Rent Collection Policy
POLICY STATEMENT
This policy applies to all Skycastle Properties Residents in non-subsidized and federally-subsidized housing. It addresses how residents must pay their monthly rent, how and when late charges are applied and the consequences of late payment or non-payment of rent due. This policy is consistent with the HUD Handbook 4350.3, Rev-1: Occupancy Requirements of Subsidized Multifamily Housing Programs, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Affordable Housing Program (AHP), HUD Model Lease (90105) for Subsidized Housing Programs and Skycastle Properties policies and procedures. Skycastle Properties is committed to enforcing this policy per Fair Housing Laws and the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Act (AFFH).
The Rent Collection Policy is designed to achieve the following goals:
- Maintain resident accounts at a delinquency rate no more than 5%.
- Clarify for residents the Company's policy concerning rent collection.
- Establish a Repayment Agreement or retroactive rent charges procedures as necessary.
- Streamline and simplify eviction and legal process.
Rent is due on the 1ˢᵗ of each month. The Company will grant all residents a 5-day grace period without penalty per your lease. We will make no exceptions to this policy.
The following is a timeline for our collection process which may be changed without further notice.
1 ST of the Month RENT IS DUE / 1ST DAY OF GRACE PERIOD
2 ND of the Month RENT IS DELINQUENT / 2ND DAY OF GRACE PERIOD
3 RD of the Month RENT IS DELINQUENT / 3RD DAY OF GRACE PERIOD
4 TH of the Month RENT IS DELINQUENT / 4TH DAY OF GRACE PERIOD
5 TH of the Month RENT IS DELINQUENT / 5TH DAY OF GRACE PERIOD
6 TH of the Month LATE FEES BEGIN: 5% of the Rent Due deemed additional Rent.
10 TH of the Month EVICTION PROCEEDINGS BEGIN:
- 3-Day Notice To Pay Or Quit will be delivered to your door.
- The 3-Day Notice is a legal notice to inform the Resident that if Rent remains unpaid after 3 calendar days after receipt of the Notice, the Company will file an eviction on all occupants. Additionally, the notice allows the resident to avoid an eviction by voluntarily moving before court papers are filed.
- Enforcement Costs at then prevailing rates for Attorney will be assessed to Residents' account, deemed additional Rent for preparing and serving 3-Day Notice To Pay or Quit.
- The Resident will be charged all eviction court costs and attorney fees at then prevailing rates. As of January 1st 2023 the filing fees and costs associated with eviction proceedings are approximately $2,500 to $3,000 USD.
- Once a judgment to proceed with the eviction is granted, the Resident will have 5 days to remove all belongings from the unit. If all items aren’t removed after 5 days, a WRIT of Possession will be filed. The Writ of Possession is a forcible retainer which allows the Company to legally remove all belongings from the unit. The court cost for the Writ of Possession will be charged to the Resident’s account.
EVICTION FOR CHRONIC LATE PAYMENT
The lease states that payment of rent received after the 1st day of the month is delinquent. The lease also provides that repeated late payment of rent will be considered as material noncompliance of the lease and therefore a basis for eviction.
“Repeated Late Payment” is defined as a resident being issued a 3-day notice on three (3) occasions during any twelve (12) consecutive month period.
APPLICATION OF RESIDENT PAYMENT
Payments received from the resident shall be applied to the resident’s account balance. Residents are able to see their account balance and payment status on the TenantCloud Portal. Such payments will be applied to various types of charges on the resident’s account in the following order of priority:
- Any balance remaining from a court judgment.
- Court costs and legal fees including lease enforcement costs and curing of defaults.
- Late charges and insufficient funds fees deemed additional Rent.
- Other charges for maintenance and repairs deemed to be Tenant's responsibilities per the terms of the Lease.
- Delinquent Rent covered by a Settlement Agreement or Repayment Agreement.
- Current Rent.
Payments shall be applied to the oldest debt first.