Landlord Question and Answer Forum

If my tenant does not pay rent and the lease includes water do i have a right to turn water off to the property?

No you can't do the following: - Turn off utilities - Steal the tenant's mail - Enter whenever you want - Throw the tenant's belongings to the curb If the tenant doesn't pay rent, issue a "pay or quit" notice and if they don't do either, then evict.

Posted by Dawn A, WI on Thursday, January 24, 2013

If my tenant has paid half of the rent for Jan 1 2013 and now its Jan25 2013 late fees have been appllied now and the tenant still has not paid and the rent is due again Feb 1 2013 This is my first time as a landlord so I need so advice on what kind of actions can I take at this point her lease is up in July 2013. She making all kinds of excuses why she do not have the money. In the lease agreement states late fees will apply after the 5th day of 25.00 dollars and ten dollar a day there after. Please give me soon reasonable advice on what to do next. I am new at this. I live in Houston Texas. Thank you Sherrill Levy renee.carter2211@yahoo.com

Posted by Sherrill L, TX on Saturday, January 26, 2013

Sherrill, I would certainly send a late notice. You need to document her non-payment. If the rent is not paid, and you have sent notice, you may want to consider moving forward with an eviction.

Posted by karen s, WI on Monday, January 28, 2013

I rent twelve units, and every time a tenant falls behind there is always a story, I have done weekly payment plans for monthly tenants to try and recoup late rent but it usually leads to eviction either way. It's best to be the hard ass and just play it by the book, otherwise you end up putting more energy into collection with the same basic results and more frustration.

Posted by Eric B, RI on Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Late is late! As a Landlord you HAVE to issue a 5-Notice to Quit as soon as your grace period is up, THEN on the 6th day you may file for eviction. Even if the tenant has promised to pay at a later date, you still must issue the Notice to Quit. This protects you in the long run of eviction court because the Judge may deduct any month from the arrearage due that a Notice is not issued. You may not enter, change locks, withhold mail, discontinue utilities, etc until you have a judgment & then the Judge will usually give them a number of days to vacate. If you issue the notice every time it re-enforces that you've followed not only the law, but your own policies as well so it's a no-brainer for the Judge. Please note that any time I issue the notice, it's by hand-delivery, regular mail AND certified mail and I add these costs to my judgement amount. Remember, it's a business.

Posted by T M, OK on Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Thanks for all the imput. Sherrill L.

Posted by Sherrill L, TX on Tuesday, January 29, 2013

I was wondering if it is necessary for me to also send certified mail since I live at the same house as the tenant I am trying to get rid of?

Posted by Alice L, OR on Monday, April 1, 2013