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When the worst happens and you can’t pay rent for the roof over your head panic sets in. What’s going to happen, where will I go, how will I find another place if I get evicted? The questions swirl around your head and you just don’t know what to do.
There are things you can do. Not all hope is lost. Believe it or not, as long as you have been a decent tenant your landlord doesn’t really want to evict you. It’s too much work and too much money to get you out and someone else in.
Here are a few things to do
If you think that you won’t be able to make the rent payment.
- Contact them as soon as you know that you won’t make the payment on time. Even if it’s right after you made a rent payment. The sooner you tell them the more they will feel you are acting in good faith and they will be willing to work with you.
- Tell them the honest situation. Tell them when you think things will get better. Don’t try to sugar coat though saying that you will be able to make a payment sooner than you can. That will make things worse. Once you can’t make the payment you said you would be able to do, you’ll be right back to square one with them.
- Give them whatever documentation that you can. It could be a letter from your employer or an unemployment letter. This will help to prove what you are saying.
- See what they are willing to do to work with you. Some possible options are a rent deferral for a few months, a plan to do a partial payment for a few months and a way to repay that amount missed over time. Work with them to come up with something that will work for both sides.
- Write out what has been agreed upon. Without that it could backfire. Either side could remember something wrong and the agreement falls apart. If it does fall apart and you need to go to court what’s in writing is what is enforceable in court.
- Does everything that was written make sense? If not go through it until it is what both sides agreed to. Only then should you sign it.
- If by chance they won’t agree to work with you there are a few other options. You could get rental assistance from local housing programs, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the local Salvation Army, or dial 211 for the United Way. All of these places have some form of assistance and could help you get what you need.
Just remember that it’s not the end of the world.
You can make it through this. You might need some assistance, but from time to time everyone does. The most important thing is to not stick your head in the sand. Face it head on and right away. The longer you wait the harder it will get, there will be more stress you will need to endure and the more likely you are to get less help from your landlord.
