What​ ​to​ ​Do​ ​About​ ​Delinquent​ ​Tenants

Why can’t everyone just be nice, follow the rules, and get along? And hey, while we’re at it, why can’t every tenant be easy to deal with? If you have experience in property management, you know that this definitely isn’t the case. When tenants become delinquent, you need to do something about it before things get out of control. Before taking extreme measures such as eviction and reporting to a credit bureau, consider trying these techniques to see if your delinquent tenant situation can be resolved conflict-free:

Review​ ​Lease/Rental​ ​Agreements​ ​to​ ​Confirm​ ​Delinquency

Before you go ahead and take steps toward eviction, you’ll need to make sure that your information is correct. Take the time to look through any documents signed regarding the lease agreements to make sure the tenant is indeed breaking the agreement. Arming yourself with the facts will go a long way and will give you a head start.

Give​ ​Your​ ​Tenant​ ​a​ ​Written​ ​Notice

Sending a written notice advising the tenant that they are overdue on their rent is a great way to confirm with them that they owe you money. It lets them know that you are serious and gives them a heads up that they need to resolve the situation before legal actions are taken. Let them know that further action may be taken if they do not pay their outstanding bill.

Call​ ​the​ ​Tenant​ ​On​ ​the​ ​Telephone​ ​to​ ​Discuss​ ​the​ ​Situation

A simple phone call to your delinquent tenant can be very helpful for a number of reasons:

– Opens the line of communication and gives you a chance to talk with the tenant

– Advises them of how serious the situation actually is

– Can help to clear any confusion created by written notices or warnings

– Gives the tenant the opportunity to ask questions

Deliver​ ​a​ ​Final​ ​Notice​ ​to​ ​the​ ​Tenant

Once you have tested the above techniques and none of them worked, you are at a point where action needs to be taken immediately. Write up a final notice that includes how the tenant has been delinquent, what they owe you, the final date their debt must be paid by, and your intent to evict if their debts are not cleared by that date. If this doesn’t convey the message of how serious you are, then you can proceed to report the tenant to a credit bureau and start the eviction process.

Say​ ​Goodbye​ ​to​ ​Your​ ​Delinquent​ ​Tenant​ ​and​ ​Evict​ ​Them!

If a tenant is not holding up their end of the lease agreement, there are only so many chances you can give before resorting to eviction. It’s an unfortunate circumstance for both parties, but it is something that needs to be done in some cases. You can take legal action to get the tenant out of your property and then you can move on with being an awesome landlord! You may also want to report the tenant to a credit bureau so that other landlords have a sort of warning to the history of the tenant’s delinquency.

After a couple of years in property management, you’ll surely encounter all types of tenants. And you will surely learn that when faced with the problematic ones, it’s always better not to shy away from protecting yourself and your properties.

Author’s​ ​bio:​ ​Oksana Tunikova is a content marketing specialist from Rentberry, a platform for seamless and transparent renting. A writer by calling and marketer by job title, Oksana is focused on creating articles that bring quality to people’s rental experience while putting smiles on their faces. When not writing, she’s reading or exercising or playing with her cat.