The most important and most difficult thing you’ll do when you have a tenant who isn’t paying rent is to take emotions out of the situation. Assuming you did not purchase this property for charitable causes, you aren’t in the business of providing free housing.

Serve a 5 Day Notice

If your tenant isn’t paying rent on time, you’re probably being avoided. Or, you’re hearing promises that rent will be paid on a certain date later in the future. You need to issue a legal notice. This is important whether you want to evict the tenant or not. This 5 Day Notice gives you the legal grounds to remove the tenants if they don’t manage to get rent paid. If you do not personally serve this notice to your tenants, the court will add an additional five days to allow for service. So, you have 10 days before you can get a court date. Time is of the essence. If done quickly, a complete eviction can take one month.

Habitually Late Tenants

You may have tenants who habitually pay late. Even if you’re used to it, and okay with it, you should still serve the notice every time rent is late. These situations, in my experience, always result in an eviction at some point. So, do yourself a favor and serve the notice. It will put you ahead of the process if you do ultimately have to evict.

Tenant Screening

The best way to avoid these situations is with good tenant screening. Credit checks and rental verifications go a long way. Make sure you aren’t just calling a current landlord. Call the last two landlords.

Remember to stay neutral and keep the situation black and white. It is possible to be compassionate and firm at the same time. Set your boundaries and be consistent. Hire a professional Phoenix property management company if you find you cannot enforce the timely payment of rent.

If you have any questions about rent collection or anything pertaining to property management in Phoenix, please contact us at Arizona Property Brokerage.