Should I waive the late fee

Question

Hello BP,

I just got below email. I'm n last 7 months Tenant paid the late fees 3 times! BTW late fee is $75/-

"Hello

I will be paying my rent Friday 5/5 with late fee attached I paid my sons last cancer treatment so I will be on time every month from now on sorry for any inconvenience."

I'm thinking to waive the fee as a courtesy but I'm not sure 🤔 should I do or not ? Please advise.

Thank U

Mike Cumbie · Answer

Hello @Sai Toll,

I would not recommend it. Business is business and charity is charity. Now there is nothing wrong with you going to a fund raiser for him/gofund me page etc and donating $75.00 or $200.00 or whatever you feel comfortable with. But keep the business piece separate.

Just my 2 cents and good luck!

Bryan O. · Answer

@Mike Cumbie is right on target here. I would guess that Comcast or Bank of America would not give a discount because of the cancer treatment. You should not either.

If it is a cause you want to support, then separately do something for them, for a cause, or whatever helps you be happy and then be glad you have rental income to help you do it!

Kiet N. · Answer

For business: I would charge the late fee, so it is consistency with the lease.

For personal : If having empathy for their situations, I would send a gift card back for that amount.

Joe Splitrock · Answer

@Sai T. I always charge a late fee, but I give a grace period until the 5th so I am very generous out of the starting gate.

Kim Meredith Hampton · Answer

@Sai Toll I allow my tenants one late rent payment on me, the rest are never waived. Whatever you do, make sure it is consistent across the board

Steve Vaughan · Answer

I do the same as Kim and waive the first one as long as they have been with me in good standing for at least 6 months.

The key is consistency.  What you do for one, you must do for all!

Sai T. · Answer

I agree @Mike Cumbie

I did waive first late fee @Kim Meredith Hampton

Nathan Gesner · Answer

I waive the late fee the first time someone is late but never after that. It's extremely common for tenants to blame late payments (or lack of payment) on some medical issue, death in the family, broken-down car, etc. Even if they are telling the truth, it doesn't remove them from their obligation.

Will Gaston · Answer

@Sai T. There is a reason that almost all experienced and successful landlords are strict about their late fees.

Believe it or not, you're doing the tenant a favor by charging them a late fee. It trains them to know that your rent should be a top priority in their finances. Tenants may tell you otherwise, but they want boundaries.

I have ~150 college students that rent from me and we have many months out of the year that we have ZERO late payments. This only happens because they know that we are serious about our deadlines.

Should I waive the late fee

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