Being a landlord often requires at least a little bit of compromise with your tenants. But when it comes to accepting partial rent payments, you might understandably be on the fence. After all, don’t you want to receive rent in full every pay period?
Though it might sound stressful, accepting partial rent payments can actually be a smart business decision in the long run. While you don’t want to agree to every request automatically, partial payments can benefit both you and your renters in certain situations.
If you’re deciding whether or not you want to accept partial rent payments, keep reading to learn about when you should and shouldn’t agree to partial payments, the best way to accept these payments, the potential impact on evictions, and much more.
What is a partial rent payment?
Basically, a partial rent payment is exactly what it sounds like. The phrase refers to any payment that’s less than the full rent amount. While accepting smaller payments may sound bad for business, there are many valid reasons behind partial rent payments.
Some tenants make partial payments if they’re splitting the bill with roommates or if they move in partway through a rental period, when rent is prorated. Landlords can choose whether or not to accept partial rent payments as part of their property management strategy.
As we’ve said, partial rent payments can be a useful option in some cases, but a major detriment in others. We’ll go over those potential circumstances later, but, generally speaking, you should plan to handle each situation individually rather than implementing a blanket policy.
Is accepting a partial rent payment legal?
Yes, landlords can legally accept partial rent payments. However, you’re not required to accept partial payments, as long as you apply the same standards to all of your renters. You can also refuse to accept partial payments altogether and block them if needed.
If you decide to accept partial payments, document the process carefully to ensure you eventually receive rent in full. You should also provide tenants with a notice stating that receipt of these partial payments does not waive your right to the full amount.
Ideally, your lease agreement should address the possibility of partial rent payments so that you and your renters have all terms in writing. Remember, accepting partial payments can expose landlords to significant liability, so you should always approach the process with caution.
How Partial Rent Payments Can Affect Eviction Proceedings
The biggest potential downfall of partial rent payments involves the eviction process. Even before initiating an eviction for nonpayment, the landlord must immediately stop accepting partial payments from the tenant. Doing so will keep the legal proceedings on track and prevent costly delays.
For instance, let’s say you want to evict a tenant for nonpayment of rent. If that tenant attempts to send you a partial payment and you accept it, you may have to begin the eviction all over again, including serving any notices you’ve served previously.
That’s because judges often view accepting partial payments as an indicator that you want to continue the tenancy, rather than proceeding with removal. Laws surrounding partial payments during eviction also vary by location. In other words, you’ll have to do your research carefully before you get started.
When Accepting Partial Rent Payments Makes Sense
Despite these possible risks, accepting partial rent payments does make sense in certain situations. You may want to think about accepting partial payments if:
- Your tenant pays with roommates
- Your tenant wants to pay biweekly rather than once a month
- Your tenant is behind on rent, and you want to offer a repayment plan
- You’re worried about a long period of vacancy
- Your tenant typically pays rent in full, but needs a one-time exception
- Rent is prorated
While accepting partial rent payments can lead to issues, the practice does make more sense in certain, reasonable circumstances. Unless you have very good reasons for doing so, you probably shouldn’t impose a strict “no partial payment” policy, since you never know what could happen.
When Accepting Partial Rent Payments Doesn’t Make Sense
With that being said, there are some situations where partial rent payments can be more trouble than they’re worth. You’ll want to avoid accepting partial payments if:
- You have already begun eviction proceedings
- The tenant has a repeated history of nonpayment
- Your rental is in a competitive market, and you can re-rent your property quickly for the full amount
- You don’t want to deal with the documentation process
Though accepting partial rent payments isn’t always a bad idea, doing so can still complicate the rental process. You might find that you’d prefer to walk away and find a new tenant who can pay rent in full, though make sure to check local laws before you do so.
The Best Way to Accept Partial Rent Payments
If you choose to accept partial rent payments, you’ll need to know the right way to handle them so you can protect your investment. Here’s how:
Step 1: Sign Up for Property Management Software (for Free)
First things first—property management software can help you accept rent payments of all shapes and sizes. If you sign up for a free TurboTenant account, you can access their robust rent collection tool and accept partial payments with ease.
TurboTenant allows you to split payments between different tenants and block partial payments if an eviction becomes necessary. The software also offers a wealth of other property management tools, including rental advertising and leasing, so you can easily place a new, paying-in-full tenant if needed.
Step 2: Choose the Lease You Want to Enable Partial Rent Payments
Once your TurboTenant account is active, you’ll have to add some important information about your rental properties and lease agreements. TurboTenant will help you upload details such as the rent amount, when it’s due, which property you’re working with, and your renters’ info.
Landlords can manage up to three properties with a free TurboTenant account. After you’ve provided the necessary details about your lease agreements and rent amounts, TurboTenant will prompt you to turn partial payments on or off. You can also enable partial payments later on.
Step 3: Update Your Leases to Enable Partial Rent Payments
If you don’t set up partial payments from the start but need to later, don’t worry—TurboTenant makes it easy. From the landlord dashboard, visit the Leases tab to view all of your lease agreements, then click the Edit icon next to the address you need to update.
Under lease settings, scroll to the Payments section. TurboTenant will ask whether you want to allow partial payments, so click “Yes.” Then, click “Save Changes,” and your renters will be able to make a partial payment. Just don’t forget to disable partial payments if you decide to evict.
The Final Word on Partial Rent Payments
Believe it or not, accepting partial rent payments can often prove helpful. Whether your renter has roommates, needs a one-time extension on rent, or you don’t want to go through the hassles of an eviction, partial rent payments offer a good middle ground for landlords.
Of course, if you do choose to accept partial rent payments, you should always document all aspects of the process. And since accepting partial payments can stall or delay an eviction, you’ll need to proceed with caution if you decide you want to find a new tenant.
To accept partial rent payments without stress or confusion, sign up for a free TurboTenant account. This property management software allows landlords to accept rent in any amount and quickly block partial payments if needed, all while providing thorough documentation.
FAQ: Partial Rent Payments
What happens if you only pay a portion of your rent?
Only paying a portion of your rent can lead to significant consequences for tenants. You could face a potential eviction, late fees, and damage to your credit score. A partial rent payment may delay eviction proceedings in some cases, but your landlord isn’t obligated to accept it.
Can a landlord evict you if you only pay half of your rent?
Yes, a landlord can evict you if you pay any amount that is less than the full rent. However, making a partial payment can be enough to stall an eviction, requiring the landlord to wait until the next payment period to proceed.
What’s the longest you can be late on rent?
In certain places, landlords must provide tenants with a grace period, typically 3 to 5 days after the payment deadline, to pay rent in full. Landlords may also offer a grace period. However, legal action may be taken at any time after the deadline and any applicable grace periods have passed.
