Tenant Got Shot - Would you let them pay rent a few weeks later?

[Golan Corshidi]

Hey all,

I have been self managing my own portfolio in the rougher parts of East Cleveland. 

Delinquency has become the biggest difference between profitability and barely breaking even.

Every month, there are a few residents can't pay rent on time and every now and then the explanation makes me hesitant to stick to our usual delinquency policies. 

The latest reason was a tenant's boyfriend shot her and she hasn't been able to work. In this case, she even provided the evidence for it. She asked for a couple weeks to catch up on rent.

I was wondering if you ever allow tenants to pay rent weeks later if something happens to them. In these cases, do you still serve eviction notices and proceed with eviction? 

I appreciate any help on this!

[Hali Snyder]

I'm going to play devil's advocate here only because I do understand and am all for protecting yourself in this scenario and protecting your finances, but lack of sympathy doesn't exactly belong in this situation just from a human being standpoint. You've mentioned she's been a solid tenant up until this point and she has the evidence to show this truly did happen and isn't some excuse PLUS she proactively asked for some extra time to catch up. Why in the world is the first thought "should I evict her" instead of "is she okay"? She hasn't been a problem for you in the past and I agree with Janice that the history matters significantly and everything should be documented and clear but should be a realistic timeline that can reasonably met that you both agree on.

I'm sure Richard's assumption comes from some sort of past experience with a similar tenant situation but at the same time you can't possibly screen better to eliminate the risk of tenants that are the victim of domestic violence and a little grace in these situations goes a long way which could result in a long term solid tenant that respects you instead of a revolving door. Would you rather remove a tenant with a solid history over one hiccup that likely wasn't her fault in exchange for a potential replacement problem tenant? If your best friend, mother, sister, daughter, etc, were in the same position would you accept the same advice?