New Landlord - Tenant Refusing Payment Method

Real Estate Agent · Chicago, IL · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

Ask the tenant what repairs they are referring to, and depending on what they are, make the repairs as needed. Is it true Avail would be providing you access to their credit history?

It also sounds like they are unsure about renewing the lease so I would ask them when they will make a decision on if they want to renew the lease or not. When does their lease expire? I think you should also confirm to them what lease renewal terms you are offering them so they can make an informed decision.

If you make the repairs, you'll create some goodwill with the tenant and they will be more likely to renew. Stick to the facts and ask clarifying questions to understand their concerns to resolve this.

7 Reply

Nicholas L.Pro Member

Flipper/Rehabber · Pittsburgh · Member since 2018 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes

1y

@Olivia Blake

Hi! I don't have a lot of background on this - just what you provided - but that actually seems like a pretty reasonable message with some valid questions. So... do they have a lease? What does the lease say? Are there legitimate outstanding repairs the previous owner didn't make? Will you be raising the rent?

I also recommend hiring a PM... then they deal with all of this and leave you out of it. If you're trying to save money or learn by self managing that is fine... but then you have to deal with this type of thing.

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Alecia LovelessPro Member

Member since 2019 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes

1y

@Olivia Blake I tried to start using a property management software. I received a TON of pushback from my tenants refusing to agree to use a payment platform they weren’t familiar with. I ended up backing down and just use the standard payment platforms, Venmo, MetaPay, CashApp, and Zelle.

I’ve heard tenants can potentially “clawback” their payments from these services. I’ve been using them for 6 years and have not had a problem. The first time someone “clawbacks” a rent payment they will immediately be getting an eviction notice in accordance with the terms of their lease.

It might take me 15 seconds more per transaction to do it this way, but it’s what has worked for me.

If you want to be a hard nose landlord you can try to force them to use your system, but I’ve read somewhere that at least certain states are making it where you have to accept at least checks.

2 Reply

Olivia Blake

OP

Rental Property Investor · Plainfield, IL · Member since 2025 · 3 posts · 6 votes

1y

Thanks for everyone's responses - this is all helping me to learn. For some extra context, their lease expires in about 5 months, so this landlord transition happened midway through their leases.

"Clawbacks" were my concern but good advice to put an eviction notice in the lease should this happen.

I ended up letting the tenant know that I understand their concerns and validate their questions. I said we can finish out this lease on Zelle if it makes them more comfortable with the intent to transition to a management software upon renewal (if they choose to renew the lease). It's less about the time it takes me to conduct a transaction this way, and more about automating the process for myself and creating structure and organization for tracking purposes.

I appreciate everyone's advice and am open to hearing more if anyone has differing opinions or anything to add.

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Jorge Caceres

Member since 2018 · 62 posts · 37 votes

1y

Regarding the Zelle versus Avail issue, I would advise choosing your battles wisely - as with many aspects of life. Finding good tenants who pay on time and care for your investment property is invaluable. I wouldn't recommend beginning your new landlord-tenant relationship with a dispute over payment methods. The fact that you described this tenant as "a good tenant of 5+ years" is what I would focus on. Those are not that easy to find. Work with them to ensure they feel comfortable with you as the new property owner.

2 Reply

Nathan GesnerBusiness Member

Moderator

Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes

1y

1. Why are you communicating with the tenants if you have a property manager? Do you have some unique hybrid where you handle certain things and the PM handles others? I would like to know more about your setup because this doesn't sound good.

2. Tenants don't get to dictate terms. Tell them your policy and they can either abide by it or move out. Just because they've been there for X years doesn't automatically mean they are a good renter.

3. In my experience, tenants that remain in place for 5+ years are almost always behind market rates. Many of them become entitled and create problems, particularly for amateur landlords that don't know how to manage well. This may be an opportunity to remove the tenant, refresh the rental, and increase rent significantly with a new tenant you've selected and trained.

4. Don't wait for problems to happen before developing a solution. Read my book, Brandon's book, or Every Landlord's Legal Guide by NOLO and learn how to proactively manage your property well.

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Patricia Steiner

Real Estate Broker · Hyde Park Tampa, FL · Member since 2019 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes

1y

Huh? Tenants do not dictate when or how payments will be made to the landlord. That's a power play. I would thank him for his feedback and share that you made a business decision that is mutually beneficial (https://www.avail.co/education/articles/should-you-collect-r...scroll down towards the bottom of the page to see the comparison) which includes providing the tenant with a receipt and rent reminders.

You're running a business and businesses choose what payment methods are acceptable to them - not the customer.

2 Reply

Kristian Sexton

Huntsville, AL · Member since 2024 · 50 posts · 23 votes

1y

@Olivia Blake

Is the tenant correct that they would be authorizing you to review credit history? When is their lease agreement up?

In my experience it is always best to stick with their current lease agreement until you can get them on yours. I fear legally that is the only option.

0 Reply

Drew SygitBusiness Member

Property Manager · Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2012 · 12k+ posts · 9k+ votes

1y

@Olivia Blake how much money will you potentially lose by strong-arming a tenant and then having them break the lease early - or even just not renew?

You'll lose rent while property is vacant, and you'll probably have to do more repairs to attract a new tenant than you would to keep the current tenant.

Is all that worth requiring a tenant to use one specific payment platform?

Only you can decide!

As a PMC, we allow tenants to:

1) Mail in rent (we charge a Processing Fee)

2) Deposit at our bank (we charge a Processing Fee, but less than the mailing one)

3) Use Zelle, Venmo, etc. (we charge the same Processing Fee as depositing to our bank)

4) Pay online using their tenant portal (we absorb the small fee, to encourage this behavior as the internal resources saved more than cover that fee)

We understand we have scales of efficiency a DIY landlord won't.

[email protected]248-209-6824

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Josh Otero

Property Manager · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2024 · 39 posts · 16 votes

1y

Quote from @Olivia Blake:

I’m a first-time landlord (just signed my first fully-occupied LTR in Jan 2025) and have already run into my first potential tenant issue. I have two long-term tenants in the duplex—one for 5 years and the other for 7. I met both of them and provided a letter with my contact info, my property manager’s contact for repairs, and instructions to sign up for Avail to pay rent (the previous landlord used Zelle).

One tenant was cooperative and signed up right away, but the other sent me this text:

I understand you're the new owner and want to use Avail for rent payments. However, it seems that when I accept the invitation, I’ll be authorizing you to review my credit history amongst other things, and I’m not sure I want that yet, as we’re still unsure about renewing the lease. We need to know if repairs will be made and what the rent will be for next year? In the meantime, I will send rent via Zelle.

How should I respond? I want to avoid mistakes as a new landlord so hoping to learn from all of you! This is a good tenant of 5+ years, and I don’t want to cause unnecessary friction (I’m just trying to set up automatic systems for myself). However, I did take issue with the tone of the message, especially the part where they told me how they’d be paying rent.

For context, there are no outstanding maintenance or repair issues, so I’m unsure what the tenant is referring to.

Hi Olivia,

As a Property Manager myself, I've had to deal with tenants (mostly the elderly) who don't want to use RentRedi to pay for rent and input maintenance requests. To overcome this, I suggest you resolve the issues the tenant is complaining about if they are reasonable issues to resolve, and then you can explain all the benefits of them using Avail.

If they still want to pay through Zelle, I think you should accept it because it's not that much more work since it's only 1 tenant. It also makes sense to continue with Zelle since they're almost done with their lease.

0 Reply

Calvin Thomas

Developer · New York City, NY · Member since 2015 · 812 posts · 718 votes

1y

Quote from @Olivia Blake:

I’m a first-time landlord (just signed my first fully-occupied LTR in Jan 2025) and have already run into my first potential tenant issue. I have two long-term tenants in the duplex—one for 5 years and the other for 7. I met both of them and provided a letter with my contact info, my property manager’s contact for repairs, and instructions to sign up for Avail to pay rent (the previous landlord used Zelle).

One tenant was cooperative and signed up right away, but the other sent me this text:

I understand you're the new owner and want to use Avail for rent payments. However, it seems that when I accept the invitation, I’ll be authorizing you to review my credit history amongst other things, and I’m not sure I want that yet, as we’re still unsure about renewing the lease. We need to know if repairs will be made and what the rent will be for next year? In the meantime, I will send rent via Zelle.

How should I respond? I want to avoid mistakes as a new landlord so hoping to learn from all of you! This is a good tenant of 5+ years, and I don’t want to cause unnecessary friction (I’m just trying to set up automatic systems for myself). However, I did take issue with the tone of the message, especially the part where they told me how they’d be paying rent.

For context, there are no outstanding maintenance or repair issues, so I’m unsure what the tenant is referring to.

You should setup multiple ways to accept payment.

Our tenants have the following methods to remit rent (no cash) -

1) Online payment sysem

2) Zelle

3) Bank deposit at Bank of America.

4) Come to the office to remit funds.

2 Reply

Olivia Blake

OP

Rental Property Investor · Plainfield, IL · Member since 2025 · 3 posts · 6 votes

1y

Cannot thank everyone enough for all the replies—some differing opinions, which I appreciate!

As mentioned, I ended up telling her she can finish out the remaining 5 months of her lease via Zelle, but with the expectation that we switch to Avail if she renews (and Avail will be required for all future leases).

I wasn’t sure about the legality of forcing her to switch to Avail since it wasn’t mentioned in the original lease I inherited from the last landlord. Anyone have thoughts on that?

Lastly, I’ve asked her 2-3 times what repairs she’s referring to, whether there are any outstanding issues from the old landlord, or if she has new repair requests she'd like to submit, but I haven’t heard back. I’m also trying to get some maintenance/repair history from the previous landlord to make sure I’m covered. Right now, it feels like this might just be a way for the tenant to try and take control of the situation.

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Nicholas L.Pro Member

Flipper/Rehabber · Pittsburgh · Member since 2018 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes

1y

@Olivia Blake

Glad we were able to help.

On the repairs - I re-read your original post, and you did seem to mention that you have a property manager - is that accurate? Are they a regular, full-service PM? Typically repairs are something they would coordinate with tenants - did they inspect the unit, indicate they would be the primary POC going forward, etc.? Your contract with them should spell all that out.

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Jake KnightPro Member

Property Manager · Indianapolis · Member since 2017 · 303 posts · 146 votes

1y

Not a lot to add here, just the simple advice to make it as easy as possible to pay rent. That should also mean allowing multiple methods of payment. Also, not sure what relationship you have established with your property manager but typically people hire managers to take care of this part and be tenant-facing.

0 Reply

Adam BartomeoBusiness Member

Real Estate Broker · Cape Coral, FL · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes

1y

Wait... you never checked their credit score????

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Paul Cijunelis

Property Manager · Downers Grove, IL · Member since 2012 · 99 posts · 40 votes

1y

My only reply here is to say to simply focus on the business objectives. Collecting rent, preserving the asset, minimizing vacancy. How hard is a zelle payment to deal with? You have one property. You're going to torpedo a tenant relationship over this? I'd simply explain they can use Zelle until the renewal, then the portal will be the preferred method. Because Zelle requires more data entry I would explain with the new lease there will be a small and reasonable processing fee if the tenant kept with zelle but they can still use it. I am not familiar with Avail and whether a LL can view credit history. Seems like an errant statement but I don't know. A lot of suggestions here are very confrontational. Good luck with your tenant.

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Mario Morales

Member since 2020 · 240 posts · 104 votes

1y

I've heard that you cant force a tenant, at least in chicago or the state on how to pay rent, as you have to accept cash as well if thats how they want to pay. Not sure but heard it somewhere

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John Warren

Real Estate Broker · 3412 S. Harlem Avenue Riverside, IL 60546 · Member since 2015 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes

1y

@Olivia Blake what you are running into is a tenant how has been a long term tenant. There is a certain entitlement mentality and a long-term frustration mindset where they often times will mention repairs previous owners "promised" to make, etc.

What we do is ask them to submit a work order immediately so we can review the requests. We then re-iterate how rent is paid for us (we use AppFolio). We do not accept zelle because of how easily it can mess up an eviction in Chicago. We use the AppFolio system that allows for credit card payments, ACH, etc.

1 Reply

Aaron ZimmermanBusiness Member

Accountant · Chicago, IL · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes

1y

To me, I would just accept Zelle and update Avail if possible and look to see what the tenant is looking for in terms of repairs, how much rent you'll get from them, and if you want them as a resident.

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Jarret Jarvis

Real Estate Agent · Chicago · Member since 2021 · 173 posts · 64 votes

1y

Congrats on your first rental property! It sounds like you’re handling things well by setting up systems early.

For this tenant, a calm and professional response is best to maintain a good relationship while reinforcing your policies. You might say something like:

*'Hi [Tenant’s Name], I understand your concerns and appreciate your prompt communication. The switch to Avail is to streamline rent payments and keep everything organized for both of us. While Avail does verify tenant identity, I won’t be running any new credit checks unless it’s related to lease renewal.

As for repairs, I’d be happy to discuss any concerns—please let me know what you feel needs attention. Regarding next year’s lease terms, I’ll be reviewing everything in the coming months and will communicate any updates well in advance. In the meantime, I do ask that rent be paid through Avail to keep everything consistent. Let me know if you’d like to hop on a quick call to go over any questions!'*

This keeps the conversation professional, clarifies the reason for Avail, and puts the responsibility on them to specify any repair concerns. It also sets the expectation that rent should be paid through the system you’ve chosen without escalating the situation. Hopefully, they’ll come around once they see you’re being reasonable!

0 Reply

Brandon Taylor

Member since 2019 · 11 posts · 5 votes

1y

Sounds like I'm late to the party. I have a very small portfolio, but will throw in my 2 cents for what it's worth.

Overall, I would have done the same thing you did.

1. I'm confused about the property manager setup, as well. This sounds like an issue they should be navigating to get you your time back. Or at least advising you on what to do.

2. If they are an inherited tenant, then I think the lease they signed with the previous landlord should be binding. Going forward it would be good to specify that your property management software is the only acceptable method of payment in your lease (if not done so already).

It might also be a good idea to check the pre-existing lease to see if they have any clause like that (sounds like you already did that). If it says Zelle is an acceptable method of payment in the current lease, then I think you have to tolerate it until renewal. If there is no clause which specifies accepted methods of payment, then I'm not sure of legal status. Regardless of legal status, business wise, I think it still makes sense to deal with it for a few months and then force them to update to Avail during renewal. Medium- to Long-term, you're going to want it automated so you don't have to worry about these little things while you scale.

3. Dumb question, but why does Avail force them to agree to a credit report to set up a payment method? I agree that this makes sense when onboarding new tenants. But it would be nice to have an option to uncheck that box this time around since they're already in place. Might be worth talking to Avail support.

4. If the tenant's concern is that their credit score would take a short-term hit from the credit report, then I think it is a legit concern (if their credit is slightly less than what it would be when they're trying to apply for new rentals, for example). It might be worth checking with Avail if they do an automatic credit report that might ding their credit when the tenant accepts or if it simply gives you the option to later. If it just gives you the option to later, maybe assure the tenant that you won't do that to mitigate their concern and problem solved. Not worth checking credit now anyway that they're already placed.

Hope that helps.

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Stuart UdisPro Member

Attorney · Philadelphia · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes

1y

The existing lease will dictate acceptable or allowed rental collection methods. The lease will also dictate whether you have rights to the tenant's credit history. As others correctly noted, as a landlord you must look at the big picture and if this happens to be a good tenant who has occupied the unit for a while, has a history of timely payments and has expressed interest in remaining at the property the value in an extension (assuming that is advantageous to you as the landlord) should be placed above your desire to collect rent in a certain method if this particularly tenant has strong desires to make their payments in a different manner....especially if the lease they signed allowed a different payment method. Fortunately for you this is one of the better problems a new landlord can have. Much better than a tenant not willing to pay rent.

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New Landlord - Tenant Refusing Payment Method

New Landlord - Tenant Refusing Payment Method

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