What Can Landlords Do When a Tenant Doesn’t Pay Rent? | Chicago Property Management Help

When tenants don’t pay rent on time, things get complicated. As the property owner, your income stream is interrupted, and you’re left wondering whether it’s simply something that’s been overlooked or if your tenant is planning to stay in the property without paying right up until the point of eviction.

Proactive communication and positive tenant relationships can help you avoid eviction. When a tenant falls behind, your priority is to help that tenant get caught up. The eviction process in Illinois is cumbersome and often expensive. The courts in Chicagoland are tenant-friendly when it comes to evictions, especially now, when so many people are struggling economically in the wake of the pandemic.

We have some ideas for what you can do when tenants aren’t paying.

Establish a Rent Collection Process

Your rent collection policy must be clear, fair, and consistently enforced. The lease agreement should state how much rent is due, when it is due, and how it is to be paid. The lease also needs to reflect any consequences for late rent, such as late fees. If there’s a grace period, make sure you include that as well.

If a tenant is late paying rent, follow the established practices in your rent collection policy. Charge the late fees, follow up with the tenant, and then take the necessary steps towards eviction.  

Communicate with Your Chicagoland Tenants

When rent isn’t paid, step one is to reach out to your tenants. Maybe the rent was simply forgotten or a minor financial issue means they’ll be paying in a day or two. That’s good news.

Be prepared to work with payment arrangements or payment schedules if your tenants have a larger issue and request more time. You should still apply late fees and you should still move forward towards the eviction process so that option is available to you, but giving the tenants an opportunity to catch up with the rent will work best for all parties. You’ll avoid a vacancy and your residents will avoid an eviction.

Evicting a Tenant in Chicago

Sometimes, you’re not going to be able to work with your tenants to get the rent paid. In these situations, eviction is often your only remaining option.

We recommend you hire a professional Chicagoland property management company when you need to evict. This is because there’s a lot of room for error, and those mistakes will be expensive. If forms aren’t filled out correctly and the wording in a notice isn’t right, you can find your case thrown out, and you’ll have to start again.