We often have owners or potential clients that want to know what happens if their tenant does not pay rent. Today, we’re briefly talking through the process here at Cornerstone so you can understand what we do to collect past due rent from a tenant.
Rent Collection Policy and Past Due Rent
It’s important to include a rent collection policy in the lease agreement. In our lease, rent is due on the first of the month and we allow the tenants a grace period through the fifth of the month. If a tenant has not paid rent by the fifth, then on the sixth day they begin to accrue late fees. Hopefully within that timeframe we are in contact with the tenant. We are happy to reach out to them and hopefully they have reached out to us.
Many times, they may notify us that their rent is going to be late but promise to pay by a certain date. That communication lets us know that:
- The tenant intends to pay the rent
- It provides us the opportunity to remind them of the lease requirements
The tenant will continue to get late fees and with our lease and our policy there are some more steps we are going to have to take until they are paid in full.
Notice to Pay or Quit
The next step is to provide the tenants with a Three Day Notice to Pay or Quit. It gives the tenant three days to pay up or leave the property. We will post that notice no later than the eighth of the month, provided the tenant is not paid in full.
Scheduling a Court Hearing
Once those three days lapse and the tenant has not paid the rent, we will then be forced to send that paperwork to our lawyer to begin the eviction proceedings. The lawyer will schedule a court date with the magistrate. If the tenant has not paid in full when the court date arrives, the magistrate is going to give possession of the property to us, the management company, on behalf of the landlord.
Possession of Property
Once we have possession of the property, we will schedule a time with the sheriff to do an eviction. We meet the sheriff at the property and remove the tenant’s belongings. Then, we take back possession of the property. We can then get the property in rent ready condition so we can rent it out to the next potential tenant.
Final Rental Accounting
The last step of the process is the final accounting. By Colorado law, we have to provide each tenant with a final accounting of funds. In this case, it would include back rent, late rent, late fees, and legal fees that the owner incurred with the eviction process.
We aim to answer some of the most frequently asked questions, and hopefully this information helps you to understand the eviction process a little better. If your tenant is not paying rent or you have any questions about Colorado Springs property management, please contact us at Cornerstone Real Estate Team.