On average, there are around 3.5 million evictions in America per year.
There are countless reasons why you might need to evict a bad tenant. They may have caused property damage or performed illegal activities in your rental unit. One of the most common reasons landlords have tenant trouble, however, is due to delinquent rent.
It can be tricky and awkward for landlords to deal with delinquent rent. In this post, we'll tell you exactly what steps you need to take when your tenant is not paying rent on time. Rent collection is how you make your money as a landlord, so keep reading and make sure you get what's yours.
Grace Periods and Late Fees
When you write up your lease agreement, you should be thinking about the potential of delinquent rent payments. Your lease should be as clear as possible about what will occur should the new tenant have a late or missed rent payment.
Giving your tenant 3-5 extra days to pay their rent puts less pressure on them and less stress on you when the payments don't come right away. That said, you need to draw the line somewhere. You should also make it clear that failure to pay rent before the grace period ends will result in late fees and potential eviction.
Communicate With the Tenant
If you've got a tenant who keeps missing rent payments, the first step is to communicate with them. Refer them to the lease agreement and try to find out why they're missing rent. Everyone goes through their own struggles, so the more you can try and understand their plight, the better it'll go.
Make sure all of your correspondence is in writing. In the event you need to file an eviction at some point, you'll want proof that you tried to reason with the tenant before filing the eviction.
Pay or Quit Notice
When you keep running into the same problem with a tenant, you need to get serious with a notice of late rent. A pay or quit notice will let your tenant know that they need to either pay their rent or you'll begin the eviction process.
In Texas, you can send a 3-day pay or quit notice, which gives them 3 days to rectify the problem. If they go beyond that, you're legally entitled to file the eviction.
Filing an Eviction
To file an eviction, you need to fill out the necessary paperwork in your local court. The tenant will be served their eviction papers within 6 days and the hearing will be set before 21 days of the eviction being served. During that time, your tenant may appeal the eviction.
Most landlords will hire an eviction lawyer to help navigate the complex eviction laws. As long as you've kept proof of correspondence along the way, your eviction should be successful.
How PMI San Antonio Can Help With Delinquent Rent
Delinquent rent causes a lot of headaches for landlords. If you want to avoid having to deal with this, it might be time to hire a property manager.
At PMI San Antonio, we offer eviction services, but if you really want to avoid problem tenants, you need good tenant screening. Contact us today to learn more about how we can make your rental property thrive.
