As a landlord, it might feel like you’re always on the hunt for a trustworthy, reliable tenant. Not paying rent, though, is one of the worst infractions a tenant can commit. If your tenant repeatedly fails to pay on time, you might start to think the situation is hopeless.
As stressful as this may be, you do have some recourse available if your tenant isn’t paying rent. You can try several options before jumping to the big E (eviction). And if it does come to that, you should at least know what you’re in for.
In this article, we’re going over the actions you can take if your tenant is repeatedly late on rent, ways to prevent overdue payments in the future, and tools you can use to get paid on time. Keep reading to find out what you should know.
First Things First: Is Your Tenant Actually Late on Rent?
Whether rent is late is a simple yes-or-no question. However, you’ll need to consider a few possible extenuating circumstances.
Check Your Lease Agreement’s Terms
Before you jump to conclusions, check your lease agreement to see whether it provides a grace period for overdue rent. While you might understandably expect your payment right on the due date, your renter could be well within their rights to use that grace period.
A tenant might need those extra days for numerous reasons, from being paid late to a check getting lost in the mail. Regardless, if your lease includes a grace period, you must allow them extra time to pay before consequences take effect.
Reference Your State’s Grace Period Laws
Similarly, many states require landlords to provide tenants with a grace period, sometimes up to 30 days after rent is due. Even if your lease agreement doesn’t specify a grace period, you’ll still have to give your tenant that extra time under state law.
Thoroughly research your local laws before you take any further action. If your renter hasn’t paid yet but they’re still within their legally mandated grace period, you’ll have to hold off until that period ends (or, hopefully, until the tenant pays).
If rent is due on the 1st, and a tenant in Connecticut with a typical 1-year lease doesn’t pay until the 7th, they cannot be charged a late fee as the state offers a 9-day grace period.
| State | Required Grace Period for Late Fees |
|---|---|
| Arizona | 5 days (mobile homes) None (other housing types) |
| Colorado | 7 days |
| Connecticut | 4 days (week-to-week lease agreements) 9 days (all other lease agreements) |
| Delaware | 5 days (except the grace period is 8 days if rent can’t be paid in person within the same county as the residence) |
| Maine | 15 days |
| Massachusetts | 30 days |
| Nevada | None (week-to-week lease agreements) 3 days (all other lease agreements) |
| New Jersey | 5 business days (certain senior tenants) None (other tenants) |
| New York | 5 days |
| North Carolina | 5 days |
| Oregon | 4 days |
| Tennessee | 5 days (if the 6th day is a Sunday or holiday, the due date is the next business day) |
| Texas | 2 days |
| Virginia | None (with written lease agreement) 5 days (if there is no written lease agreement) |
| Washington | 5 days |
| Washington D.C. | 5 days |
7 Steps to Handle A Tenant Who Didn’t Pay Rent
Here are simple steps to handle a tenant who didn’t pay rent:
- Reach out to your tenant and communicate clearly
- Consider negotiating a payment plan
- Document everything
- Decide if you want to evict the tenant
- If you want to evict, stop accepting partial payments immediately
- Serve the proper pay-or-vacate notice
- Follow legal protocols to evict the tenant
Step 1: Reach Out to Your Tenant and Communicate Clearly
Before you go straight to your legal options, have a chat with your tenant first. See if you can get to the root of the issue, as they may have a valid reason that rent is overdue, or a plan to pay you back as quickly as possible.
Whatever your tenant’s reason for the unpaid rent, though, you’ll need to communicate that being late on rent leads to consequences. You could inform them that you plan to charge late fees, or that you’ll eventually pursue an eviction if the problem continues.
You should remain professional and polite, but ultimately, your tenant should be aware that not paying rent has consequences. Confronting your tenant about overdue rent might be uncomfortable in the moment, but it’s key to avoiding repeat issues.
Step 2: Consider Negotiating a Payment Plan
If your tenant has missed a rent payment but wants to pay you as soon as possible, you could offer them a reasonable payment plan. This way, you can still get your money back eventually while allowing your renter some grace.
After all, it’s possible they just lost their job or are dealing with other circumstances outside of their control. You could defer payments while they get back on their feet, or come up with a realistic installment plan to add the back rent to their regular payments.
A payment plan can be a good choice if the tenant typically pays on time and late payments are rare, or if you believe the renter will pay eventually. In the end, getting paid late isn’t ideal, but it’s better than not getting paid at all.
Step 3: Document Everything
Whether or not you decide to offer the tenant a payment plan, you should document the entire process from the moment you reach out about the rent. Communicate via email or record your phone calls to ensure you have all relevant information.
Doing so makes it easy to reference previous conversations if you or your renter forget the terms you originally agreed upon. If you settle on a payment plan, you should also put the plan’s details in writing, including deadlines, amounts, and installment percentages.
Documenting all steps of the process not only prevents confusion, but it can also serve as valuable evidence if your renter attempts to change the terms of your agreement. And, in the event of a legal dispute in court, that evidence will be all the more useful.
Step 4: Decide if You Want to Evict the Tenant
If a tenant isn’t paying rent, you should evict them so you can find a paying tenant—right? Well, it isn’t always that straightforward. Beyond giving your renter some understanding of the personal circumstances that led to the unpaid rent, eviction comes with its own problems.
The process can incur legal fees and take weeks or months to finalize. And depending on rental market demand, an eviction may leave the unit vacant for an extended period, which could attract trespassers and lead to property damage.
Evictions also make it more difficult to collect the money the tenant owes you. Additionally, some states have regulations that restrict eviction proceedings. As frustrating as the situation may be, continuing to negotiate with your renter may be the more worthwhile option.
Each state has its own laws that affect how landlords can handle nonpayment of rent. Depending on your location, you may need to give tenants a grace period before issuing an eviction notice. Tenants may have up to 3 weeks to pay rent before being required to move out.
Reference the table below for the requirements in your state:
| State | Required Eviction Notice | Time to Move Out After Ruling |
| Alabama | 7 days | 7 days |
| Alaska | 7 days | No statute |
| Arizona | 5 days | 12 hours to 5 days |
| Arkansas | 3 or 10 days | 24 hours |
| California | 3 days | 5 days |
| Colorado | 10 days | Writ cannot be issued for 48 hours |
| Connecticut | 3 days | Writ cannot be issued for 5 days + 24 hours |
| Delaware | 5 days | Writ cannot be issued for 10 days + 24 hours |
| Florida | 3 days | 24 hours |
| Georgia | Not specified | Writ cannot be issued for 7 days |
| Hawaii | 5 days | No statute |
| Idaho | 3 days | Must move immediately or 5 days |
| Illinois | 5 days | 7- 14 days |
| Indiana | 10 days | 48 or 72 hours |
| Iowa | 3 days | 3 days |
| Kansas | 3 days | Up to 14 days |
| Kentucky | 7 days | 7 days |
| Louisiana | 5 or 20 days | 24 hours |
| Maine | 7 days if no written lease | Writ cannot be issued for 7 days + 48 hours |
| Maryland | No written notice required | Up to 60 days + writ cannot be issued for 4 days |
| Massachusetts | 14 days | Writ cannot be issued for 10 days + 48 hours |
| Michigan | 7 days | Writ cannot be issued for 10 days |
| Minnesota | No written notice required | 24 hours |
| Mississippi | 3 days | No statute for nonpayment |
| Missouri | Not specified | Writ cannot be issued for 5 days + 24 hours – 5 additional days |
| Montana | 3 days | No statute |
| Nebraska | 7 days | 10 days |
| Nevada | 7 days | Writ cannot be issued for 5 business days + 24 – 36 hours |
| New Hampshire | 7 days | Writ cannot be issued for 5 – 7 days |
| New Jersey | No written notice required | Writ cannot be issued for 3 business days + 3 – 7 additional days |
| New Mexico | 3 days | 3 – 7 days |
| New York | 14 days | 10 or 14 days |
| North Carolina | 10 days | Writ cannot be issued for 10 days + move out immediately after writ receipt or up to 5 additional days |
| North Dakota | 3 days | No statute |
| Ohio | 3 days | Up to 10 days |
| Oklahoma | 5 or 10 days | 48 hours |
| Oregon | 72 or 144 hours | Writ cannot be issued for 4 days |
| Pennsylvania | 10 days | Writ cannot be issued for 5 days + 10 additional days |
| Rhode Island | 5 days | Writ cannot be issued for 6 days |
| South Carolina | 5 days | 24 hours |
| South Dakota | 3 days | No statute |
| Tennessee | 7 or 14 days | Writ cannot be issued for 10 days |
| Texas | 3 days | Writ cannot be issued for 6 days + 24 hours |
| Utah | 3 days | Must move immediately or 3 days |
| Vermont | 14 days | 5 or 14 days |
| Virginia | 5 days | Writ cannot be issued for 10 days + 72 hours |
| Washington | 14 days | 3 – 5 days |
| West Virginia | No written notice required | No statute |
| Wisconsin | 5, 14, or 30 days | Up to 10 days |
| Wyoming | 3 days | Up to 2 days |
Step 5: If You Want to Evict Your Tenant, Stop Accepting Partial Payments Immediately
Even with all these factors in mind, you may still conclude that eviction is the only path forward, especially after repeated nonpayment issues. In that case, the first thing you’ll need to do is halt all of your renters’ attempts to pay you.
In many places across the U.S., receiving a partial rent payment from a tenant is enough to stall an eviction. Even if it’s just a few dollars, taking the money could still require you to restart the eviction process.
Refusing to accept any partial payments allows you to get an eviction underway as quickly as possible. Remember, this might take months in the end, so the fewer delays that hold you up, the sooner you can find a new, paying tenant.
Step 6: Serve the Proper Pay-or-Vacate Notice
When you decide to begin the eviction process, you’ll start by serving your tenant with what’s known as a pay-or-vacate notice. These notices give the renter a certain amount of time, usually at least 3 days, to either pay the rent or vacate voluntarily.
The time specified in the notice varies by location; some states, counties, or municipalities require as many as 7 days before you can proceed with eviction proceedings. You’ll have to do your research to make sure you serve the right notice.
If the tenant does not vacate or pay rent within the specified time period, you can proceed with the remaining eviction steps. Again, though, the tenant may attempt to delay the eviction by making a partial payment, so proceed with caution.
Step 7: Follow Legal Protocols to Evict The Tenant
Assuming that your tenant continues not pay, you’ll need to move on to the next steps of an eviction for nonpayment. The exact process also varies by location, but generally, you’ll file an eviction complaint, appear in court, and receive a judgment to remove the tenant.
Once you receive the judgment, law enforcement will oversee the eviction and, if necessary, the tenant’s removal. The judge may also order the tenant to repay all back rent, but there’s no guarantee you can obtain that money if the tenant has no assets.
No matter what, you should never attempt to remove a tenant yourself by shutting off the utilities, changing the locks, or removing their belongings. Even if your renter hasn’t paid for an extended period of time, self-help evictions are illegal in all 50 states.
How to Avoid Late- and Non-Paying Tenants in the Future
Though rent payment issues may seem like an inevitable part of life as a landlord, you can take certain steps to avoid these issues. Here’s how:
Simplify Rent Payments
First things first—you should make it as easy as possible for your tenants to pay rent. In this day and age, that usually means accepting online rent payments. Luckily, many property management software programs, such as TurboTenant, offer rent collection as a key feature.
With the right software, your tenants will have the tools to set up rent autopay and benefit from options like rent reporting, which encourages on-time payments by reporting to credit bureaus. These perks can incentivize your tenants to pay rent on time, every time.
Send Rent Reminders
As part of the rent collection process, consider sending friendly payment reminders to your tenants before the due date to help everyone remember to pay on time. While you can send these reminders manually, property management software like TurboTenant can send them automatically.
Automating rent reminders takes one more item off your to-do list while reducing the frequency of late payments. Sometimes, a simple reminder is all that’s needed for on-time payments. And if an eviction dispute arises, these reminders can serve as useful evidence in court.
Assess Automatic Late Fees
If a tenant fails to pay rent on time (and is outside of all required grace periods, of course), you can charge late fees as a reminder that there are consequences for unpaid rent. Don’t worry, though—TurboTenant also automatically charges these fees once rent becomes overdue.
Having late fees automatically charged to the renter lets you get paid what you’re owed without an uncomfortable confrontation. These fees will help you protect your investment in the long term and motivate your renters to pay on time.
The Final Word
A tenant not paying rent is one of the most stressful situations you might face as a landlord. However, you can try several options before resorting to eviction, such as offering a repayment plan or negotiating future payments with your renter.
You can also prevent future payment issues by using online rent collection tools, sending rent reminders, and automatically charging late fees to encourage on-time payments. Last but not least, screen all renters thoroughly to determine whether they have a history of payment issues.
Property management software TurboTenant offers all of these tools and more. Sign up for your free account today to increase on-time payments and streamline your portfolio.
FAQs: Tenant Isn’t Paying Rent
How quickly can a tenant be evicted?
The typical eviction process varies by state. Generally speaking, evictions for nonpayment can take anywhere from a few weeks to multiple months, depending on the location. However, the process could take longer if the tenant appeals the eviction decision.
Is it worth suing a tenant for unpaid rent?
If the tenant has assets and owes more than 2 months’ rent, you may want to sue. However, if the tenant is not solvent and owes a relatively small amount of rent, the costs of a lawsuit may exceed the potential recoverable amount.
How long do landlords have to collect unpaid rent?
Though the exact statute of limitations for rental contracts varies by state, landlords typically have between 3 and 10 years from the original rent due date to attempt to sue for unpaid rent. Outside of this timeframe, landlords may still send unpaid rent to collections.
