What Is the Best Way to Collect Rent in 2024?

American landlords filed over 1.1 million evictions in 2023 alone.

Many of these were due to tenants' failure to pay rent. Nonpayment of rent is often due to a tenant's difficult financial situation, but property owners can share some of the blame as well. If your rent collection strategy isn't working, it can lead directly to issues with rent payment.

Today, we'll give you a hand by telling you the best way to collect rent in 2024. Paying and receiving monthly rent payments shouldn't be a hassle for anyone involved. Keep reading and we'll help you develop the right rent collection strategy so you don't have to worry about it anymore.

Clarity In the Lease

Your ability to secure rent on time each month really starts in your lease agreement. When you draw this document up for your tenants, you should be as clear as possible about what's expected of them.

Make sure to state exactly when rent is due each month, whether or not there are grace periods and the consequences of late rent payments. If there's any gray area in the lease agreement, it'll lead to confusion and irritation for both parties.

Offer Different Rent Collection Options

In 2024, the average landlord is always going to prefer to perform rent collection online. That said, it's important to meet each of your tenants at their comfort level.

Younger tenants will almost always be happy to pay rent online. Older tenants, on the other hand, might not be as comfortable with this situation. They may want to pay with post-dated cheques or even cash. Offering different ways to pay rent for different tenants is the best way to please your tenants and get your rent on time.

Automate Whenever Possible

If you're mostly collecting rent online, try to automate the process as much as possible. You can utilize things like rent collection software to automatically take out tenants' rent payments each month. As long as they sign off on this, it's the easiest way to collect rent.

This is where having a property management company at the helm can really streamline things. A good property manager will have an automated rent collection process in place that can save you from the hassle of having to collect rent.

Grace Periods and When to Be Concerned

The subject of grace periods can be tricky for landlords. On one hand, it's good for landlord-tenant relations to offer tenants a few days of leeway for each month's rent. On the other, it invites poor tenants to take advantage of your generosity.

As a general rule of thumb, there should be penalties for late payments. When tenants are regularly missing the grace period, you may have to take action to evict them for a more financially responsible one.

Learning the Best Way to Collect Rent

Learning the best way to collect rent takes time. What works for one landlord might not be right for another and vice versa. If you find rent collection stressful, it might be time to hire a property manager.

Avalon Realty and Oaktree Management is one of the top property management companies in Las Vegas. We offer a wide range of services, including tenant screening and rent collection. Contact us today to find out how we can help you.