Strategies To Deal With Late Rent Payments

The tenant-landlord relationship can be a beautiful, copacetic thing. 

Tenants enjoy a beautiful living space that supports their lifestyle, whether young professionals, students, or even a family. 

Landlords benefit from steady income flowing in–the average rent in Philly is $1,925 per month for a single unit.

Unfortunately, a few caveats exist in the tenant-landlord relationship. 

While many nuances and complexities can be discussed, the primary bugaboo in such agreements is when that average $1,925 monthly doesn’t get paid.

It’s tricky to navigate this grey area. Yet, it still must be navigated. Stats from earlier this year showed evictions trending up 135% compared to 2022. Most relevant to this article, the median uncollected rent fee for tenants facing eviction is $4,100.

None of this is meant to paint tenants in a bad light. Life throws people curveballs that cause financial strife. All the same, you–as a landlord–need that money coming in.

This article aims to navigate this tricky issue and help you deal with late rent payments.

Study Local Lease Laws

Knowledge is power. The more you know about your lease agreement, the better your chances of nipping problems with late rental payments in the bud.

You have rights as a landlord. Namely, you have the right to collect rent when it’s due. 

Examine local regulations about proper notice, grace periods, and late fees to ensure your actions to collect rent are above board and backed by law. 

Be Approachable And Available To Tenants

You could have the most fantastic tenant be late with rent payments. We’re all human. We all make mistakes. 

An otherwise reliable tenant could have just lost their job. Their income might have taken a hit because they’re a freelancer who lost a client. Maybe there’s been an issue with a roommate or family member.

Often, leniency is your wisest decision. Giving a tenant who’s fallen on hard times some leeway could ensure a thriving (and profitable) relationship for decades to come.

When you’re approachable as a landlord and have open lines of communication with your tenant, the situations can be more easily assessed and navigated. You can come to an amicable solution without having to take extreme measures.

Approach The Issue With The Tenant Directly

This suggestion overlaps with the previous one but is worth its own section. After all, the issue might have nothing to do with something as overdramatic as a job or income loss. It could merely result from a knowledge gap or misunderstanding.

Many tenants assume they have a grace period that gives them a few extra days to pay rent. However, no such period exists in Pennsylvania. 

So, give your tenant a call. Have a friendly conversation and remind them–gently–that rent is due on the first of the month.

Maintain Good-Faith Relations

An eviction notice is something you want to avoid at all costs. You don’t want to deal with the legal ramifications. Nor do you want to force someone out of a living space.

Instead, you want to give someone every opportunity to pay their rent on time.

A rent reminder notice is one way to maintain good-faith relations with your tardy tenant while letting them know you expect them to be on time with their payments. 

This written document should include the following:



• The standard rent due date.
• The amount of past-due rent owed.
• Allowable late fees.
• The date on which rent must be paid to prevent any legal action.

Now, this isn’t the most warm and cuddly action to take and is a slightly more stern measure once you’ve extended every other possible kindness. 

It’s not necessarily legally required to send one of these notices. Still, on the off-chance things take a more acrimonious turn, you’ll have a document proving your good-faith effort to collect rent punctually.

Familiarize Yourself With The Eviction Diversion Program

Philadelphia’s Eviction Diversion Program (EDP) is nationally recognized.

The idea behind the EDP is to ensure residential landlord-tenant issues can be resolved without the situation reaching court. The idea is to prevent city resources from being poured into a drawn-out legal process.

As a landlord, you’re expected to participate in the EDP in good faith before you can embark on any legal eviction efforts. 

Make Rent Easy To Pay

Before the word “eviction” even enters your mind, it’s worth asking if you’re making rent collection easy on yourself and your tenants.

Sometimes, late rent doesn’t concern your tenant’s financial problems. Nor does it involve anything overly negative or melodramatic. 

Late rent payments can plainly be a result of human error and forgetfulness. In this instance, the problem can be resolved by making rent easier to pay and collect so that your tenant won’t forget or face any barriers in getting the money to you.

For example, GM Holdings’ platform allows tenants to seamlessly pay rent online. 

The process is over instantaneously and is so straightforward it won’t slip their mind. Rent will be on time each month, eliminating all potential complications and frustrations while fostering harmonious tenant-landlord relations.