Rent Reminder 101: How to Remind Tenants to Pay Rent on Time

By Ryan Squires

Ideally, the landlord-tenant relationship is built on great communication, timely issue resolution, and prompt rent payments. Although most tenants pay their rent as they’re supposed to, it can be stressful for landlords when days go by without a check or a promise to pay.

So, how can you ensure timely payments without pestering your tenants endlessly? How can you maintain a solid working relationship with your tenants so they understand the importance of timely payments? And how can you make sure that you maintain a solid foundation for your investment and properly anticipate your cash flow?

In this rent reminder guide, we’ll review some strategies for landlords and tenants to ensure timely rent payments.

Key Insights

• Understanding when rent payments are expected is a key component in understanding the cash flow of a landlord’s investment. It can dramatically impact maintenance schedules, property tax payments, and other property expenses.
• Rent reminders can be sent in various ways, including email, text messages, and push notifications. They should be polite, clear, and to the point.
• TurboTenant is a free-to-use property management platform that offers multiple ways to remind tenants to pay rent on time, regardless of how many properties they manage.

Understanding the Importance of Timely Rent Payments

Renting out property is an investment; receiving rent payments is critical to ensuring a return. Whether you own and lease out one or multiple properties, fully understanding your cash flow is crucial to effectively running your business.

For landlords, rent payments past their due date can lead to delayed maintenance, deficient cash flow, and a chain of potentially delayed payments for other property expenses, including property taxes, utilities, or other costs incurred from owning and renting a unit.

Late payments are generally subject to the lease terms for tenants, which can lead to late payment penalties and, eventually, potential legal consequences like eviction.

How to Set Up Rent Reminders

As a property manager, developing smart strategies to remind tenants to pay rent, ensure timely payments, and build a strong relationship with your tenants is essential. One way to set up a rent reminder is to utilize property management software like TurboTenant.

Many rent collection platforms offer the ability to automatically remind tenants through push notifications, text messages, or emails every month before rent is due. These methods are beneficial because they shift the conflict associated with asking for late rent to software. Now, you don’t have to be the bad guy.

Landlords can also offer auto payment options for tenants, where rent is automatically deducted monthly from the payment method of a landlord or tenant’s choice. This is a great way to ensure that rent is always on time.

Best Practices for Rent Reminders

Creating an effective rent reminder process is a great idea, especially for landlords who manage a large number of properties, where it can become challenging to keep track of each tenant.

In general, reminder messages should be concise, clear, and to the point, which helps set clear expectations. Here are some tips and best practices to help make the process as easy as possible for all parties.

Clear Communication from Day One

The best way to establish a positive landlord-tenant relationship is to ensure that the tenant thoroughly understands the expectations set out in the lease agreement. Explaining rent collection due dates, grace periods, and payment methods will smooth the process.

Use Multiple Reminder Channels

Not everyone is great at checking their email these days, so landlords might opt to send a rent reminder notice by text message, push notification from property management software, or even a quick phone call to check-in.

Send a Quick Thank You

Confirming receipt of rent payments and thanking tenants for paying on time is also a great way to make sure the tenant feels like a part of the rental process and not just a cog in a faceless business transaction. A quick “thank you” takes no time at all and can help build trust and a solid relationship foundation.

Sample Rent Reminder Messages

Keeping open lines of communication with your tenants is a great way to make sure they pay their rent on time. It also establishes a positive relationship that encourages tenants to stay in touch about maintenance or repair issues.

Here’s an example of a rent reminder email:

Hi [Tenant],

Just a quick reminder that your rent for next month is due on [Due Date]. Please make sure your payment is made on time to avoid any late fees. As a reminder, you can make your payment via [Option 1], [Option 2], or [Option 3].

If you have any questions or need assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact me at [Phone / Email].

Thank you,

[Landlord name]

And here’s a rent reminder text message sample:

Hi [Tenant], this is [Landlord] reminding you that rent for your unit is due on [Due Date]. Please make your payment by this date to avoid any late fees via [Option 1], [Option 2], or [Option 3]. Thanks, and have a great day!

Rent reminders through push notifications are usually even shorter than text messages and are straight to the point:

Hi [Tenant]. Rent is due on [Due Date]. Please let me know if you have any questions.

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Dealing with Frequent Late Payments

Frequent late payments from a tenant can be challenging for landlords and potentially disastrous for tenants. So, what’s the best way to handle habitually late rent payments?

Understanding the root cause of late payments is the first step in determining a course of action. If tenants are experiencing temporary financial hardships, figuring out how to navigate it together could resolve the issue quicker than expected or encourage the tenant to find other ways to pay rent on time. Meeting with the tenant to go over the lease agreement and reinforce the terms in the lease could also help the tenant understand what’s at stake for them if they continue to pay rent later than the due date or an outlined grace period. Making sure they have their own copy of the lease guarantees they have a copy to reference.

For tenants experiencing hardship and frequently paying rent late, establishing a payment plan could also help ease the burden and quickly bring the tenant back into good standing. Any plan like this should be put into writing and signed by both parties and can be kept alongside the lease agreement for easy reference.

Legal proceedings could be the next step if the frequency of late payments increases to unsustainable levels. At this point, landlords might need to begin an eviction process and should consult local laws about how best to proceed in this situation.

How TurboTenant Can Help with Rent Reminders

TurboTenant’s free landlord software provides access to a comprehensive rent collection system that sends automatic reminders, applies late fees, and sends receipts automatically. There’s zero cost to landlords, and tenants pay a small $2 ACH fee in the free plan. That fee is waived when landlords upgrade to Premium.

Then, via TurboTenant’s integration with REI Hub, our robust rental accounting system automatically inputs rent payments, tracks expenses, and compiles it all in easy-to-generate reports that make tax time easier than ever. It’s an excellent tool for landlords who want to automate as much of their processes as possible to save time and increase accuracy.

Sign up for a free TurboTenant account today, and let us be the bad guy when your tenant needs a rent payment reminder.

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