Rent collection twice a month?

Question

I have a tenant who is most often late with rent. She’s asking if she can pay every two weeks when she gets paid. Does anyone have experience with this?

Rene Hosman · Answer

Taking partial payments can make it hard or impossible to do an eviction if needed so be very wary of that!

IF you were going to do this I would personally still require full month by the 1st meaning for July she'd pay half on 6/15 and then the remainder on 7/1 so you're still getting the full month's rent by the 1st.

Amit Patel · Answer

Hi Sarah! This situation often happens with some tenants, especially when they receive their paycheck biweekly instead of monthly. In our case, what we usually do is ask them to send us a formal signed letter explaining the specific reason why they need to pay their rent in two installments (usually because of how they get paid at work).

We also ask for their permission and the contact number of their employer to verify the information. Once we approve this, we sign an agreement with the tenant that clearly outlines the payment terms to avoid misunderstandings and, most importantly, to have legal backing if the situation escalates.

We’ve had good experiences with tenants who are upfront and communicate their situation honestly, as it shows responsibility and willingness to pay.

If you charge late fees, it’s important to set two clear payment windows—for example, the first payment between the 1st and 5th of the month, and the second between the 15th and 20th. If the full rent isn’t paid by the 20th, then a late fee would be applied starting on the 21st.

Above all, it’s crucial to have everything in writing to protect both parties.

Alecia Loveless · Answer

@Sarah Buchanan has have a few tenants that pay multiple times per month. It’s a bit of a pain but in the long run I’m still getting paid by otherwise good tenants. I do try to discourage it.

Ned Carey · Answer

@Sarah Buchanan I disagree with many  here. There is nothing wrong with have twice a month payments buy it should be written in the lease that way. Some landlords have weekly payment of rent.

If you keep it as monthly rent but establish a patter of accepting 1/2 at a time, this could be used against you in an eviction case. So make sure it is written as twice a month payment (or every 2 weeks)

A clear red flag is this person has no saving as a safety net. While the twice a week payment can help for a time, what happens the next time there is the slightest unexpected expense?

Amit Patel · Answer

Hi Sarah! This situation often happens with some tenants, especially when they receive their paycheck biweekly instead of monthly. In our case, what we usually do is ask them to send us a formal signed letter explaining the specific reason why they need to pay their rent in two installments (usually because of how they get paid at work).

We also ask for their permission and the contact number of their employer to verify the information. Once we approve this, we sign an agreement with the tenant that clearly outlines the payment terms to avoid misunderstandings and, most importantly, to have legal backing if the situation escalates.

We’ve had good experiences with tenants who are upfront and communicate their situation honestly, as it shows responsibility and willingness to pay.

If you charge late fees, it’s important to set two clear payment windows—for example, the first payment between the 1st and 5th of the month, and the second between the 15th and 20th. If the full rent isn’t paid by the 20th, then a late fee would be applied starting on the 21st.

Above all, it’s crucial to have everything in writing to protect both parties.

Brett A Brockway · Answer

You may want to look into an option like Flex (I promise this isn't an ad, it's something we've been considering as well since several of our tenants are on fixed incomes etc.) Basically it's like a loan - Flex pays the full amount on the first of the month and then the tenant has to pay the rest back by a specified date. The only thing is they have to go through a credit check to qualify, so if your tenant's credit is poor, they may not be able to take advantage of the service anyway.

Richard F. · Answer

Clearly if this is an ongoing "need" for the Tenant, somebody's application process is extremely weak. As another poster mentioned, they obviously have no safety net...what happens when their car breaks down, or the get sick and miss a week of work, or their medical or other expenses rise while their fixed income does not? You are just delaying the inevitable.

Do you have a solid Co-signer on this Rental Agreement? If not, and you are determined to keep the Tenant, I suggest you have them find one.

Brett A Brockway · Answer

@YiBing T. No real cons. It's a nice pressure relief valve for tenants

Peter Mckernan · Answer

This is a bad move, I would give them only one option to pay at the first, and if they keep doing this move to start to evict them, or get them out. People that have this trend tend to not get back on track and will continue the move towards later rent or just doing this till they cannot afford it (not pay, or move out abruptly).

Rent collection twice a month?

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