Landlord Question and Answer Forum

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?

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

Posted by Donna , NC on Thursday, November 12, 2009

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.

Posted by Raul Y, CA on Thursday, November 12, 2009

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.

Posted by Denise S, PA on Friday, November 13, 2009