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Homes are expensive. If you want to buy one in the US right now, you have to take out a 7 percent mortgage on an asset that has risen 40 per cent in price over three years. So many choose to rent instead. But this arrangement also has its share of problems, many of which can be caused by a problematic landlord.
Reddit user lvl100Evasion just experienced this firsthand. Talking to the platform’s community ‘Mildly Infuriating,’ they shared the eviction letter they received after being late to make the rent payment by just 15 minutes, along with all the nonsense it entailed.
RELATED:
This tenant got an eviction letter from their landlord
Image credits: lvl100Evasion
Because they were late to pay for rent by 15 minutes
Image credits: Ketut Subiyanto (not the actual photo)
Image credits: lvl100Evasion
Usually tenants have 3-7 days to pay overdue rent, not 15 minutes
Image credits: LesiaScotch (not the actual photo)
When we’re talking about rent due dates, the lease agreement is the primary document establishing the terms and conditions between tenants and landlords. In most cases, it clearly specifies when the payments need to be made, so since the Redditor hasn’t shared theirs, it’s hard to determine all of the details of their situation.
The lease agreement usually includes information on grace periods and late fees as well (grace periods are the time given to tenants to make a payment beyond the due date without penalty and late fees are the charges tenants incur if they fail to pay by the end of the grace period).
According to Marcia Stewart, who co-authored such books as Every Tenant’s Legal Guide and Leases & Rental Agreements, tenants often feel that the form of payment—cash or check—should be up to them but unfortunately, it’s not their call.
“Most landlords require rent be paid by check or money order, but some landlords now allow payment by credit card … or automatic debit (rent payments are debited automatically each month from your bank account and transferred into the landlord’s account),” she explains.
If you don’t pay rent when it’s due, expect your landlord to do the following:
- call, email, or otherwise contact you, demanding the rent;
- begin assessing late fees if there is a late fee provision in your lease or rental agreement;
- send you a termination notice, telling you that if the rent is not paid within a certain number of days or if you haven’t moved out by then, the landlord will begin eviction proceedings.
But usually tenants have 3-7 days to pay overdue rent. Not 15 minutes.
Rent increases lead to more people being kicked out onto the streets
Image credits: RossHelen (not the actual photo)
According to Carl Gershenson of Princeton University’s Eviction Lab in New Jersey, in recent years, many cities across the US have seen dramatic rent increases and because of that, eviction filing rates have surged, particularly in the South and Southwest.
Rent hikes across the country are most painful for working single mothers, retirees and people receiving disability payments from the government.
The Redditor mentioned that they “hate being a Millennial,” and while their pain is palpable in the text they wrote, surprisingly, the Americans most at risk of eviction are babies and toddlers.
Of the 7.6 million individuals facing eviction each year, nearly 40%—2.9 (2.7 to 3.2) million—were children, weathering instability during crucial years for their development.
“When I started writing about these issues, I kind of thought kids would shield families from eviction,” said Matthew Desmond, who leads the Princeton Eviction Lab. “But they expose families to eviction.”
For landlords, children often bring unwanted risk — they make noise, they draw on walls, and they require lead testing. For parents, having a baby can sometimes cause a financial shock, making them more likely to miss rent.
Hopefully, lvl100Evasion will find a way to bounce back.
Some of the people who read the story said they had similar experiences
The post triggered strong reactions
What do you think ?
StrangeOne 2 years ago
On the first, is on the first. Not 9-5 on the first. There's usually a 4 day grace period, too. In my first apartment I had a caretaker like this. Not landlord, just a caretaker. On the first, in the morning, she would go around banging on doors demanding rent money. If you didn't have it right then and there she would hand you an eviction notice out of her stack she had prepped. She wouldn't even give you a receipt when you paid. This is illegal, against tenancy rights. Evictions have to go through the proper proceedings and take a lot more time than a minute. It's not late if she pays in the evening. Heck, I've paid my rent at 11pm at night because that's when I got home from work. But it was still considered on time. This is predatory behaviour towards young, new tenants, who are assumed to not know their tenancy rights and what actions to take when faced with illegal actions by landlords and caretakers.
Kylie 2 years ago
Pay by Money Order? Wonder how much of that income is actually being declared?
DarkViolet 2 years ago
In my area, we have an Eviction Defense Center, that works for free. I had to use it when my scumlord pulled similar stuff, and it was a lifesaver! OP should see if there's something similar in her area.
Cate 2 years ago
Who requests payment by money order in 2023? I paid rent via a standing order in the 1980s.
StrangeOne 2 years ago
I did until we switched to etransfers. The management agency is across town and the caretakers stopped accepting cash for safety reasons. I don't do cheques, since my bank charges a lot of money for a stack, and I don't like the 5 business day processing. I will not give the agency access to my account to just take it out, ether. Money orders just worked for me for a while.
Load More Replies...
Livingwithcfs 2 years ago (edited)
I'd go to the local police station with letter and evidence of payment. They will probably tell you they can't do anything and see a lawyer but get them to write it down so if you go to court there is evidence... never know they are probably doing it to lots of tenants and that's fraud I think
amy hipps 2 years ago
Wow that is unreal. I had rented through a real estate agency. As long as i paid on that day i was fine. Also didn't have to worry if i couldn't make it while they were open. They had a night slot you could just slide your money order in. As long as they saw it inside the slot by the time they got in at 7 am then you were good.
Jaybird3939 2 years ago
I'm in CA, so who knows which laws apply every where, but we have a 5 day grace period. I don't get paid until the 3rd. My landlord used to send me warnings on day 3 that rent was due. I had to tell him about 4 times that I don't get paid until 3rd, but he finally did stop "warning" me.
Skye Ragsdale 2 years ago
A quick search shows Texas tenants legally have TWO DAYS to pay before it's considered late. I bet this isn't the only regulation the landlord is skirting.
StrangeOne 2 years ago
On the first, is on the first. Not 9-5 on the first. There's usually a 4 day grace period, too. In my first apartment I had a caretaker like this. Not landlord, just a caretaker. On the first, in the morning, she would go around banging on doors demanding rent money. If you didn't have it right then and there she would hand you an eviction notice out of her stack she had prepped. She wouldn't even give you a receipt when you paid. This is illegal, against tenancy rights. Evictions have to go through the proper proceedings and take a lot more time than a minute. It's not late if she pays in the evening. Heck, I've paid my rent at 11pm at night because that's when I got home from work. But it was still considered on time. This is predatory behaviour towards young, new tenants, who are assumed to not know their tenancy rights and what actions to take when faced with illegal actions by landlords and caretakers.
Kylie 2 years ago
Pay by Money Order? Wonder how much of that income is actually being declared?
DarkViolet 2 years ago
In my area, we have an Eviction Defense Center, that works for free. I had to use it when my scumlord pulled similar stuff, and it was a lifesaver! OP should see if there's something similar in her area.
Cate 2 years ago
Who requests payment by money order in 2023? I paid rent via a standing order in the 1980s.
StrangeOne 2 years ago
I did until we switched to etransfers. The management agency is across town and the caretakers stopped accepting cash for safety reasons. I don't do cheques, since my bank charges a lot of money for a stack, and I don't like the 5 business day processing. I will not give the agency access to my account to just take it out, ether. Money orders just worked for me for a while.
Load More Replies... Livingwithcfs 2 years ago (edited)
I'd go to the local police station with letter and evidence of payment. They will probably tell you they can't do anything and see a lawyer but get them to write it down so if you go to court there is evidence... never know they are probably doing it to lots of tenants and that's fraud I think
amy hipps 2 years ago
Wow that is unreal. I had rented through a real estate agency. As long as i paid on that day i was fine. Also didn't have to worry if i couldn't make it while they were open. They had a night slot you could just slide your money order in. As long as they saw it inside the slot by the time they got in at 7 am then you were good.
Jaybird3939 2 years ago
I'm in CA, so who knows which laws apply every where, but we have a 5 day grace period. I don't get paid until the 3rd. My landlord used to send me warnings on day 3 that rent was due. I had to tell him about 4 times that I don't get paid until 3rd, but he finally did stop "warning" me.
Skye Ragsdale 2 years ago
A quick search shows Texas tenants legally have TWO DAYS to pay before it's considered late. I bet this isn't the only regulation the landlord is skirting.
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