Landlord Question and Answer Forum

My tenant recently attempted suicide. Before this happened, she had slowly gotten behind her rent payments. I had been very flexible in allowing her to pay her rent late, as she always eventually did pay. Then over the summer she got behind. Suddenly, she was behind on the rent by 2 month when the suicide attempt happened. How do I handle the situation? On one hand, I know I can not afford to get further behind on the rent because it will make my family's financial situation very bad. But on the other hand, I feel very cold hearted when I consider the idea of asking her to leave if she can not pay the rent. If it comes down to money versus a person's life, obviously a life is more valuable. But living in the apartment without paying any rent indefinitely is not an option for me financially. Any advice for what to do and how to talk to her about it without making a difficult time much worse for her?

Just be very gentle and ease into talking about the rent payment. I would work a payment plan with her to pay her rent. So, one of my tenants had trouble paying one month in full, so I had them pay me weekly. I broke it down to what full rent would cost and had them pay a portion each week. Have one of her family members involved in the conversation to make it easier. This is a tough situation so if you need help, ask for help. You could even call the suicide hotline for advice on this as well. Sorry you have to go through this, I could only imagine the feelings you are going through to have to handle this. Good luck!!!

Posted by Ellie M, PA on Tuesday, November 1, 2016

You have to separate business from personal here. It's bad that she is going through a challenging time and she probably needs to get some counseling. That has nothing to do with her obligation to pay rent per the lease agreement and you need to hold up your end of the lease as well. If you allow things to be "flexible" you risk losing all of your rights as the property owner as well as all of that rental income.

Posted by Christian S, VA on Friday, November 25, 2016