Expert: Michelle Mangen - 5/3/2009

Question
I do not live in Wisconsin, but any insight you could give me would be helpful.
I'm 20, living on my own in an expensive apartment. My roommate has not paid his share of rent in 3 months. I have been paying it all.
This was a bad week--
I don't get paid til next week, so my rent check bounced.
I have been living at this apartment for 1 year and have never been late on a payment.
I explained to them my situation financially but they didn't care. Basically they said, if you have to, work 3 jobs to pay your rent.
I am a college student full time AND working a minimum wage job 30 hours a week.

After my rent check bounced, they said I have until the 8th of May to pay it + tons of fees, or they will serve me an eviction notice.

Why would they try to evict me because of just ONE late payment, that I explained to them about?

Granted, I have worked something out and WILL be able to pay my rent, but I cannot believe they are allowed to evict me after just one LATE payment, not a MISSED payment...

thank you ..
Kayla

Answer
Kayla:

In WI landlords are able to evict tenants based on late or NSF payments so most likely where you live it is the same.

The best thing to do is to work out a payment arrangement with them. Most landlords are very willing to work with tenants, as long as the tenants take action to communicate with the landlords.

Landlords also tend to make sure they send out all necessary paperwork as they have no idea if a tenant will make an arrangement to satisfy the situation and if the tenant does not, then the only recourse a landlord has is to start the eviction process.

Sadly, not a lot of tenants take great care, as you seem to want to do and therefore landlords get "burnt" a lot by people who say they will do something and then they don't.

Michelle Mangen