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The coronavirus pandemic has left many renters struggling to pay rent. If you are facing this situation as a landlord I believe it may be best to offer rent relief if the circumstances justify it.
I shared my criteria for deciding to offer rent relief or not. Review and modify my criteria to suit your needs but be consistent.
It’s also important to make sure you protect your rights as a landlord too. I offered several things to keep in mind when coming to an agreement with your tenant.
Always document whatever you agree with your tenant. You can use one of the rent relief templates above as a guide. Remember to consult a legal expert if you have any doubts about your particular situation.
Tell me what you think about the forms. Leave me a comment below.
I would like to say THANK YOU! This is such a relief. I am just a small landlord with only 10 units. I do have a question. I have an empty unit I will be looking for new tenants. With all of the layoffs and people on unemployment, I require proof of 1 yr of employment. Do you have any tips for my credit check before approving? How would I know if someone will be going back to work or if they are let go from their job? Will I have to call employers? This will make my job very difficult. Any suggestions you would have would be very helpful. Thank you
Tina
Glad I could help in any way. I would ask for the last 3 months of pay stubs. You should be able to see how many hours on average they are able to work or if they’ve stopped getting paid recently. You may have to call their employer to verify if something doesn’t add up. Do that before running any background checks. I’d also be looking at the industry they work in. Even if they are working right now, they might be let go in the near future. Oil, auto, and hospitality industries seem to be particularly vulnerable. Here’s an interesting article on the subject. It’s one thing to be lenient with current tenants who’ve hit a rough patch but it’s another to get yourself into a situation where a new tenant can’t afford the rent shortly after signing a lease. There will be a long backlog of evictions so you need to be extra careful in screening and vetting new tenants until things return to some form of normalcy.
Tina April 19, 2020 ReplyThank you for your suggestions. I was thinking about 2 months but I like 3. Calling their employers I am aware I will need to do. I am in Pennsylvania and we have been on lockdown since mid-March. So most are currently on unemployment and some have not yet received any money with all of the failures of the system. So if I were to add verification of filing and any monies that they received from unemployment this could be in addition to pay stubs. Here in PA realtors are not permitted to show homes, nor am I with rentals. I am hoping landlords have worked with tenants and did their best not to file evictions. Not sure how quickly they would be posted. Thanks for making me feel more confident in my requests. This site has been very helpful to me. Again, Thank you.
John May 2, 2020 ReplyHello, if I have a tenant in N.J. That can no longer pay rent during covid 19, if it gets to the point that I have to evict them how long will it take?
Will I be able to recoup unpaid back rent?
Normally an eviction for non-payment is 6-8 weeks if you act right away and follow the proper procedure. However, there is going to be a backlog at the courts that will take a long time to work through. One lawyer has estimated that if you wait to file an eviction until after the courts open in May or June, you are probably looking at an eviction in September or October at this point. Possibly later. Lawyers are encouraging landlords to file now to get in the queue but the CARES act prohibits even filing if your property is covered under the act. Best to check with a local lawyer to avoid any costly mistakes.
Ann December 2, 2020 ReplyWith the Covid situation lingering and many businesses future still uncertain, it is difficult for landlords to determine a reasonable end date for any rent reduction. If a landlord can be flexible with the end date, it seems a cancellable rent reduction might be feasible or possibly a rent reduction through a specific date, after which the rent reduction would continue unless cancelled by the landlord with notice. Would you consider offering up a template for such a scenario?
Domenick December 4, 2020 ReplyGreat suggestions! I designed the rent reduction agreement to be limited to a specific time frame. Alternatively, you could write a clause that says the reduction is to last through the lease term or until cancelled by the landlord by giving 30 day written notice. I don’t like that option personally because it requires more steps (serving notice) and sets the expectation that the rent is reduced for the rest of the lease. I’d rather set a fixed time period and then simply renew the agreement at the end if necessary and justified.
November 2, 2018
January 8, 2019
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