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Hello, my name is Sandy, I am having a situation with my landlord charging double late fee for my rent, my rent is 895.00 and late fee 89.50. My first time being late since staying since May. I paid 400 in August for August and agreed to pay rest on 15th but then spoke to him on Monday to tell him it will all be on the September rent we had a disagreement and he made threats but I was not scared because I knew I was going to pay. Then on the first of September I paid 395.00 plus 89.50 plus 895.00 rent for September. He accepted that in money orders sent in the mail. He calls me today and says I am a 100 short so we went through the numbers and yes I was 100 short so I was getting ready to tell him when i will send the 100 until he said he is adding an additional 89.50 late fee since the 5th will make it late. But the 100 is not for September and I paid all of September rent and only owe 100 for august which I know I owe but can he charge 2 late fees for august even though it doesn't say it in rent and I already paid the late fee for August. I feel bullied I don't have a problem paying my bills just don't want to get bullied I have a child to raise and no money to just give and I don't owe. Is he bullying me I don't want to have to move for 89.50 for another late fee that he already got paid and my rent is paid for September and August is 100 short. OK I will pay 100 but another 89.50 and I already paid the late fee for August. HELP ME Please
First, what does your lease specify about late fees? If it is not spelled out then he can't charge them. If it is specified in your lease then he can't sway from what is listed in the lease.
And secondly, have you read your state statutes in their entirety regarding late fees and if there are any limits/laws regarding them?
And he can't charge you late fees for late fees being paid late (if that makes sense lol) UNLESS, you have strange laws in your state that say he can apply rent to unpaid late fees first which would then make your rent late. I don't know of any states myself that allow that but another poster on another thread mentioned that it can be done in their state.
But, you can definitely be served a 3 day pay or quit notice if you do not pay your rent on time whether you pay the late fees or not. And you could end up ultimately evicted if you continue to pay your rent late.
Last edited by Corn-fused; 09-02-2015 at 10:11 PM..
The GA laws are silent on late fees so check your lease and see what is specified regarding how much late fees are and how they are imposed. Again, if nothing specified in the lease then he can't charge them.
All charges are paid in the order they are accrued. You are $100 short on your most recent charge not your oldest, in this case it is the September rent.
All charges are paid in the order they are accrued. You are $100 short on your most recent charge not your oldest, in this case it is the September rent.
So you are stating that in AZ also they can deduct unpaid late fees from the rent which ultimately makes your rent continuously late if all late fees are not paid up? And you know for a fact that that also applies in GA? Because that is not true nor allowed in some states.
Last edited by Corn-fused; 09-02-2015 at 10:33 PM..
It's basic accounting and would take a law specifically against making late fees enforceable to change it, i couldn't find it when i searched for the OP. Furthermore the late fee is under how much the OP says he is short so talk of late fees is ultimately irrelivent, the OP is $10.50 short if you ignore the late fee. The OP is trying to argue that August rent isn't paid in full but September is which is nonsense regardless of late fees. Most leases should state in the late fee section something like made collectible as rent which means the total due for the proceeding month is rent + applicable late fees is the rent due and if the total due is unpaid you are late again.
I see what you are saying now. I didn't do any of the math in OP. (post was way too busy for me when I first saw it with no paragraphs, etc) I just thought the LL was implying that because all late fees were not paid that they were applying the outstanding late fees to rent hence making the rent late. But now I see where OP is short on August rent by $100 and won't be paid until after the 5th of September.
So yes, now that I actually went through the whole post and did the math I do see that the LL is applying another late fee. However, in my state a LL can not continue to charge late fees every month until rent is caught up. LL is only allowed to charge a late fee once for whatever month was short or behind. Even if they stayed a month behind (as example) for many months and the tenant was on time with all future rent. In my state, the LL can only charge late fee for that one month and would have to take action such as an eviction to remedy the month that is behind or late instead.
We actually had a case like that in my building. Tenant, who I was good friends with, lived her for 5 years and missed a full rent payment in their 2nd year due to job loss. They continued to pay their rent every month after on time but could not get caught up on that one month missed from their 2nd year. LL never took any action such as eviction. Tenant finally paid that month in their 3rd year so it took tenant approximately 22 months to get that month paid. Tenant moved out after 5 years and LL took their full security deposit for late fees plus sent them an additional bill for balance of late fees for the 22 months (approx. $1000 total). Tenant sued in court and showed proof that they paid the late fee on that one month and was on time every month after and judge ruled for the tenant. They did not have to pay the late fees for every month after until that one month rent was finally paid. Instead, the judge ruled that the LL should have taken action and filed for eviction instead of allowing the tenant to stay and accumulating all of those late fees for 22 months.
I know some of you will disagree or find this hard to believe but I kid you not. I actually went to court with this tenant so I witnessed it first hand.
But that is just an example in my state and not sure how other states would rule.
OP, contact a tenant's union or attorney in your area and ask about your situation.
Last edited by Corn-fused; 09-03-2015 at 12:34 AM..
I agree with your landlord. All the rent owed wasn't paid, even if it was just $100, so you owe another late fee.
You could save yourself a lot of trouble and money by just paying the rent on time. If you feel no worry about being 30 days late with the rent you are going to end up out on the streets with a bad landlord reference. Personally, I would have had you evicted and out before the first of September. Not that I would have rented to you in the first place after your current landlord told me you pay rent 30 days late.
I have nice rentals and I don't accept problem tenants. Other landlords besides myself that have nice rentals don't accept problem tenants, either. Adjust your attitude about late rent being ok or you are going to end up living in substandard places all of your life.
And he can't charge you late fees for late fees being paid late (if that makes sense lol) UNLESS, you have strange laws in your state that say he can apply rent to unpaid late fees first which would then make your rent late. I don't know of any states myself that allow that but another poster on another thread mentioned that it can be done in their state.
I assume that is me you are referring to, as that is absolutely legal in my state. All money is paid to outstanding fees first and lastly to rent. That is exactly so someone can't avoid paying their late fees forever. Otherwise, there is no incentive to pay them ever, and the landlord ends up having to hold them out of deposit or sue for payment.
I'd be surprised if this was outright illegal in any state, but probably only allowed if the lease states it.
Cornfused, I think you misinterpreted the judges decision in the case you mentioned. They didn't say that the landlord didn't have the right to collect for subsequent months. What they said is that the landlord shouldn't have let it go on so long. If it had been just one or two months, the judge might have ruled differently, but at 22 months, the judge probably figured the landlord didn't act in good faith. They would have had to have sent out a notice every month stating that late fees were due. You can't just wait until month 22 and say "oh, and by the way, you owe me for 22 months worth of late fees".
I agree that the money goes to the earlier fees due, so you are short for September. The money paid would be applied to August and August late fees first.
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