In Texas, for example , landlords are not permitted to charge late fees until the tenant is two days past due on rent. The usual grace period included in a lease agreement is the period outlined by the state where the rental property is located.
If there is no mandatory grace period and the landlord wants to add a grace period to the lease, the most commonly used period is five days. Question : Great. So, one question we received is that I am required to give the five-day grace period for late fee on rent every month. Is rent due on the first or the fifth? Whether you decide to use a flat fee or a percentage based on the cost of rent is up to you, but you must be sure you do not go over any state or local limits on the late fees.
Additionally, remember that you must state what the late fee for late rental payments will be before a tenant is actually late. The late fee that will be charged if a tenant is late must be outlined in the lease agreement. Whether or not you can increase late fees owed by your tenant will depend on your state laws and what is in your lease.
In most cases, the final word on this issue will be found in your lease agreement. If the lease agreement signed by you and your tenant does not specifically say you can change the late fee without appropriate notice, it is unlikely that you will be able to increase the late fee. Instead, you will need to wait until a new lease agreement is signed to be able to enact an increase unless the tenant is willing to agree to a lease addendum to increase the fee.
There are a few ways that rent payment could end up affecting credit scores. In most places, there are not any rules that would forbid a landlord or property manager from waiving a late fee, but it is not an action we typically recommend for landlords to take. While waiving late fees can be a kind gesture to a tenant, this simple act can also create unfortunate side effects:.
Of course, you can choose to make an exception from time-to-time when extraordinary circumstances come about. Landlords have encountered situations where their tenants are suddenly in the hospital or otherwise unable to pay, and making an exception in these very specific circumstances is unlikely to set a negative precedent.
Second, the notices serve different purposes. Third, the statutes require these notices to be served in different manners. This is because, in every viable nonpayment case, a day notice will have been served. For all these reasons, the day notice and five-day notice are separate and distinct, and both should be properly served prior to the commencement of a nonpayment eviction proceeding.
Next, let us consider additional statutory support for the new five-day rent grace period. If rent is due on the first day of the month, the earliest time at which these notices can be properly served is the seventh day. And if either notice is served prematurely, a subsequent nonpayment proceeding should be subject to dismissal. A summary eviction proceeding is commenced using a notice of petition and petition.
Ritter , the Appellate Division, Third Department, confirmed that late fees and other charges cannot be disguised as rent and used as a basis for a nonpayment proceeding. The court unanimously held this discount scheme illegal and unenforceable.
It states:. And a tenant may not be required to pay them to prevent eviction. Pursuant to the HSTPA, the notice of petition and petition must be served 10 to 17 days instead of the previous five- to day range before the time at which the petition is noticed to be heard.
The right to one mandatory i. Since tenants usually do not have counsel at the initial appearance, this gives them an opportunity to seek representation and more adequately prepare to raise defenses or counterclaims. That said, since the statute also states that subsequent adjournment requests are discretionary, the implication is that the court does not have discretion to deny a first adjournment request. Considering the legislative intent to protect tenants, it would seem odd that those especially unrepresented tenants who do not artfully raise issues of fact would lose the right to an adjournment.
A related question arises with respect to the trial. A tenant generally has the right to a jury trial where there are issues of fact, [50] unless the right has been knowingly and voluntarily waived in the lease between the parties. Or can it be requested at a subsequent appearance? Again, it is useful to consider this question from the perspective of an unrepresented tenant, who may not even know about the right to a jury trial.
Should the tenant really be required to request a jury trial at the first appearance so as not to waive the right? If the tenant is represented by counsel at the initial appearance, it may make sense for the attorney to go ahead and assist the tenant in electing between a bench or jury trial, for the sake of judicial economy.
However, the tenant should no longer be required to make this election at the first appearance if the case is adjourned pro forma. The adjournment effectively changes the time at which the petition is noticed to be heard the deadline to request a jury trial. Thus, the tenant should be able to request a jury trial at a subsequent appearance, before the case proceeds to trial. The court determines how much rent, if any, is owed to the landlord and must consider defenses and potential offsets in making its decision.
Generally, if some amount of rent is adjudged to be owed to the landlord and not paid at the time of judgment, a warrant of eviction may issue. The TSHA specifically provides that the landlord may obtain a money judgment for unpaid rent that accrued during the covered period.
Rent control rules set limits on rent and restrict landlords' rights to evict tenants. New York rent stabilization and rent control regulations are usually very complex and change often, so check with the following agencies to see if your rental unit is covered and the exact rules that apply:. For state rent rules and procedures on issues such as raising rent, see N.
For New York laws on termination for nonpayment of rent, see N. See the Laws and Legal Research section of Nolo for advice on finding and reading statutes and court decisions. The information provided on this site is not legal advice, does not constitute a lawyer referral service, and no attorney-client or confidential relationship is or will be formed by use of the site. The attorney listings on this site are paid attorney advertising. In some states, the information on this website may be considered a lawyer referral service.
Please reference the Terms of Use and the Supplemental Terms for specific information related to your state. Grow Your Legal Practice. Meet the Editors. Learn about New York rent rules, including rent stabilization and rent control. New York Rules on Late Fees Rent is legally due on the date specified in your lease or rental agreement usually the first of the month.
Tenants occupying for a year or having a lease of at least one year: 30 days' notice. A rent grace period is a period of time during which a tenant can pay their rent after the original due date without being subject to rent late fees. Although some states require landlords and property managers to extend this offer to tenants, not all states do. The standard grace period is two to four days from the date rent is due.
The rental agreement outlines when rent is due and the methods by which the tenant can make rent payments. Rent is typically due on the first day of each month. This date may fluctuate if the first falls on a weekend or on a bank holiday—in that case, the payment may be due on the following workday. Some landlords make rent due a month from the date the tenant moved in.
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