well. He has asked me to work with him but at this point I am not sure. He has been going to work I assume, because he is never home but feels like he is just digging himself a hole. Though I did tell him if he could get his Payment Plan up to date by paying his missed payments before the date of the eviction he could stay and continue his payments. But now he is trying to give me legal advice as to why I should not evict him because a judge will favor him in court. I guess the only thing that worries me about that is the fact that I forgot to take a picture of the Notice on the door and did not mail out one the day I posted it. Do I need to Post another eviction notice, take a picture and mail one out as well?

[Cory J Thornton]

@Fernando Roman Romero - Sorry to hear about this mess. This isn't going to be a fun resolution, so learn everything you can and try to create some better process for future application. 

You are responsible for providing and maintaining a clean, safe place for a tenant to live. You are not responsible for anything that happens in their personal life. You can be kind and compassionate without making any concession in rent. We live in a world where bad things happen to everyone at some point and if as a property owner you get into the habit of allowing tenants to dictate payment terms, and it isn't in your nature to reverse that habit, then you need to bite the bullet and hire a property manager.  

1) Let's rewind all the way back to when/how this tenant was placed in your home. When placing a tenant, setting a minimum credit score requirement, ensuring income is 3X or more listed rent, and having a defined screening process will help prevent life emergencies from becoming collection issues. 

2) Evictions laws will change by state and the enforcement will change in every county. I have some places where I manage property in NC that are landlord friendly and I have other places in NC that are tenant friendly. Both court systems will require that you have followed your state laws to remove a tenant. I would start by either becoming an expert or hiring an expert in your State's eviction process. 

3) If your tenant is threatening you with legal action, I would take the option for them to stay off the table. I would strongly encourage you to either speak to or hire an attorney. 

4) Do you have a written lease in place? If so, then what are the defined duties of the tenant and landlord in your lease, and the repercussions if someone does not preform. A good lease should be the template you use when managing a tenant relationship. 

5) If your lease allows for electronic communication with a tenant, then texts and emails demanding that a tenant should leave the property or pay in full should be saved and paired with your lease, along with any other communication records you have. It may not be as effective as a certified letter, but it could be better than walking into a courtroom empty handed … especially if you have the text where the tenant put words in the judges mouth saying that they would rule in his favor. 

You are not in uncharted territory. Most investors I know have some variation of the story you are telling in their history. Get through this and take the education so this event can go into and stay in your past.

Best of luck as you navigate this experience. Leverage it for future success, and keep us posted on what you learn along the way.