Late fee not paid : ezLandlordForms

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Raul Y

started a topic almost 15 years ago

Hi. I have a rental in California. My renter was 7 days late last month (October). I sent him a late rent notice charging him a late fee of 25.00 (per the signed lease). It is now November 11 and he has not paid his late fee. Can I charge him an additonal amount (How much)? or send this bill to collections?

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Donna

said almost 15 years ago

Did your tenant pay the rent? Is he late for November?

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Raul Y

said almost 15 years ago

Yes, he paid the Nov rent on time but has not paid the late rent fee due when he was a week late back in Oct.

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Denise S

said almost 15 years ago

Technically, in California late fee's may be considered liquuidated damages. This means that an arbitrary amount is chosen as the penalty for breaching a particular promise in the contract. If we are talking about a one time fee of $25 and this tenant remains current in rent from here on in, I think I would drop this issue. What you could TRY is just deducting it at the end from the security deposit. I have a tenant who is always on time with his rent. Over the last 6 months he was late twice, I waived the late fee. I did this because overall he is a good tenant. I didn't want to risk a good landlord tenant relationship. My personal opinion is to not make a big stink about it. If you get in front of a judge over a $25 item, and then the judge determines that it is considered "liquidated damages", you may end up losing in the long run.