Collecting the rent after letting out your property to the tenants is a challenging task. That is why it is always recommended to you to hire a letting agent for your property to collect the rent on time. If you have employed a letting agent, then it is the sole and significant duty of your agent to get the rent from the tenant at the adequate time. It is necessary to add all the rent conditions in the tenancy contract. You must discourage your tenants timely on paying the arrears within the fixed period. No one wants to collect the rent forcibly from the tenant. However, if unfortunately, your tenant has failed to pay the rent then you can try the following steps to get the rental payment.
Tenancy contract
If your tenant is not paying the rent, then the first step you need to take is to double check your tenancy contract. Check that is the tenant is late in a real sense or not? When you are making your tenancy contract, you will find two or more than two clauses based on the procedure of paying the rent. It includes the whole process of payment. You or your letting agent may set the terms and conditions regarding the payment. Often grace period is set upon which the tenant can take 5-6 days at least after the payment date of rent to pay the arrears. If the tenant has surpasses the grace date then he is liable to pay the rent as soon as possible in the real sense.
Payment records
The second step you need to take is that go through the details of the payment records you have with you about the rent. If you have assigned a letting agent for this task, then he must have noted it down on an official register from where you can have the complete the details. However, if you have not hired an agent for the services, then you should also keep the proper information on the payment of the rent with yourself. The accurate payment record will let you have the details that how much rent you have to redeem from the payment in case of its non-payment.
Notice of late rent
When you have got enough information about the grace date of the payment of rent and the valid remaining accounts of the rent then you are in a proper position to send a legal notice to the tenant for non-payment of the rent. The rent nonpayment notice is a simple notice that states that you have not paid the rent and the due date of payment is passed. You have to explain in the notice that the tenant was obliged to pay the rent in the set date, but he has failed to implement the conditions of the tenancy contract. Upon taking the notice, the tenant then has to take the next step of payment.
Make a phone call
You do not need to make a phone call after sending the late payment notice. However, to avoid harassment accusations by the tenant, you need to talk to the tenant in person for once at least. When you will call the tenant, try to ask about the reasons for the arrear. Find out that why the tenant has got failed to pay the dues? Why have the tenants not responded to the notice? It will help in sorting out the issue without the intervention of the court. A phone call is a better suggestion than to go with an e-mail. So do not follow the substitutes for this reason.
Notice to quit
After performing the steps mentioned above, if the tenant is still not responding, then you must send him the quit notice. The quit notice will state to the tenant that after so many notices and warnings you have not met. Therefore now quit the possession and clear up the arrears as soon as possible. It is a clear notice of eviction. The intention of removal must be explicitly mentioned in the notice with the last date of the payment.
Legal Action
Taking the legal action against the non-paying tenant, it is the last resort to redeem the rent. Get a solicitor urgently to make a draft of the query. Make a complaint about the issue in the court. The court will then take action against the tenant. Make sure that all the paperwork is complete with all the non-responded notices to the tenants. It will help the court in deciding the case.