We do everything we can to ensure that rent is paid on time, including offering tenants multiple payment options and sending them reminders a few days before and on the day rent is due. While these steps lead to the vast majority of our tenants paying rent on time, there’s no avoiding the fact that late payments do sometimes happen.

Our lease gives tenants a grace period of five days from the due date during which they can pay rent with no consequences. During this period, we continue to send reminders. Many tenants wait for a paycheck on the 1st of the month before paying rent, so receiving rent in the following few days is common and nothing to worry about.

After the fifth day, a late fee applies. The late fee in our standard lease is $35, but if you come to us with a preexisting lease, we’ll continue to enforce the terms of that lease (assuming they comply with state law).

If a tenant still hasn’t paid after the 5th, we’ll file a seven-day notice to evict. In the vast majority of cases, the letter is just a precautionary measure, and we don’t need to move forward with an actual eviction.

On rare occasions, however, legal action may become necessary. We offer a recommendation, but leave the decision about whether or not to evict up to you.