Tenant sent preemptive non payment email re virus

Tenant sent preemptive non payment email re virus by shannon on March 16, 2020 @13:28

Hello fellow Landlords,

I am in Pa and I have had my first message from a tenant saying that she may not be able to pay April's rent due to potentially having her partner not working. I don't want to arbitrarily just say Okay as I don't believe we should oh, but I do want to be understanding and would be willing to potentially waive any late fee if they can in fact show in the same way that they've been slighted enough pay to not pay the rent. I just don't want to get into a situation where they are paying other things first as I believe housing should be your number one priority stop. Anyway, I was just curious what the rest of you would potentially do if your tenant says I may not be able to pay rent or some other issue, should I ask to see the pay stubs showing such a decrease, not sure as I said I want to be helpful and understanding I just don't want to be a doormat nor taken advantage of. Our state as of now does not have any temporary law in place that says we can't evict if rent is not paid however I really don't want to go there with any of my tenants but I would like it to be above board having them prove they didn't make enough money to pay rent which would be to pay stubs I'm assuming for most. In my situation if she is still working but her guy isn't because they've closed where he's working temporarily I would highly recommend that he filed immediately for unemployment benefits so as to not have a whole lot of trouble going forward. Beyond that what else can I do?

I do have a pretty good rapport with all of my tenants but again I need to protect myself as well as you know we all have bills for these properties that don't stop I just don't want to start a vicious cycle. Any insight as to what you guys will be doing as well will be greatly appreciated. THANKS FROM PA!

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Re: Tenant sent preemptive non payment email re virus by Garry on March 16, 2020 @14:08	[ Reply ]

We are ALL going to be hurt by this crisis. Waive the late fees, find out when they get paid, then collect half the rent in late March, for April's rent. Then collect the other half in the middle of April. Or, if they get paid weekly, collect 25% of the rent each week, for as long as this crisis persists. Better to "some" rent, than no rent at all.

Re: Tenant sent preemptive non payment email re virus

Re: Tenant sent preemptive non payment email re virus by Annoymous on March 26, 2020 @09:40	[ Reply ]

I am also a PA LL and a Paralegal as well. So far, I have not seen any rules or laws governing Landlord Tenant issues in PA in times of a crisis. After consulting with others LLs in PA I've come to the conclusion that I must be prepared for Ts writing me notices that they cannot pay due to COVID-19. I am still mulling this over in my mind as all utilities are included in the monthly rent. It seems the logical thing to do is what someone already wrote in this post. Waive all late fees and ask to collect a certain amount until the rent is paid. The only problem I have is, thus far, I have not received any letters or notices regarding a relief on utilities. In situations such as these and I hate to be cynical, some people tend to take advantage, get aggressive and get whatever they can gain for their own personal interest. I want to be prepared when I start to hear comment such as my children come first, and I have other bills to pay. I may heard this from one tenant in particular. I want to be civil and by the same token I don't want to be harsh. And I also don't want to be made a fool of. Any suggestions?

Tenant sent preemptive non payment email re virus - Landlord Forum thread 360342