Late fee limits by state.

Two numbers, not one

A late fee rule has an amount and a timing. The amount is a ceiling, usually a percentage of the rent, sometimes with a dollar figure, sometimes a "reasonable" standard that a court applies. The timing is the earliest day the fee may be charged, which statutes express as a grace period (rent unpaid five days in New York, seven in Colorado, nine in Connecticut, two full days in Texas) or as the day after a fixed date (Oregon: not received by the fourth day). Most online lists show only the amount. The calculator above returns both, and the table below gives the ceiling for a $2,000 rent so the states can be compared at a glance.

The ten statutes side by side

For Oregon the figure is one five-day period at 5 percent; the statute permits it to accumulate for each succeeding period, and offers a flat reasonable amount or a capped daily amount as alternatives. For Connecticut the dollar figure is a ceiling, because the $5 a day component can make the allowed charge smaller in the first days after the grace period. For Virginia and Colorado the example assumes the past-due amount equals one month's rent.

Details the table cannot hold

The lease must say so. Colorado, Oregon, Virginia, Minnesota, Connecticut and Texas all require the fee to appear in the written lease or rental agreement. Minnesota adds that the agreement must say when the fee applies. Colorado also bars a fee unless the landlord gives written notice of it within 180 days of the missed payment. One fee, not a stack. Colorado generally allows a fee once per late payment, and Connecticut allows one late charge per delinquent payment regardless of how long the rent stays unpaid. No eviction over the fee alone. Colorado bars removing a tenant or starting a court process because of unpaid late fees, and Oregon says nonpayment of a late charge alone is not grounds to terminate for nonpayment. Delaware treats it as rent. A late charge there is considered additional rent for purposes of its code. Texas is the outlier on amount. A fee above 12 percent (up to four units) or 10 percent (over four units) of one period's rent is not presumed reasonable, though the statute lets a landlord justify more by showing uncertain damages from the late payment; a landlord who violates the section owes the tenant $100, three times the fee collected and attorney's fees.

Worked example (hypothetical numbers)

A tenant in Denver pays $1,800 and sends rent on the 10th instead of the 1st. Colorado's ceiling is the greater of $50 or 5 percent of the past-due rent, here $90, and the landlord may not charge anything before the seventh day. A $120 fee in the lease is over the ceiling, and a lease provision that breaks the statute is void and unenforceable. In Connecticut the same rent paid on the 10th is inside the nine-day grace period, so no fee applies; on the 11th the ceiling is the lesser of $5 a day up to $50, or 5 percent ($90), so $50 at most. In Massachusetts nothing could be charged until thirty days after the due date. The tenant, rent and dates are invented.

Common mistakes

• Quoting a percentage without the base. Some statutes use monthly rent, some the past-due amount, and Virginia uses the lesser of two.
• Counting from the wrong day. Colorado counts calendar days late, Oregon counts days of the rental period, and Delaware bars imposing the fee within five days of the agreed date.
• Charging daily and flat fees together. Texas treats an initial fee and a daily fee as a single fee, and Oregon lists three alternative formulas.
• Assuming a rule applies to every tenancy. Subsidized housing and weekly tenancies can follow different rules; Maryland has a separate dollar limit for weekly installments.
• Treating a state that is not in the table as unregulated. It was not checked.

Who this is for

Tenants checking a fee on a ledger, landlords and property managers drafting a lease, and anyone comparing how rules vary across states before signing a multi-state management agreement.

What this page does not cover

• The rest of the states. Many use a reasonableness standard or have no statute on the subject, and this page does not claim to know which.
• City or county ordinances, subsidized housing programs and mobile home parks.
• Interest on unpaid rent, returned-payment fees, or the eviction process after non-payment.
• Recent amendments. Confirm the current text before sending a notice. This is general information, not legal advice.