What Can You Do When Rent Is Unpaid?

July 4, 2010 by Clint
Filed under: Rentals 

 

As a landlord, what do you do when your tenants default? How do you cope with late rent payments? Read this article to learn more.

To avoid problems with your occupants in the future, each landlord should take due diligence when drafting a rental contract between the renters and landlord. You might need to consult a real estate broker or a suffolk landlord tenant lawyer on this issue to ensure your document will hold up in court. But, at the very least, the two parties should understand the period of rental payments. The day of the month the rent payment is due, how rent payment is to be given, who to pay, where to pay, and means of payment must be clear. The landlord should also specify the time period when rent payment will be considered late.

If the period is understood by the lessee, and sometime in the future he doesn’t pay, the landlord can do the following. Keep in mind that the actions to take against rent defaulter differ from State to State. There are, however, a few general ones that can be applied by all landlords.

Issue a rent demand: the first step to take in this situation is to send a Demand for Rent to the tenant; be sure the mail is received by him. This will inform him that his rent is late and that he is expected to pay. Likewise inform him that late payment violates the tenancy agreement he agreed to, and that the consequences of defaulting can mar his credit rating.

Make a phone call: After 2 days after you have served a demand and there has been no answer from the renter, you can make a phone call. The purpose of the call is to find out what might be wrong. Calmly inform the renter the consequences of his actions if he fails to pay by a specific time, which is you will commence an evicting proceeding against him. Another thingyou may try is to send a Notice to End Tenancy Early for Nonpayment of Rent. Demand exactly what you want from the renter by a specific time.

Eviction notice/attorney letter: Another thing you may do to follow up the actions previously taken is to announce your lawyer to write an eviction notice to the renter instructing him to pay or face the consequences. You should demand that the tenant should pay or face the repercussion of a long island evictions lawyer. You must be specific about the time the payment should be made and be prepared to follow the eviction procedures if the renters rejected to pay.

Eviction procedures: At the end of the stipulated term, if the time elapsed and the renter has not paid the stipulated sum nor vacate the property, then authorize your lawyer to begin the proceedings to evict the lessee. If not you don’t wish to end up losing huge sums of money as rent choose a lawyer vastly skilled in landlord/tenancy eviction to speed up the proceeding of the case.

 

 

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