When Does Late Fee Applies
I have a MH park, all rents are due on the 1st of the month. My ? is how many days from the date due does a tenant has to pay their rent before a late fee applies?
Right now I'm charging $25.00/month if payment is not send by the 1st. I live in the state of North Carolina
NOTE: the contract does not specifies late fee charges it only specifies when the rent is due, but I have send a letter to all tenants 30days in advance adviving them of the late fee charge.
This is STATE SPECIFIC but in Iowa, late fees start on the 2nd but we can't charge more than $40/mo.
You may consider giving a discount to people who pay by the first. Or i've been toying with the idea that if they pay by the first I'll send them a $25-$50 gift card to their local grocery store. I'm not sure though that the gift card will value dollar for dollar with the tenants.
Well, I'm not sure you can charge a late fee if there isn't call for it in the lease. And I'm not sure about legality of the 30 day notice either.
My leases offer both rewards and punishments. Rent is due on the 5th. If they pay by the first, it's $15 cheaper. After the 5th, it is $10/day until they pay or I evict them, whichever comes first.
[addsig]
in NY it is 30 days
I have multiple properties in NC. Late fees apply after the 5th. However, this is also reflected in my rental contracts. You may want to consult an attorney, since you did not include in your contract.
I would highly recommend changing your rental contracts next time around to include as much detail as possible, including late fees, bad check fees, detail as to whom is responsible for what repairs / maintenance, etc.
I just added NC renatl agreement to the "freebie" section of this website. I would highly recommend using it, or one similar in the future.
Good Luck!
We give our tenants until 9:00 P.M. on the 3rd to pay their rent. If it is not paid by then, we impose a 3 day notice and a flat $40.00 late fee on the 4th.
Hey,
Due on the 1st, but the law might give some leeway here. I can't start charging late fees until the 5th.
A flat fee is a BAD idea. If they will get charged $40 or whatever if they pay on the 6th, then they will wait until the 26th to pay, because there is no additional fee. I learned this the hard way. A late fee MUST be for each day it is late. Of course, if the law does not allow this in your area, you can't do it this way.
Thank you, everybody for all your help, I'm going to use the rental contract from Ford for the ones that need to renew their contract (most of them are) and any future ones.
Bruce, I tend to agree with you. We just evicted tenants that we had to go through the eviction process three times in a row. Twice they paid the night before the hearing (around the 29th of the month) and they got thrown out the third (finally). I'm going to pass along the idea to my boyfriend that we charge daily fees to whatever limit we can. I got so sick and tired of going to court every month for the last three months.
Include charges in your lease or rider if you have to file for eviction. Find out what a local attorney would charge for example, know the filing fees as well. This may cut down on your agravation and frequency if court trips.
Here is a link for you to read it first hand from the good ol' NC state herself
http://www.ncsu.edu/stud_affairs/legal_services/legaldocs/LandlordTenantHandout.htm
Roger