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I need some advice on an awkward situation that has come up with our current tenants. Over the course of the last 1.5 years our tenants have often paid their rent late. Usually, this is no more than 3 or 4 days, but on occasion it has been over a week late (they do incur a penalty if the rent is more than 7 days late, but this is not what the issue is about.)

We have asked the tenants to let us know on the due date if they will be late with the rent. We live in a two family house and so are paying the typical costs of a residing landlord. Our request for them to give us a heads up is only so that we can make the necessary arrangements to cover the short-term decreased cash flow. However, our tenants feel that they are not obligated to do this given that the lease does not state that they are to communicate with us if the rent will be late. Aside from how we feel about this argument, we have decided to honor their preference and amend the future rental agreement accordingly.

So my question is what kind of clause would you recommend that we include in the lease to ask them to communicate with us on the due date if they will be late. Does anyone have a similar clause in their lease with their tenants/landlords? Or should we take a different angle and enforce stricter late rent penalties to avoid the issue all together? Thanks for any and all advice.