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Many leases say that money paid will first be applied to any outstanding fees, such as late fees, with remaining money paid applied to rent. Therefore, if you paid $800, the first $60 went to pay late fees currently due, and the remaining $740 went toward rent, which means rent is not paid in full yet, which means late fees may continue to accrue.
I am so over my apartment complex. It seems like they are trying to milk me for every dollar I have.
Situation: I was late on my rent by 3 days, paid it yesterday (they give 3 day grace period.)
Now...I was prepared to pay them the late fee of $60 up until the time, at a later date as I am now broke and cant afford tissue to wipe my behind...However, the landlord says, "well, you still owe the late fee, and it will continue to increase daily til you pay in full".
Thats highway robbery. How are you going to charge me additonal late fees when I already paid my rent in full? What are they loosing by me being 3 days late on my rent?
I really feel the complex is taking advantage. I am in the middle of 2 lawsuits (one against me, one against someone) and I have so many more things to pay than a friggin late fee!
I live in Texas, but they need to start regulating this jive. The late fees should stop as soon as I pay my rent. They shouldn't be able to use a late fee as the cost of my rent, and then keep adding on to it because I cant afford the late fees.
Always blame others for what you are doing wrong! Pay the rent on time!
BTW it is the 7th and you staed you paid yesterday...so that means you were really late and stop being a loser by blaming others and start to face responsibility.
If you sue others the way you describe paying your rent and the way you are handling it, I wonder if you are able to win in court...
However, the landlord says, "well, you still owe the late fee, and it will continue to increase daily til you pay in full".
You didn't say how much he was going to charge you "daily" but my guess is that it probably wouldn't fly in Texas.
Quote:
The Texas Legislature recently placed a limit on late fees that is not specific: a landlord can only charge a late fee so long as it is a "reasonable estimate of uncertain damages to the landlord that are incapable of precise calculation that result from late payment of rent". Section 92.019 (http://texastenant.org/texas_statutes.html?linkid=92.019 - broken link), Property Code. The late fee must be based on some damage to the landlord -- that is key. If a landlord has not been harmed at all, then no fee should be allowed. If there is a $50 fee for being late (past the grace period), that might be acceptable depending on the amount of the rent, what the landlord has to do each month to collect rent from tenants, how much it costs the landlord for tenants to pay late, and other factors. Clearly, many landlords hope tenants pay a little late each month because late fees can really add up. If a judge were to agree that the fee is too high, you are entitled to $100, three times the amount of the illegal fee charged, court costs and attorney fees.
One of my leases says $10/day up to $40 maximum and a 3 day grace period. THen the 3 day notice and eviction starts.
As a landlord, I view late payments from tenants as disrespectful - it's due the same day every month so spare me the stress of wondering all weekend if I will be getting paid or not. I have to make the mortgage/tax/insurance payments weather my tenants pay me or not.
States set different caps on how high the late fee can be. Sometimes this is explicit, for example, basing the cap on a certain percentage of the rent, but the cap can also be a vague "reasonable late fee." In the latter case, LL/tenant guides are a good source to determine what that state considers a reasonable late fee (and more importantly what a judge would think about yours).
For some LLs, the late fee alone is not commensurate with their losses for late payment of rent. zz4guy raised a good example. While some LLs may be rolling in your hard-earned dough, others could be taking a real hit every time time they are late on their mortgage or insurance payments because the tenant did not pay on time. Those fees are intended to discourage late payment of rent, and I don't see anything unusual (or unfair) about your situation.
Also, I don't know if this applies in every state, but once a LL accepts your rent for the month after the one you were late on, then you are considered "squared," that is, no late fees would be owing. So for example, in your perfect world, your rent is $500 due on the 1st of the month. You pay your LL on the 8th of June and the LL agrees that you are now up to date on your rent, but you still need to pay your late fee. On the 15th, you pay $10 per day up to the 8th ($80) plus a $50 late fee. You're not penalized for the 7 days following the 8th when you paid your rent. In fact, you could even take it one step further, and never pay any penalties. You could just pay your rent at any time during the month, whenever you feel like it, and you'd always be up to date except for the penalty, which you'd never pay.
I don't think I was very clear, so let me explain. Say you're having some financial difficulty and the LL agrees verbally to give you $200 off your rent for the remainder of your lease. Six months later, you have a falling out with the LL, and suddenly the LL claims that you are $1200 behind in rent and that if you don't pay up immediately you'll be evicted. Well, the law prevents this from happening by virtue of the fact that the LL deposited at least one rent check after a month for which the LL claims your rent was deficient. This law is in place so you don't get stuck with a huge lump sum like that.
In the above example, but in the real world, if you pay $500 for June's rent but 8 days late, and then you pay July's rent (either late or on time), then as soon as the LL deposits your check for July's rent, it's as though you are even for June. Any penalties you accrued disappear. But by applying July's rent to June's penalties first, then the LL basically gets to say that they didn't get all of July's rent and the total owing in penalties accrued in June is still owed, but this time it's technically called "rent" rather than a "penalty." And new penalties accrue.
Probably still not very clear.
Last edited by backandforth83; 07-08-2010 at 07:15 AM..
Reason: Clarified, maybe.
States set different caps on how high the late fee can be. Sometimes this is explicit, for example, basing the cap on a certain percentage of the rent, but the cap can also be a vague "reasonable late fee." In the latter case, LL/tenant guides are a good source to determine what that state considers a reasonable late fee (and more importantly what a judge would think about yours).
For some LLs, the late fee alone is not commensurate with their losses for late payment of rent. zz4guy raised a good example. While some LLs may be rolling in your hard-earned dough, others could be taking a real hit every time time they are late on their mortgage or insurance payments because the tenant did not pay on time. Those fees are intended to discourage late payment of rent, and I don't see anything unusual (or unfair) about your situation.
Also, I don't know if this applies in every state, but once a LL accepts your rent for the month after the one you were late on, then you are considered "squared," that is, no late fees would be owing. So for example, in your perfect world, your rent is $500 due on the 1st of the month. You pay your LL on the 8th of June and the LL agrees that you are now up to date on your rent, but you still need to pay your late fee. On the 15th, you pay $10 per day up to the 8th ($80) plus a $50 late fee. You're not penalized for the 7 days following the 8th when you paid your rent. In fact, you could even take it one step further, and never pay any penalties. You could just pay your rent at any time during the month, whenever you feel like it, and you'd always be up to date except for the penalty, which you'd never pay.
I don't think I was very clear, so let me explain. Say you're having some financial difficulty and the LL agrees verbally to give you $200 off your rent for the remainder of your lease. Six months later, you have a falling out with the LL, and suddenly the LL claims that you are $1200 behind in rent and that if you don't pay up immediately you'll be evicted. Well, the law prevents this from happening by virtue of the fact that the LL deposited at least one rent check after a month for which the LL claims your rent was deficient. This law is in place so you don't get stuck with a huge lump sum like that.
In the above example, but in the real world, if you pay $500 for June's rent but 8 days late, and then you pay July's rent (either late or on time), then as soon as the LL deposits your check for July's rent, it's as though you are even for June. Any penalties you accrued disappear. But by applying July's rent to June's penalties first, then the LL basically gets to say that they didn't get all of July's rent and the total owing in penalties accrued in June is still owed, but this time it's technically called "rent" rather than a "penalty." And new penalties accrue.
Probably still not very clear.
I think in most states, when you pay after being charged a late fee, the payment goes toward the late fee first, then the rent. If you do not pay the rent and the late fee, you are still behind on the rent and that will trigger more late fees. In your example, when you pay July's rent, part goes to pay the late fee and part to the June rent. You are still behind on June's rent to the tune of the amount of the late fee and you still owe for July, which is now also late. I do not think most landlords are going to be very happy with anyone who continues to pay late and refuses to pay the late fee.
Suggest the OP sell his/her computer to get the $$ to pay rent & late fees.
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