The question this week for Landlord Hank is about adding a new person to a lease and whether it changes the lease expiration date. On his page, Ask Landlord Hank answers questions from other landlords and property managers around the country about their rentals so fill out the form below if you have a question for him. Remember Hank is not an attorney and is not offering legal advice.
Ask Landlord Hank:
When a new person is added to a lease, does this reset the one-year clock on lease expiration? Also, if rent is late, how long do you have to collect late fees?
I have a tenant who have been late almost every month by several days. I have not filed formal late-payment paperwork.
–Jennifer
Hello Landlady Jennifer,
When you add a tenant to the lease they are signing the original lease and are only there for that original time frame.
Make sure you check credit/ background/ rental history/employment history and so on, just as you would with any other tenant.
As far as someone paying the rent on time, that depends upon your lease.
It’s customary to have rental payments due on the first of the month and to have a grace period of up to four days before the late fee applies.
In that scenario, if a tenant hasn’t paid by the 4th of the month, the tenant is late on the 5th and that is when the late fee must be paid.
If you have a tenant that has been paying rent late every month, then have a talk with them that going forward, if they pay after the grace period ends, they must pay the late fee that day as well or you won’t accept the rent, because they aren’t paying all that is due.
If they don’t pay rent when due, then you either post or hand a three-day notice (legal notice) saying that the tenant has three days to “cure” the problem or you will start eviction proceedings.
Often when a tenant knows they face serious consequences by not paying as they agreed to in the lease, they become model tenants.
Best of luck!
Sincerely,
Hank Rossi
Ask Landlord Hank Your Question
Ask veteran landlord and property manager Hank Rossi your questions from tenant screening to leases to pets and more! He provides answers each week to landlords.
About the author Landlord Hank:
“I started in real estate as a child watching my father take care of our family rentals- maintenance, tenant relations, etc , in small town Ohio. As I grew, I was occasionally Dad’s assistant. In the mid-90s I decided to get into the rental business on my own, as a sideline. In 2001, I retired from my profession and only managed my own investments, for the next 10 years. Six years ago, my sister, working as a rental agent/property manager in Sarasota, Florida convinced me to try the Florida lifestyle. I gave it a try and never looked back. A few years ago we started our own real estate brokerage. We focus on property management and leasing. I continue to manage my real estate portfolio here in Florida and Atlanta. “ Visit Hank’s website here.
