Your rent collection process starts with a strong lease. Your lease agreement must spell out how much rent is due, when it is due, and how a tenant can pay.
Make sure you understand the Landlord Tenant Act when you’re putting together a lease agreement. You want to protect yourself and your property, as well as the tenant. You can’t collect rent until your lease is in place. Once it is, you and your tenants will understand all the responsibilities and expectations associated with paying rent.
Mesa Property Management Rent Collection and Tenant Responsibilities
By signing the lease, your tenants agree to pay a certain amount by a certain day every month. Typically, rent will be due on the first day of every month. The tenants also understand that there are specific acceptable ways for rent to be paid. Typically, in-person rent payments are paid by personal check, money order or cashier’s check. Most property management companies also offer the option of an online payment. Online rental payment companies allow the tenants to pay by e-check and credit card.
Tenants understand that if the rent is late, there may be late fees and other penalties. If the rent isn’t paid at all, the tenants know that their landlord can take legal steps to collect the rent and begin the process of eviction.
Mesa Property Management Rent Collection and Landlord Responsibilities
By signing the lease, landlords have agreed to accept the tenant’s rent according to the lease terms. This means the amount of rent to be paid, the date on which it must be paid, what forms of payment may be tendered, and when late fees begin. You must be consistent in following and enforcing these lease terms. You cannot suddenly change the date that rent is due.
Late and Unpaid Rent: Work with a Mesa Property Management Company
When a tenant does not pay the rent in the prescribed time, the real work begins. This is a good time to call a Mesa property management company if you’re not working with professionals already.
Timelines are important. In Arizona, you can serve a Five Day Notice to Pay or Quit on the day that rent is officially late. This notice gives tenants five business days to catch up with rent and late fees or leave the property.
If the full amount owed is not paid after the five days, you can file for eviction on the sixth day. In Arizona, you are required to use an attorney when you evict a tenant. Your Mesa property management company cannot represent you in court.
Unless you have legal experience, we highly recommend using an attorney rather than representing yourself.
Once the eviction is sent over to the attorney’s office, a Summons and Complaint will be delivered by process server and certified mail to the tenant notifying them of the demand for rent and the court date. The tenant can pay their rent in full at any time during this process to stop the eviction; however, they must pay ALL of the monies owed, including attorney’s fees.
Most evictions in Arizona take about 30 days.
The good news is that most tenants pay either as agreed, or before the eviction file date. While we may file a lot of Five Day Notices, very few evictions are necessary.
Paying the Mesa Property Owner
The final part of the rent collection process is moving the funds from the property management company to the owner after rent has been collected from the tenants. Any management or legal fees will be deducted, as well as any maintenance costs that were incurred during the rental period. Then, the proceeds are sent to you.
If you have any questions about rent collection or anything pertaining to Mesa property management, please contact us at Bennett Property Management.
