Mammoth AwardsWhen you can’t pay your rent on time, you have two main options. The first is to avoid the issue, which won’t go away on its own and will only make the problem worse.
The second is to confront the issue head-on, which means communicating with your landlord to come up with a temporary agreement until you get your finances in order.
What’s the best way to convey the bad news that you can’t pay the rent? Writing a late rent hardship letter, which should include the following elements to get your landlord to give you some leeway.
Crucial Elements of a Late Rent Hardship Letter
When writing to your landlord, you can’t just say that the rent will be late and you have no idea when it will be paid. Instead, you have to make a convincing argument to make them agree to your request.
To make your argument persuasive, here are some things you should include in your letter:
1. A detailed explanation of why the rent will be late.
Chances are, this will not be the first late rent hardship letter your landlord will read, so don’t feel ashamed when writing it. Rent is a significant monthly expense, and when income disappears, making that payment can become impossible.
Here is where you’ll have to explain why your income disappeared. When doing so, it’s best to include details such as dates and monetary amounts.
For example, did you lose your job, or were you furloughed due to COVID-19 or some other disaster? Was your employer forced to close down?
Either would be completely understandable reasons for having difficulties paying the rent. Other common reasons that some tenants run into are unexpected medical expenses, accidents, divorce, etc.
Regardless of the reason, list it in detail and be honest about your situation. Provided you haven’t had payment issues in the past, your landlord should understand your predicament.
2. A list of things you are doing to fix the situation.
Now that your landlord sees why you’ll be late paying the rent, they need to know how you’re going to fix the problem.
Simply explaining that you lost your job or income isn’t enough. You have to now give them peace of mind that you will be making a payment, as they have expenses themselves.
If you lost your job, are you looking for another? If so, how many interviews have you had? Are you applying for loans to help you in the meantime?
Whatever you’ve been doing to replace your income, list it in your hardship letter. To beef it up, add in details on when you had interviews, where you applied for a loan, etc.
3. A promise to pay.
As mentioned, your landlord has expenses of their own. If you can’t pay the rent, you can cause cash flow issues for them. This is why you must also include a date when you plan to pay the rent.
If possible, make a partial payment. Then promise to have the rest by a specific date so your landlord can plan accordingly.
As simple as those three elements are, they are vital to making a convincing argument. To put them all together without having to come up with something on the fly, search for a late rent hardship letter template.
Plug in your information and details, print it out, and send it off to your landlord as soon as possible.
