Landlords: How to Get Your Tenants to Pay Rent On Time

Many people invest in property with the goal of making profits in the long run. However, some landlords do not receive a stable cash flow from their rental properties because some tenants always default on rent. Dealing with late rental payments can be frustrating for landlords. As a landlord, you may be depending on the rent to help settle property expenses, mortgage payments, or personal supplemental income. This could cause a legal battle to collect rent owed by the tenant and a drawn-out eviction process that may be expensive. To be successful as a landlord, you should not only know how to handle late payments but also learn how to get your tenant s to pay their rent on time. So what can you do if your tenants aren’t paying promptly?

Here are tips to getting your tenants to pay their rent on time as a landlord.

Find Reliable Tenants

Although it is easier said than done, finding reliable tenants is important for the success of your rental property investment. You need to rent your property to qualified tenants with a great rental history. Have a good tenant screening criteria. Credit check should be one of the metrics to use when screening a potential tenant. Secondly, set the income requirements for a prospective tenant. Your potential tenants should have an income equivalent to three times the amount of rent or more and have a good history of rent payment. You can also follow up for references from the previous landlords.

Offer Rental Discounts

Give an incentive to your tenants to pay early by offering them an early rent discount. If you have been a landlord for a considerable amount of time, you must know that it is rare to find tenants who pay rent on time. It is therefore important to reward those who pay on time. Offering them a small discount will motivate them to maintain the standard as they will want to get the discount every month. This is one way to avoid late rental payments as a landlord and boost your lease renewal rate at the same time.

Exercise a “No Cash” Policy

There are situation that can result in situations that are difficult for you to manage as a landlord. Receiving rent payment in cash is one of thing that can cause problems. In case cash is lost, you will have no paper trail which makes it challenging to prove that a tenant paid their rent. You will also need to create time to meet the tenants, receive the money and take it to the bank. Establishing a “no cash” policy is a sure way to avoid these risks.

Maintain a Good Landlord-Tenant Relationship

As a landlord, the tenants are your customers and you should treat them with respect. Your tenants should feel valued as they stay in your rental property. Talk to tenants who pay the rent late consistently to find out what could be the cause. Respond to your tenants promptly whenever they contact you for anything. When you have a good relationship with your tenants, they will prefer to pay you first when they have to pay bills to different people they owe.

Automatic Payments

One of the simplest ways to avoid late rent payment is to set up automatic payments for the monthly rent. Let tenants pay rent via auto-pay or auto-deduct system. You can choose a reputable property management company to help set up automatic payments. Direct withdrawal from the tenants helps them to budget effectively. Moreover, it will also give you easy work as you will not need to collect checks from the tenants each month.

Enforce Late Payment Penalties.

When you’re managing your property as a landlord, you should have it written in your lease agreement that late rent payment would result in penalties. Your tenants should know that late payments won’t be taken lightly. Late fees can be a strong motivator for getting your tenants pays their rent on time. Your tenants don’t want to pay more than they already have to for them to stay in your rental property.