No Partial Payments

March 26, 2015 · Coauthored by Joe Cloer & Susan Cook

Has it been a while since you received a rent check? Are you thinking that you may want to accept at least some of the rent? After all, you are losing money, and your renter does, in fact, owe you money. Right? As tempted as you may be to try to get any bit of money from a renter who has stopped paying, do not take a partial payment. Don’t do it.

In fact, if you have a direct-deposit system set up for your tenants, I recommend you reconsider having that convenience, because you cannot stop a renter from dropping off partial payments into the account. If your renter gives you a partial payment, send it back (never, ever hold a check).

Georgia law states that receiving a partial payment during a rental period defeats a claim for non-payment of rent for the balance of the rental period. That means you have to wait until the next rental period for non-payment to evict. Moreover, if you have established a habit of accepting partial payments and late payments, you may end up voiding that portion of your lease.

Let me say this again. Refuse partial payments; make your tenant pay all or nothing, or you may be stuck with them until their payment gets missed entirely — next month. You cannot even begin eviction for non-payment of rent until there is no rent. Consider that a partial payment one month gives them another month to miss, then an eviction process that could take weeks. Do yourself a favor: don’t drag out the process of getting someone out over less than the full amount owed; it will cost more in the long run.