Property Management

Collecting Rent From Tenants Who Don't Pay

Written By Belong

Last Updated Jun 30, 2021

Person holding a stack of envelopes marked "final notice" and "past due", overdue in rental payments

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Sometimes tenants fall behind on rent. Even if you've done everything right and have responsible tenants, it can happen in a volatile economic situation. So what do you do when you need to collect back rent from a tenant?


 

If you are self-managing a rental property, things are bound to get awkward when a tenant falls behind on rent. Awkward isn't the worst thing though, if the situation drags on, it could quickly turn hostile. Next thing you know you’re hiring collection agencies, researching lawyers, trying to find the best way out of a bad situation. 

 

There’s a reason why the stress of collecting rent — and the idea of chasing down back rent — is the big hold-up when it comes to new and inexperienced landlords entering the market.


There are three solutions to this problem:

  1. Call in the lawyers and collection agencies to apply pressure
  2. Hire a property manager to play bad cop
  3. Partner with Belong (so you never need to ask)


Hiring a property manager to collect rent from tenants


A common solution to avoiding having to play bad cop with your tenants is to hire a property manager. If you're contemplating hiring a property management company to collect on your behalf, make sure you ask exactly how they handle this kind of situation — and who’s on the hook for potential legal fees.



If you partner with Belong, your rent is guaranteed

 

The other (we would say better!) solution is to partner with Belong, so you never have to ask about rent again. Belong offers Guaranteed Rent, allowing homeowners to choose whether they receive rent on the first of every month, or even the entire year upfront. Regardless of when tenants pay, your cash flow is never disrupted from what you signed up for.


To do some back-of-the-napkin math on how much you could earn with Belong, use the calculator below or learn more here.