I was visiting at a friend's when I met her downstairs tenant. We'll call the landlady Betty and the tenant Cathy. Cathy looks like a physically rather short cover girl. She is well groomed. She rushed into the kitchen while I was almost done cooking my simple meal.
During our leisurely lunch, Betty related her year-long relationship with Cathy. Apparently Cathy rented the room fresh out of college and sweet-talked Betty into giving her an extra month's grace in complying with the 2-month deposit and one month advance rule. She was given a special concession to move in after paying one month deposit and one month advance. By the end of the first month in house, she paid 2 months' rental to make up for the late deposit. Perhaps that was the circumstance that led to a later conflict.
Being new at work, she was bullied by her boss. One day Cathy found herself jobless as she was wrongfully dismissed. Betty, being older and more knowledgeable, wrote a letter like a lawyer that managed to have Cathy reinstated. Cathy worked long enough to get her rightful month's pay but left anyway. She whiled away her free month before reporting for work at a new job. It was around Chinese New Year, she left the rented room and spent three weeks at home with her parents in another state. A simple whatsap message requesting permission to pay the February rent slowly over the following few months. After all, Betty wasn't born yesterday. She shot back a long message giving many reasons why Cathy could not be allowed to do that. She mercifully gave Cathy 5 days' grace to pay up. The amount was banked into the correct account within 4 days.
After all, a landlord-tenant relationship is financial and contractual. One can be kind but it is madness to be knowingly taken advantage of. And it is just so easy to be kind once and the other party not only take it for granted but expect further leniency.
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