Can a landlord charge late fees on late fees. (rental, attorney)

[chrssy]

Last year I was out of town for a few months and had to send my rent my mail. I recently found that I was late one month and charged a $50 late fee. I also just recieved notice that I owe $600 in late fees because of this one late fee. I never recieved notice for the $50 late fee until now when I recieved a notice for $600 in late fees. Is it legal to charge late fees for being late on a late fee? Is it legal to charge late fees when you were not given notice and unaware a late fee was owed? How do I handle this situation with my landlord?

[FLPL75]

Take a look at your lease.
It should have a section on late fees and how they are charged.
You can also speak to your landlord to see how these fees were applied.
You will probably get responses varying from "no not legal don't pay" or "you owe you pay"
What may be illegal for say a large rental corporation maybe legal in a single home owner and tenant.
It is hard for anyone to tell you what is or isn't legal without knowing what the lease says.
Most cities have organizations to help tenants with questions.

[David in JAX]

One thing that landlords will get you on is what your rent goes to pay. Your lease probably doesn't say that you have to pay late fees on late fees. What does happen is that your the new rent you pay goes towards your oldest debt. So, your rent will go to pay for your late fee, then you have $50 in late rent, and thus you will owe another late fee. This is legal in the state of Florida.

Here is what I would do. First, get your check and find out when the check was cleared. If it was before the rent was due you will be in the clear. If not, I would talk to the manager in person and tell here you didn't know about the late fee. Don't tell them that you didn't get a notice because someone could have taken it off your door. Tell them that there was a misunderstanding and you would like to pay the orignal late fee now. Ask them if you can work out a deal since you didn't know about the additional late fees. They will probably let you go with the original $50 if you are a good tenant.

Check out Florida Statutes Chapter 83 Part II which is the Florida Tenant / Landlord Law.

[Admoore]

hello I moved in to my new place august 1st seen an add on craigslist rent was 675.00 then when It came time to purchase the home I was charged 695.00 now on my lease says rent is due on the first if not paid on the first a will receive a three day notice so this month I paid it on the fifth cause that's when I got paid so my landlord says to me I have a late charge of 10.00 a day so I paid 700.00 now she says I still owe 35.00 and if not paid its a dollar each day till paid off can you let me know if this is legal seeing its not on my lease at all

[EricBoyd]

I'm guessing this is a private landlord and not a property management company. You may consider printing a copy of your lease and highlighting the section regarding late fees and the basis for being charged for being late, then send it to your landlord as a reminder. Then, if you still keep getting charged the extra amount, consider finding an landlord/tenant law attorney to help you address the issue with the landlord.

[BeautifulQueen72]

I have a friend who pays weekly rent. They landlord charges $20 a day late fees.my friend pays the rent but still is behind because of the last fees.what can they do. trying to help my Friend

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by BeautifulQueen72

I have a friend who pays weekly rent. They landlord charges $20 a day late fees.my friend pays the rent but still is behind because of the last fees.what can they do. trying to help my Friend

How about... Pay your late fees?

[Florida2014]

Originally Posted by BeautifulQueen72

I have a friend who pays weekly rent. They landlord charges $20 a day late fees.my friend pays the rent but still is behind because of the last fees.what can they do. trying to help my Friend

Yeah not trying to be snarky here but what, exactly, are you asking? I'm sure the lease has language that stipulates a late fee if rent isn't paid by a certain date. If this friend cannot pay an extra $20 - $40 or whatever then he/she is likely in way over his/her head and cannot afford such a place. I don't know of any government programs that would help either, sorry.