What would you do with this tenant?

Thats a tough one...has the guy always paid his rent on time every month? if so i think you can wait i mean if he's been a good tenant the whole time he's been there he'll be a good tenent when he gets bak on his feet. I understand your situation hard times no inome and single mother but just hang in there before you know it things will get better. I am an apartment manager and thats what we do here if the tennts been good tenant we let him slide a month the most. Wish you well and i hope this issue gets resolve soon.

Honestly this is not a moral dilemma this is business.

The only factors that should be taken into consideration is if you lose your business (Real property is a business) than you both won't have a place to live.

If you are one of those people that are over religions and think that God will punish you if you do not do the "right thing", than you have a crisis. But, while you are sorting out your Religious crisis, go through the steps that are afforded you as a Landlord. Give the proper notices, because you are a mother, but you are not his mother and certainly not his girlfriends mother & where are their parents in this crisis?

Life is hard, many people do not have health care and she may have to get her surgery at your local county hospital. None the less, you do need to give the notices or you will only hurt your family. If it makes you feel better explain that you need to give him the notices, but you can also decide if you are willing to give him a few extra days if he needs it, but insist that he put his request in writing in the event that you need to evict him at least you will have done all that you can.

And, answer to number 4, yes, if he has enough money for a "girlfriend" not wife's medical care his obligation to you does not go away, where is he going to live when the bank takes your home away? You did not say if you allowed him to let his girlfriend move in, a studio is a tight squeeze for two people; just curious.

It really depends. Is the surgery she needs life saving? .... Is it urgent?

Can you cope if you let him fall behind in rent for a while?

How far behind is he already..

If this were me, and I saw someone struggling financially with something that happened in their life that was out of their controll, such as the situation your tenant is apparently facing, I wouldnt have it in my heart to take even more from him. Right now it seems he is fighting some kind of battle you are probably not even familiar with. The rent is probably not the only bill he has just fallen behind with. What is he going to do when he is behind in all his bills, has a girlfriend in hospital awaiting an operation, and no longer has a house or somewhere to live. Does he deserved to be punished for loving his girlfriend?

Talk to him about it, sort out with him how much he can pay and how often, and when he is back on his feet he can catch up on what he has fallen behind.

This is just what I would do, but I am more compassionate than business minded.

Let him slide? Are you kidding me? The landlord is under no obligation to now support this guy and a shack up.

I would give him 3 days to pay me or leave. I am just like that landlady, even including the dead beat dad not paying his child support. There is no way in hell I would put this person not even related to me above my children. I support my children via rent and any unpaid rent comes out of my budget.

The landlady needs some help if it is taking months to find tenants though, a couple of weeks is the norm.

Would you insist on the tenant scrape up the rent, or let him slide?

- Neither.

I would discuss the matter of the rent with the tenant, and offer to reduce the rent temporarily by 10%. I would insist upon being paid promptly. If not, evict.

There are renters out there, look for them.

One thing that you could do is move them to a lease that is on a month to month basis. This way you can look for another renter, and you don't have to go through the whole eviction process.