As a landlord, collecting rent is just one of the many tasks assigned to owning a rental property; however, it’s the most important one. Tenancy is an investment and if your tenant doesn’t pay rent or is consecutively late, you could risk losing your property.

To best avoid any future delays in rent, you want to get creative. Step out of the box and give your tenants a reason to pay rent on first of the month, every month.
Collecting rent on time is key to a successful rental property. Often times, rent collection can be the bane of any landlord’s existence, but it shouldn’t be. Here are three helpful tips to help encourage your tenants to pay rent on time.

Accept Additional Methods of Payment

Don’t give your tenants any reason to procrastinate on paying rent by offering several methods of payment. For instance, allow a tenant to pay with cash. Just be sure it is paid directly to you as the landlord, or property management company, and provide the tenant with a receipt.

Additionally, you can take checks, cashier checks and money orders. Here at Stokley Properties we allow tenants to make ACH payments, so that way rent is deposited directly to our bank. This makes it easier for both landlord and tenant when it comes time to collect rent.

Enforce Late Fees

If a tenant doesn’t pay rent on time, make sure you charge them a late fee. Imposing a fee when tenants are late is vital to ensuring you receive future payments when they are due. You have bills to pay too, so don’t lag on this problem.

Tenants generally know what a late fee is and this doesn’t need to be made into a complicated process. Just simply charge the fee to your tenant when they’re late and collect it. On the other hand, if you have a tenant who refuses to pay rent, make sure you post and mail a 3-day notice. Don’t wait or hesitate on this issue. Let your tenants know there are consequences to not paying rent and you will follow through with them.

Give Incentives

Encourage your tenants to pay rent on time by offering incentives. If you have excellent tenants who don’t bother you and take care of the property, reward them. At the end of the year give them things like a gift card to Starbucks, reduction in rent or one month’s rent free as a bonus to them for paying rent on time.

You want to make sure your tenants have a great experience when living in your rental property. By giving incentives, you ensure another year of tenancy with renters who make the landlord job easier and help maximize your income.

Rental property is a business and like any you want it to run smoothly and efficiently. Receiving rent on time is the surest way to a profitable investment. With these three helpful tips, you’ll be on the road to a successful venture.

Please contact Joe with Stokley Properties, Walnut Creek, CA Property Management with any questions.