How do you respond if a tenant pays their rent late?

Step 1: If rent is not received from the tenant on the first, a late fee will be applied to their account.

Step 2: Our Oahu property management team will try to make contact with the tenant either by phone or email to discuss why the rent payment is late.

Step 3:  We will initiate the eviction process around the 5th of the month starting with at 5 Day Notice of Non-Payment of Rent. The five business days starts once it’s received by or delivered to the tenant. There may be delays in processing this notice based on weekends, holidays, or if our Oahu property management team has been in contact with the tenant and are actively working on a payment agreement.

Step 4: If the tenant does not respond within the five business days, our Oahu property management team will attempt to make contact with the tenant to discuss the past due rent.

Step 5: If we are unable to get a hold of the tenant or they are uncooperative, our Oahu property management team will contact you and request and eviction from the court. We hire an attorney to assist with the eviction in order to make sure that the process is carried out correctly. Procedural mistakes or poorly written legal documents can result in delays to the eviction process.

Step 6: The tenant will be served a notice that an eviction filing has taken place and that an initial response or answer hearing has been set.

Step 7: During the initial response or answer hearing, the tenant will be given an opportunity to contest or state their claim. In Hawaii, it's typical that if a tenant shows up, then the proceeding will move towards a mediation session. If the tenant is not present, then the court will issue a default judgement granting the eviction.

Step 8: During the mediation hearing, the tenant and landlord, or their appointed representative, are given an opportunity to come to arrangement for the tenant to pay the balance owed. If an agreement is reached, then the paperwork will be filed with the court. In some instances a tenant will adhere to the terms of the agreement. If this happens, then the court will usually grant an eviction depending on the terms of the mediation agreement.

Step 9: If a mediation agreement cannot be formed, we will be informed by the court when the hearing date is where a judge will allow both the tenant and landlord an opportunity to speak. Based on the information provided, the judge decides if they will grant the eviction. It may take a couple weeks before the hearing date will be set.

Step 10: If the judge grants the eviction, a legal notice will be sent to the tenant informing them that they will need to vacate the rental property.

Step 11: The eviction lockout will be performed by a sheriff and locksmith. Anyone who may be at property will be required to leave and the locks will be changed.

Step 12: Once the eviction lockout is complete, we will get the new keys from the locksmith which may take a couple days.

Step 13: Our Oahu property management team will go out and evaluate the property once the keys have been received. We will be able to determine if the property needs any repairs at this point in time and if we need to coordinate with the tenant to have any personal belongings removed. We legally have to provide the tenant with fifteen days to remove any personal belongings left in the rental property.