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Answers (7)
Generally speaking, if the landlord accepts the late payment before the forcible entry and detainer action has been filed, it is not possible to proceed with the eviction. That is az at least, check your local landlord tenant laws.
- S. Chris Webb, "PHX AZ RE BROKER"
- Contributions:411
From the South Carolina Code of Laws:
(B) If rent is unpaid when due and the tenant fails to pay rent within five days from the date due or the tenant is in violation of Section 27-40-540, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement provided the landlord has given the tenant written notice of nonpayment and his intention to terminate the rental agreement if the rent is not paid within that period. The landlord's obligation to provide notice under this section is satisfied for any lease term after the landlord has given one such notice to the tenant or if the notice is contained in conspicuous language in a written rental agreement. The written notice requirement upon the landlord under this subsection shall be considered to have been complied with if the rental agreement contains the following or a substantially equivalent provision:
"IF YOU DO NOT PAY YOUR RENT ON TIME
This is your notice. If you do not pay your rent within five days of the due date, the landlord can start to have you evicted. You will get no other notice as long as you live in this rental unit."
I'm not a lawyer and not qualified to give legal advice, but the way I see it, if the above or a similar clause is written into your lease, the landlord can start evicting you, even if you pay after it is late. There may be some other law I'm not seeing, that says that if the landlord accepts payment after starting the eviction process, then they must stop the eviction (there is in my state).
My best advice to you is to obtain professional legal advice from an attorney that is well-versed in landlord-tenant rights in South Carolina. Good luck!
- wetdawgs
- Contributions:26790
I'm sorry you are in such a difficult situation.
The landlord has a mortgage and other bills to pay with deadlines, and the law doesn't give the tenant much wiggle room for payment. There is no obligation for the landlord (even family) to carry a tenant's through life issues and extenuating circumstances (especially twice).
If you have a landlord with whom you've developed a good relationship and can convince him/her that these two failures to pay on time won't happen again, you may find that he/she is willing to give you one more chance. But, as you know the people, they can stick with the letter of the law. I suspect you'll lose money by taking it to court.
At the moment you have a long list of excuses. They could clearly cause financial issues, but they aren't the landlord's concern. Under the SC landlord/tenant rules, I don't believe you'll find that any extenuating circumstances are valid for not paying rent on time. I'm sorry family isn't more sympathetic, but unfortunately, those are the shoes you are wearing at the moment.
I hope your daughter is healing well. Good luck.
The landlord has a mortgage and other bills to pay with deadlines, and the law doesn't give the tenant much wiggle room for payment. There is no obligation for the landlord (even family) to carry a tenant's through life issues and extenuating circumstances (especially twice).
If you have a landlord with whom you've developed a good relationship and can convince him/her that these two failures to pay on time won't happen again, you may find that he/she is willing to give you one more chance. But, as you know the people, they can stick with the letter of the law. I suspect you'll lose money by taking it to court.
At the moment you have a long list of excuses. They could clearly cause financial issues, but they aren't the landlord's concern. Under the SC landlord/tenant rules, I don't believe you'll find that any extenuating circumstances are valid for not paying rent on time. I'm sorry family isn't more sympathetic, but unfortunately, those are the shoes you are wearing at the moment.
I hope your daughter is healing well. Good luck.
- Steve Roake, "Steve Roake"
- Contributions:285
In my experience, if they accepted the payments late then they cannot evict you. I would recommend consulting an attorney. Next question would be why would you want to stay if it is going to cause friction? Maybe they'd be happy to pay for moving expenses??
- lulu1178
- Contributions:2
I was not extremely late, ten days and 14 days. The big issue is the fact that I am caught in the middle of greedy family members. It is my grandfather's house and 3 of his children have convinced him to sell the house so they will have the cash for inheritance. They have actually stated this in a letter to me. THey are using my latenes to kick us out. My 7 year old daughter had an extremely rare tumor on her spine which was found in March and she had surgery the last week of march and we were in the hospital on April 1. My husband and I both missed several weeks of work and have been playing catch up for the lost income. I am not a bad tenant, I had valid extenuating circumstances and my family is choosing to take the first opportunity for their own personal gain. My grandfather is no longer truly capable of making his own decisions, he listens to my Uncle whom he lives with. I am simply hoping that a judge will rule in my favor and allow us to continue the lease as long as we are not late again.
- sunnyview
- Contributions:25127
I am not an attorney and I do not know what your specific lease says, but in many standard leases once you fail to pay rent you have breached the lease and the landlord can terminate it at will. Think about what it is like for the landlord stressing out about how to pay their mortgage when you failed to pay for those two months.
I am not sure that the court will side with you legally based on your possible "breach", so it would be better to politely approach the landlord and explain the situation that led to your paying late. You did show good faith by catching up your rent and maybe the landlord will cancel their 30 day notice.
There is information for South Carolina tenant law here under the housing section on the page might help you understand the laws in your state. My advice would be to talk directly to the landlord. Hope it helps.
I am not sure that the court will side with you legally based on your possible "breach", so it would be better to politely approach the landlord and explain the situation that led to your paying late. You did show good faith by catching up your rent and maybe the landlord will cancel their 30 day notice.
There is information for South Carolina tenant law here under the housing section on the page might help you understand the laws in your state. My advice would be to talk directly to the landlord. Hope it helps.
- wetdawgs
- Contributions:26790
If I were in your shoes, I'd open the SC landlord/tenants rules and check what it says. Many states have phone numbers you can call related to these issues.
But, at this point if you were very late for two months, your landlord's confidence in your ability to pay rent is probably shattered. What can you do in a gentle verbal discussion with your landlord to restore her/his confidence that it was a one time issue and will never happen again?
But, at this point if you were very late for two months, your landlord's confidence in your ability to pay rent is probably shattered. What can you do in a gentle verbal discussion with your landlord to restore her/his confidence that it was a one time issue and will never happen again?
Can I be evicted because I was late on rent, even if I am current now?
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