Tenant unemployed but didn’t tell me yet
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Investor · Clairemont, CA · Member since 2011 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
4yNope, they have no obligation to tell you and any prying on your part will likely only create conflict. I have had tenants pro-actively let me know, to which I say thanks and as long as rent is being paid then we are ok. I've also had them say nothing and take care of things or decide to move out a few months later. If things change and they miss a month or otherwise start having issues then you can address it.
Treat people like responsible adults who are able to problem solve, come up with solutions and keep on top of their obligations. That's why you screened well in the first place, to evaluate their ability to 'adult' and not make their problems yours.
4 Replies
- Investor · Clairemont, CA · Member since 2011 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes4y
Nope, they have no obligation to tell you and any prying on your part will likely only create conflict. I have had tenants pro-actively let me know, to which I say thanks and as long as rent is being paid then we are ok. I've also had them say nothing and take care of things or decide to move out a few months later. If things change and they miss a month or otherwise start having issues then you can address it.
Treat people like responsible adults who are able to problem solve, come up with solutions and keep on top of their obligations. That's why you screened well in the first place, to evaluate their ability to 'adult' and not make their problems yours.
- Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes4yYour tenant's responsibility is to pay the rent, not update every time something changes in their financial life. Just because one of them is unemployed doesn't mean they can't/won't pay the rent. Keep an eye on it. Be prepared to act if they pay late or fail to pay. Otherwise, don't worry about it. Lots of people lose jobs and then get new jobs, and they have savings or other means to get by during the transition.
Quote from @Kurt S.:
Hi,
I am living in a duplex as the landlord with tenants (a couple) living in the unit below.
The mailman mistakenly delivered a letter from my tenant to me today. Sadly it is from the office of unemployment.
I live in a tenant-friendly city. I thought they were obligated to tell me in writing.
Am I legally allowed to confront them about the situation? It’s not clear it will be any immediate threat to their ability to pay rent. His girlfriend had the better credit of the two to begin with. However I am obviously worried, as my bills depend on their ability to pay as well. Any advice?
The DIY Landlord Book4.7248 Reviews - Rental Property Investor · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2016 · 393 posts · 995 votes4y
Some jurisdictions have weird laws, but I would be highly surprised if anywhere mandated that a tenant notify you if they were fired from a job.
Are you legally allowed to confront them? -Sure, you can legally do most anything you want in life, all you would really be doing is talking to someone asking if they are alright. The more important question is should you? Regardless of what happened its going to be an awkward conversation for the tenant to go through, and he will likely get defensive. And honestly, no matter if the conversation goes well, or if the conversation turns hostile it doesn't matter what he tells you because you can't evict someone just because they lost their job. Maybe they have some savings, maybe the girlfriend can cover the rent by herself, maybe he gets another job. You can't start to evict them until they have failed to pay the rent as agreed upon, so no matter what he says you still can't take action against him. In todays job market I would be highly surprised if he can't get another job in a day or two.I follow the mantra hope for the best, plan for the worst. If they pay next months rent on time then great!, but I would assume they aren't going to pay and start lining up my budget accordingly. However my real concern is you mentioned that your bills depend on their ability to pay as well which implies that you don't have sufficient cash reserves to handle financial hiccups without putting yourself and your family in a financial tight spot. If that's true, I would highly recommend building that reserve stockpile as fast as possible because even if this particular event goes smoothly, I can guarantee you at some point something is going to go horribly wrong and you are going to want to have the funds to cover whatever curveball you get thrown without needing to stress out about it.
HVACs break, roofs leak, basements flood, storms cause damage, carpets need replaced, tenants cause damage, tenants don't pay, etc. You are going to want enough cash on hand to simply write a check for these types of things instead of worrying about if things are going to be alright or not financially.
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