Landlords Battling Chronic Late Partial Rent
21 posts across 4 communities in the last 90 days; 81% from r/Landlord.
“Yeah I have to change my Zelle contract info so he can't pay me partially. I use Zillow for the other tenants and despite it taking up to a week for the payment to got my account, I can at least not allow for partial payments. I think after I get the rest of the August rent, I…”
“Don’t just show up without a pay to quit notice. They need to know the failure to communicate is a huge issue. More so than their cats. Just expect to pay the mortgage and deal with a lot of repairs when they are out.”
“This. It’s funny but all my tenants who couldn’t seem to remember to pay their rent on time also left the place shitty and broken.”
Tenants persistently paying late or in fragments; partial payments that forfeit eviction rights in some states; wanting payment rails that block partials and enforce late fees.
SOURCES (60)
“So lets say rent is $1000/month and late fee is $10/day. Rent due Day 1 of the month. Tenant pays $400 on day 5 hence $50 is late fee. Hence $600 Rent+50 Fees is now left Now tenant pays $400 remaining on day 7th. Hence…”
“Because that’s how most small private landlords are. And these are the landlords that often rent under market value and work with tenants. We need to stop shaming these kinds of landlords or we are all just going to end up left with mega rich real estate investors and property management companies charging inflated prices.”
“Are you open to allowing Flex rent? It can break up his rent into two payments during the month but they send you the entire rent on the first. That way he can do his split payments but you still get your full amount all at once.”
“Lol this thread is basically the same devil on one shoulder, angel on the other conversation that has been going on in my own head for months. I had been telling myself that getting a full month behind is my limit, and now we're at that point, so I'm trying to find a solution that is more of a middle way between the two extremes of being a doormat and being a hardass.”
“I can handle payments on my own but I've had this situation once before and it ended up costing me about $20k, plus remodeling costs. Once you've been burned you tend to want to be more proactive. I just think about myself as a renter, since I rent a place currently myself, and how I would do everything in my power to pay the rent before I risk having an eviction. I would also be extremely communicative with the landlord if I were somehow unable to pay rent, and I have to initiate every”
“Yeah I have to change my Zelle contract info so he can't pay me partially. I use Zillow for the other tenants and despite it taking up to a week for the payment to got my account, I can at least not allow for partial payments. I think after I get the rest of the August rent, I can disable Zelle and have him pay via check or money order for September. I'm just not sure where I should draw the line, as my guess is he'll pay the rest of August on 9/4 and then nothing for September until”
“People dont pay the rent either because the cant or dont want to. The late fee should take care of the dont wants, so now we have a cant. You need to get him out asap. He is getting buried and you are losing your ass. Nobody wins. "Listen man, I know you are struggling to pay the rent. If you dont pay up by the 4th I am going to give you your 3 day to pay or quit and start evicting you and I dont want to do that because you will probably never be able to rent again. Can we work together to”
“yes this is what I worry about. Like honestly i don’t mind a couple of days for late rent, but if it’s a sign of something worse, then I don’t want to ignore those signs.”
“My tenants always paid on time, because i gave them a $100 discount for paying on time. $1600 rent went to $1500 if they paid on time. The bonus was if we needed to raise the rent (in our area there were laws about % increass) it was based on the larger amount as that is what was listed on the lease agreement. Give them an incentive to pay on time. Money is they best incentive.”
“It’s not about beating up on anyone. Get out of here with all the moralizing. The payment trendline here is bad. Ultimately the best thing would be to find a mutually agreeable move out date and let him go find a cheaper spot. If the “mutually agreeable move out date” discussion goes badly or slips then it’s time to act on a pay or quit and go to court.”
“First - I just want to preface this by saying, I’m asking this question both as a human but also as a landlord. I have had this tenant for a year. We’re not close - but they have disclosed to me on different occasions (as excuses for late rent payments) that they have ADHD, and that they lost loved one last month. these 2 things gave me some assumptions of their current condition. I have been inside the place they rent from me, several times for maintenance during the past year. In the beginning”
“All I will say is you can bet his divorce attorney isn’t being paid late. Please issue a pay or quit notice the very first day the tenant is late. Never accept partial payment, too. Follow your City/County/State laws and while we can have compassion for a person, we still have our own mortgage and bills to pay, too. I am a CA landlord, too.”
“I'd go have a face to face with him. He may actually be getting close to being back on track. Help him understand you have to pay the mortgage, the taxes, the insurance, etc every month and his late payments are becoming a burden for you too. If he thinks he can slide on you he probably will. Make sure he knows you are nice, but not a doormat. I have worked with my tenants through hard times and we got it handled without eviction and ill will.”
“I'm a landlord of a duplex in California, specifically in San Jose, where we have lots of laws protecting tenants. I have a tenant who is getting divorced. His wife used to live in the same duplex and worked, so there were two incomes. They each have one kid from a previous marriage and one kid together (3 in all). They used to be pretty good about paying on time and in full, but now that the wife moved out and the guy is having to pay for attorneys, he has been getting farther behind on ren”
“You are not. Tell them you expect the full rent or it will impact their security deposit. There’s no way you will get another tenant in to “fill” their partial month. You can say it nicely with that explanation or you can wait until you see the condition of the apartment- being mindful of the time frame in your state for that return.”
“I charge a late fee. It usually has to be written into the lease. I charge 80 dollars after a 5 day grace period. It incentivizes them to be on time and if they're not I get a few bucks. I tell them it's the mortgage late fee and I have to pay it because they're making me late on it. Sob story for sob story. The important thing is that they actually pay and it's consistent. Vacancies don't pay and usually involve spending money. If they get pissed and destroy the unit before”
“Assuming that they will sign a new lease when this one expires, you may want to build in an escalating late fee. The first time they’re late, I give a reminder that it they will be charged a fee next time. Usually, after paying a late fee, most tenants have learned to prioritize paying on time.”
“Just bought my first duplex last month and already dealing with a tenant who pays late every time its only been 2 months. The previous owner let them slide for years so now they think im the bad guy for enforcing the lease. I served the pay or quit notice yesterday and they looked at me like i killed their dog. Trying to be firm from the start so they dont walk all over me but man the guilt trip was strong. Any tips for staying consistent when the sob stories start rolling in?”
Put in your lease they aren’t accepted and reverse them if they occur.
“We've been in the apartment since November 2025. Everything was fine and dandy until the management company decided the online portal needed to be updated. My boyfriend is switching banks, so we needed to update the account rent is being paid out from. Come to find out, the "updated portal" has no access to the autopay that was set up on the old portal. We can add accounts, but there's nowhere to change the autopay settings. I went to the office, even brought my laptop to show”
“I use rentredi.com (not free, but not expensive). It gives me the option of blocking partial payments.”
“no don't let him ride follow the law of your state and get him out. He is month to month at this point and you can give him 30 day notice. When people don't pay the rent you don't lower the price. That is unless you are independently wealthy and have the funds to do things like this”
“I have been through this process. Not fun. One word of advice. Do NOT accept any partial payment for the back rent. Unless it's for the full 8 months AND you'll let her stay there, do not accept any amount of money. I had consulted a lawyer, and he had pieces of advice. If she gives you any money, it starts the clock back to the beginning!! When the day comes that the sheriff arrives for the physical eviction (and I had to pay for the sheriff to do that- $1,000!), he and his workers took”
“First time dealing with this. I have a tenant who’s always been paying on time but the last two moments she’s been more MIA, overpromising on rent payment (saying money is on its way but never came), she said there was some hiccup with her business partners, she then said she’s asking her mom to help her…but still no rent. She can’t even send proof of transfer. It’s exhausting chasing for rent. I don’t know what’s going on with her but I know this can happen once in awhile. However she keeps ove”
“Fastest would probably be to get a restraining order which can be issued immediately”
Also use Turbo Tenant. Use it for leases as well. Has been great for me.
“Tenant in month 4 of second 1yr lease. Total of 15 on-time payments. Has communicated by text twice stating he will pay plus late fees. I have already emailed and texted his Notice of Late Rent Demand for Payment on Day 6. Single Family home 2 BR/2 BA college town. Would appreciate your thoughts. Thank you. submitted by /u/Old_Chemistry_5530 [link] [comments]”
“I was in more or less the same situation with someone in CA as well. I didn't read the wall of text because none of the he said she said is really all that important here. What does matter is "Shared facilities". If they share an entrance, kitchen, bathroom, laundry it totally changes the legal options and makes the eviction process much more cut and dried although not necessarily less lengthy. The shared facilities functionally means you are exempt from just cause reasons and can”
“Yes, however law enforcement will tell you (if the lodger protests and says that they have the right to be there) that it is a civil matter that needs to be resolved in court. It is not criminal at that point.”
“It’s a business not a charity, if they were responding and trying to work with you sure work with them. When people stop communicating that’s when the issues start”
“Genuinely curious, what’s the hard to believe part? I am NOT trolling. This is NOT a bad joke. It’s my real fucking life.”
“Does she have access to the shared kitchen and chooses not to use it? It sounds like she is a lodger and you should probably read the lodger statute. I believe all you have to do is serve her with a 30 day notice to get out and then it's easy to follow through with the sheriff if what I read about the law is correct. She is not under California tenant protections. See https://schorr-law.com/homeowners-rights-when-removing-a-lodger/ And https://selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/eviction/lodgers”
“Don’t just show up without a pay to quit notice. They need to know the failure to communicate is a huge issue. More so than their cats. Just expect to pay the mortgage and deal with a lot of repairs when they are out.”
“The terms of the lease do state: "This lease automatically renews on a month-to-month basis unless Landlord or Tenant provides the other party written notice of termination".”
“Hi everyone, I’m looking for some guidance regarding a difficult rental situation involving my mom in California. I’m especially interested in hearing from California landlords or anyone familiar with the laws surrounding a single lodger in an owner-occupied home. My mom owns and lives in her home. She rents ONE bedroom to one woman under a one-year written lease for $1,300/month. No other rooms are rented out. From what I understand, because my mom owns and occupies the home and only rents one”
“it's legal but not permitted by the building, in hudson county. i don't see 10 day notice but maybe the law has changed since then. sublease has no mention of penalties or whatever.”
“Hello fellow property managers and tenants, I have come into the unfortunate situation of the cut off day for rent due (even with grace period) being the 5th, and I get paid on the sixth. If I make the payment right now and it comes out before I get paid it will be a few hundred dollars short and will bounce. I use RentCafe, and am thinking my only hope is to take a risk and to pay it right before midnight, and my direct deposit usually hits around 3-6 am.. so there's a few hour window where”
“Yeah same. Also worth noting, you can see when the tenant has paid and it notifies you that it’s processing so it’s not like you have to wonder IF you’re going to get rent, it’s just WHEN…”
“My tenants have less than stellar credit, so CashApp, Zelle, and ApplePay. I'll take payments ANYWAY I can get them, just pay on time.”
“Check which has laws protecting them and is free. Online payments mail to you (so they need lead time). Other services have issues in delays, changes, fees, and partial payments impacting potential evictions. But your cash tenants likely will continue to need to use cash.”
“Right now, all our tenants pay by cash. One tenant is about to move out. And I would like to change the method of payment for the next tenant that moves in. If you use a website, please state how much the fees are. Thank you. Note: My sister has one tenant and they pay by Venmo. submitted by /u/truth_stamina [link] [comments]”
“Repeat after me, your tenant is an adult (because they signed a contract), treat them like one and follow the legal process.”
“Why remind her? She’s an adult, presumably, and the lease stipulates when rent is due and what happens when it’s late. Stick to the lease and charge the late fee if she’s late. She doesn’t need you to hold her hand.”
“Remind her there is a late fee. You have had to give her a heads up before so if she doesn't make it on the 5th and she wants to fight about the fee reminder her she got gentle reminder before so pay the fee.”
“I usually remind them by serving a pay or quit notice, with the late fee added in on the total.”
“This. It’s funny but all my tenants who couldn’t seem to remember to pay their rent on time also left the place shitty and broken.”
“If the rent isn't contractually late until the 5th, then she has until the 5th to pay the rent. You don't need to be pestering her on the 2nd or 3rd. You have to trust she will pay it by the 5th (especially since she's paid right away when you have pestered her). Leave her alone and let her have the grace period. If she doesn't pay by the 5th, then you can pester her and apply late fees (and do it in writing).”
“Mine will have certified letter ready to go if I don’t see the payment initiated by the 5th. It will be in the mail on the 6th along with an email letting them know they’ve incurred a late fee. I’m on the cusp with these tenants right now so my generally understanding self is not having it.”
My late fee starts after the 5th. If I don’t get rent on the 5th, I send a message on the 6th requesting rent with late fee included.