Renters’ Choice: Paying Rent

Online payments or checks only? Separate checks for roommates or one for the whole apartment? Send a monthly bill or expect residents to remember on their own? Paying rent is an integral part of any apartment community, but there are many methods of collection. How do your residents pay rent—and how do they feel about it? This month, MHN partnered with Kingsley Associates to see what residents are saying about their communities’ rent policies.

❝ I was disappointed that a resident was given leniency on a payment but I was not. We were both in the same situation, having never missed a rent payment before.❞
—Emeryville, Calif.

❝ Paying rent by credit card is absurdly expensive. Please join the 1990s, and accept credit cards for no fee. It’s how business works.❞
—Bellevue, Wash.

❝ The cost of paying rent online is ludicrous since the inclusion of a new or different third-party processor. It used to be a very small fee but is now extremely expensive. This is a real inconvenience as I would prefer to pay online rather than paying by cashier’s check monthly.❞
—Phoenix

❝ Would love an e-mail reminder prior to rent coming due. There have been times I forgot, and I don’t want to set it for automatic payments.❞
—Spring Valley, Calif.

❝ I am supposed to pay my rent online as part of my lease agreement. This feature has been unavailable, and I have been charged a late fee as a result of this inconvenience.❞
—Mill Creek, Wash.

❝I’m concerned that the online portal isn’t well-secured, so I’m not using it for rent payments.❞
—San Francisco

❝The resident portal is not Mac friendly, and I can’t make payments unless I am at a PC—not very convenient…❞
—New York

❝It’s so bad that one can no longer drop the payment at the management office.❞
—Cambridge, Mass.

❝I find it extremely annoying to only be able to pay rent online. I liked being able to drop the rent off at the leasing office.❞
—New York

❝I liked the ability to use the Internet to pay initial deposit and do everything online.❞
—Arlington, Va.

❝Rent bills are mailed so late that we are doomed to make a late payment even if we mail it the day we receive the bill.❞
—Elmsford, N.Y.

❝The website should have the ability to schedule a payment to be made on a specific date, for example payday.❞
—North Bethesda, Md.

❝If I am signed up for the automatic payment system, why do I still receive a statement in the mail each month? This is a waste of paper and cost.❞
—Glendale, Calif.

❝I’d love to see flexibility on rent due date. My paycheck deposits are a little unique. Allowing residents to select their ideal due date for their lease would be very helpful.❞
—Riverdale, Utah

❝Pet rent seems unnecessary with all the deposits.❞
—Little Rock, Ark.

❝It would be great if roommates could have the option to pay half of the rent online versus having to remember to write a check every month.❞
—Atlanta