COMMERCIAL LATE FEES LAWYERS IN TEXAS

Arguello Law Firm Attorneys Help With Commercial Late Fees in Landlord-Tenant Disputes

It’s no surprise that your landlord has the right to charge a reasonable late fee if you pay rent after the due date as per your rental agreement. If you do not pay your rent on the due date or within the grace period, your landlord is able to either declare you in default under the rental agreement or accept the rent and the appropriate late fee.

If you actually offer to pay your rent with the late fees outlined in your agreement, but your landlord decides not to accept it and even demands that you move out, you may still have a good shot in court in an eviction case. You need to read your rental agreement closely and argue that you offered to remedy the problem according to the lease. A court may also consider your rent to be paid on time if you have established a clear and proven pattern of your landlord’s acceptance of late payment.  It should be argued that if your landlord no longer wished to accept late payments, it should have given you some advance notice.

Must be in a Written Lease and Mandatory One Day Grace Period

Texas law now requires late fees to be in a written lease agreement to be charged, and recognizes that tenants should have a grace period before any late fee can be charged. Currently, the grace period is one day.  So, if your rent was due on the 2nd, the late fee cannot be charged until the 4th day of the month, as per Section 92.019, Property Code.

Limit on Late Fees Not Specific, But Spell Out the Test

The Texas Legislature recently set a maximum value on late fees that is not specific: a landlord can only charge a late fee as 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, Property Code).”

The late fee is required by law to be centered on some damage to the landlord. If a landlord has not been harmed at all, then no fee should be permitted. If there is a $60 fee for being late and past the grace period, that might actually be acceptable depending on: the amount of rent you pay, what the landlord has to do every month to collect rent from his or her tenants, how much it costs the landlord for tenants’ delayed payments, and a host of other things.

Undoubtedly, many landlords hope tenants pay a little late each month because late fees can definitely pile up.  If a judge were to agree that the fee is too high, you are entitled to $100, thrice the amount of the illegal fee charged, court costs, and attorney fees for landlord-tenant dispute lawyers.

Late Fee For Nonpayment of Late Fee

Sometimes a tenant may not be aware that a landlord has even charged him or her a late fee. Sometimes, a tenant will challenge whether their rent was even tardy at all. As greedy as some landlords are known to be, some of them actually subtract a late fee from the tenant’s rent and then claim the tenant is behind on rent again the next month. I know, right?

After that, the landlord charges late fees AGAIN. Needless to say, it is in your best interest to challenge this little tactic.  A court may even refuse to evict a tenant if the tenant refuses to pay an unreasonable late fee. However, this is a highly risky and is not the best strategy for combating a late fee unless you simply don’t have the cash. Remember, simply having an eviction filed against you is likely harmful to your rental history even if you win.

If you feel you’ve been treated unfairly by your landlord, or think that you are being taken advantage of, call our experienced Texas landlord-tenant dispute attorneys at Arguello Law Firm today, and we’ll get started on the path to bring you justice.