Lease law by state

Rent Late Fee Laws by State: Caps, Grace Periods and What Counts as Reasonable

By ClauseAudit Research · Verified against official sources · Updated October 11, 2026

How much can a landlord charge for a late rent fee?

It depends on your state. 18 states, counting DC, set a hard cap, usually 5% of rent, ranging from 4% in Maine to a 12% safe harbor in Texas. 4 more require the fee to be reasonable. The other 29 set no statewide limit, so your lease and court review for unfair penalties control.

A rent envelope and a wall calendar on a sunlit wooden kitchen table beside a ring of apartment keys and a cup of coffee

states put a number on the maximum late fee: 18
states require a grace period before a fee: 13
lowest percentage cap (Maine): 4%
states set no statewide limit: 29

A late fee is the one lease clause almost every tenant triggers at some point. Pay rent a week late in New York and the most you can owe is $50 or 5% of the rent, whichever is less. Pay three days late there and you owe no fee at all. Do the same in Florida and the answer is whatever your lease says, as long as a court would not call it a penalty.

This page sorts out where your state falls. We checked each rule against the statute and recent bill records, verified it a second time and flagged the rules that changed in 2025 and 2026. The map and full table below show every state. The sections here explain how the rules work, where tenants get tripped up and what to do if your fee looks too high.

Fixed cap in the statute18
Must be "reasonable"4
No statewide limit29
Not yet confirmed0

Whether state law caps the late fee a landlord can charge on residential rent.

Percentage caps on rent late fees

States whose statute caps the fee as a percentage of rent. Some also allow a flat amount; see the table.

Late fee limits and grace periods in every state

State	Maximum late fee	Grace period	Law
Alabama	No statutory cap	None required by statute; the lease controls	Ala. Code §§ 35-9A-143, 35-9A-161 (Alabama Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act)
Alaska	No statutory cap	None required by statute; the lease controls	Alaska Stat. ch. 34.03 (Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act)
Arizona	A reasonable late fee set forth in a written rental agreement	None required by statute; the lease controls	Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 33-1368(B)
Arkansas	No statutory cap	None required by statute; the lease controls	Ark. Code Ann. tit. 18, ch. 17 (Arkansas Residential Landlord-Tenant Act of 2007)
California	No fixed cap; a late fee is valid only if it is a reasonable estimate of the landlord's actual loss	None required by statute; the lease controls	Cal. Civ. Code § 1671(c)(2), (d); Orozco v. Casimiro, 121 Cal. App. 4th Supp. 7 (2004)
Colorado	Greater of $50 or 5% of the past due rent payment	No fee until rent is at least 7 calendar days late	Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-105
Connecticut	Lesser of $5 per day up to $50, or 5% of the delinquent rent payment	9 days for monthly rent; 4 days for week to week; plus 5 more days if the landlord's own online payment system blocked payment	Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-15a
Delaware	5% of monthly rent	No late charge within 5 days of the due date; 3 extra days if the landlord has no payment office in the county	25 Del. C. § 5501(d)
District of Columbia	5% of the full amount of rent due	Fee allowed only if rent is unpaid more than 5 days, or any longer lease grace period	D.C. Code § 42-3505.31
Florida	No statutory cap	None required by statute; the lease controls	Fla. Stat. ch. 83, Part II (§§ 83.40-83.683)
Georgia	No statutory cap	None required by statute; the lease controls	O.C.G.A. tit. 44, ch. 7; O.C.G.A. § 13-6-7 (liquidated damages)
Hawaii	8% of the amount of rent due	None required by statute; the lease controls	Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-21(f)
Idaho	Fees, including late fees, must be reasonable; no dollar or percent cap	None required by statute; the lease controls	Idaho Code § 55-305 (added 2023 as § 55-314 by S.B. 1039, 2023 ch. 67; redesignated § 55-305 by 2025 ch. 65, § 14)
Illinois	No statutory cap	None required by statute; the lease controls	765 ILCS 705 (Landlord and Tenant Act); HB 3564 (2026) effective Jan. 1, 2027
Indiana	No statutory cap	None required by statute; the lease controls	Ind. Code tit. 32, art. 31
Iowa	Rent up to $700: $12 per day, max $60 per month. Rent over $700: $20 per day, max $100 per month	None required by statute; the lease controls	Iowa Code § 562A.9(4)
Kansas	No statutory cap	None required by statute; the lease controls	Kan. Stat. Ann. § 58-2540 et seq. (Residential Landlord and Tenant Act)
Kentucky	No statutory cap	None required by statute; the lease controls	Ky. Rev. Stat. ch. 383 (URLTA, KRS 383.500-383.705, applies only where locally adopted)
Louisiana	No statutory cap	None required by statute; the lease controls	La. Civ. Code arts. 2668 et seq. (lease); arts. 2005-2012 (stipulated damages)
Maine	4% of one month's rent	Rent is late only if not paid within 15 days of the due date	14 M.R.S. § 6028
Maryland	5% of the unpaid rent due for the late rental period; weekly leases: $3 per week, $12 per month	None required by statute; the lease controls	Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-208(d)(3)
Massachusetts	No statutory dollar or percent cap	No late fee or interest until rent is 30 days overdue	Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 186, § 15B(1)(c)
Michigan	No statutory cap	None required by statute; the lease controls	Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 554.601 et seq., 554.631 et seq.
Minnesota	8% of the overdue rent payment	None in statute; the written lease must state when a late fee applies	Minn. Stat. § 504B.177
Mississippi	No statutory cap	None required by statute; the lease controls	Miss. Code Ann. tit. 89, ch. 8 (Residential Landlord and Tenant Act)
Missouri	No statutory cap	None required by statute; the lease controls	Mo. Rev. Stat. chs. 441, 535
Montana	No statutory cap	None required by statute; the lease controls	Mont. Code Ann. tit. 70, ch. 24 (Residential Landlord and Tenant Act of 1977)
Nebraska	No statutory cap	None required by statute; the lease controls	Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 76-1401 to 76-1449 (Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act)
Nevada	Reasonable late fee not exceeding 5% of the periodic rent	No fee until at least 3 calendar days after rent is due (tenancies longer than week to week)	Nev. Rev. Stat. § 118A.210
New Hampshire	No statutory cap	None required by statute; the lease controls	N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. chs. 540, 540-A
New Jersey	No statutory cap	5 business days, only for tenants receiving Social Security, SSI, SSDI or certain other government benefits or pensions	N.J.S.A. 2A:42-6.1 to 6.3
New Mexico	5% of the rent for each rental period in default	None in statute; owner must give notice of the fee by the last day of the next rental period	N.M. Stat. Ann. § 47-8-15(D), as amended by 2025 N.M. Laws ch. 122 (SB 267)
New York	Lesser of $50 or 5% of monthly rent	No fee unless rent is unpaid 5 days after the due date	N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 238-a(2)
North Carolina	Monthly rent: greater of $15 or 5% of monthly rent. Weekly rent: greater of $4 or 5% of weekly rent	No fee until rent is 5 days past due	N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-46(a)
North Dakota	No statutory cap	None required by statute; the lease controls	N.D. Cent. Code ch. 47-16
Ohio	No statutory cap	None required by statute; the lease controls	Ohio Rev. Code ch. 5321
Oklahoma	No statutory cap	None required by statute; the lease controls	Okla. Stat. tit. 41, §§ 101-136 (Residential Landlord and Tenant Act)
Oregon	One of: a reasonable flat fee once per period; a daily fee up to 6% of that flat fee; or 5% of periodic rent per 5 day period	Fee only if rent is not received by the 4th day of the rental period, so charges start on day 5	Or. Rev. Stat. § 90.260
Pennsylvania	No statutory cap	None required by statute; the lease controls	Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951, 68 P.S. § 250.101 et seq.
Rhode Island	No statutory cap	None required by statute; the lease controls	R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 34-18 (Residential Landlord and Tenant Act)
South Carolina	No statutory cap	None required by statute; the lease controls	S.C. Code Ann. tit. 27, ch. 40 (Residential Landlord and Tenant Act)
South Dakota	No statutory cap	None required by statute; the lease controls	S.D. Codified Laws ch. 43-32
Tennessee	10% of the amount of rent past due (counties covered by the URLTA)	No fee until 5 days after rent is due, counting the due date; extends to next business day if day 5 is a Sunday or legal holiday	Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-201(d); § 66-28-102 (coverage)
Texas	Presumed reasonable up to 12% of monthly rent (buildings of 4 units or fewer) or 10% (more than 4 units); higher only if not more than uncertain damages related to the late payment	No fee unless rent remains unpaid 2 full days after the due date	Tex. Prop. Code § 92.019
Utah	Greater of 10% of the rent agreed to in the rental agreement or $75	None required by statute; the lease controls	Utah Code Ann. § 57-22-4(5)
Vermont	No statutory cap; case law requires a late fee to be a reasonable estimate of the landlord's actual damages	None required by statute; the lease controls	9 V.S.A. ch. 137; Highgate Associates, Ltd. v. Merryfield, 157 Vt. 313 (1991)
Virginia	Lesser of 10% of the periodic rent or 10% of the remaining balance due	None for written leases; without a written agreement, rent is late after the 5th of the month	Va. Code Ann. § 55.1-1204(E)
Washington	No statewide dollar or percent cap	No late fee for rent paid within 5 days of the due date	Rev. Code Wash. § 59.18.170(2)
West Virginia	No statutory cap	None required by statute; the lease controls	W. Va. Code chs. 37-6, 37-6A
Wisconsin	No statutory cap	None required by statute; the lease controls	Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.09(8)
Wyoming	No statutory cap	None required by statute; the lease controls	Wyo. Stat. Ann. §§ 1-21-1201 to 1-21-1211

How do rent late fee laws work?

State late fee rules come in three flavors. The strictest put a number in the statute. Delaware caps the fee at 5% of monthly rent. Hawaii and Minnesota allow up to 8%. Iowa uses dollar amounts instead: $12 a day up to $60 a month when rent is $700 or less, and $20 a day up to $100 a month above that.

Some states mix the two. Colorado lets a landlord charge the greater of $50 or 5% of the past due amount. Connecticut flips it, allowing the lesser of $5 a day up to $50, or 5% of the delinquent payment. Utah allows the greater of 10% of rent or $75.

The second group has no number at all, only a standard. Arizona allows "a reasonable late fee" written into the lease. California treats a late fee as valid only when it is a reasonable estimate of the landlord's actual loss, under Civil Code § 1671. Idaho added a reasonableness rule in 2023.

Everywhere else, the statute is silent. That does not mean anything goes. Courts in Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan and other silent states can still throw out a fee that works as a penalty instead of a fair estimate of what late payment costs the landlord.

What is a grace period, and does your state require one?

A grace period is the stretch after the due date when rent is technically late but no fee can be charged. 13 states, counting DC, require one by law. The lengths vary a lot.

Texas: no fee unless rent is still unpaid 2 full days after the due date.
Nevada: no fee until at least 3 calendar days after rent is due.
New York, North Carolina, Delaware, DC and Washington: 5 days.
Tennessee: 5 days counting the due date, pushed to the next business day if day 5 is a Sunday or legal holiday. This applies only in counties covered by the state's landlord tenant act.
Colorado: 7 calendar days.
Connecticut: 9 days for monthly rent, 4 for week to week.
Oregon: no fee unless rent is still unpaid on the 4th day of the rental period, so charges start on day 5.
Maine: 15 days.
Massachusetts: 30 days, and the lease cannot waive it.

What counts as a "reasonable" late fee?

In states without a fixed cap, the test is usually whether the fee is a fair guess at what late rent actually costs the landlord. Think bank charges, extra bookkeeping, the time spent chasing payment. A fee that looks designed to punish rather than compensate is the kind courts strike down.

California is the clearest example. There is no 4% or 6% cap there, despite what some landlord blogs claim. A 2025 bill that proposed limits, AB 1248, did not pass. So a California late fee stands or falls on whether it reasonably estimates the landlord's loss.

Vermont gets to the same place through case law. Its Supreme Court held in Highgate Associates v. Merryfield (1991) that a late fee must reasonably match actual damages. Massachusetts courts apply a similar test on top of the 30 day rule.

A practical way to judge your own fee: compare it to the caps in states that have one. Most fixed caps sit at 5% of rent, and the highest percentage figure in our data is a 12% safe harbor in Texas. A fee well above that range in a silent state is worth questioning.

What changed in 2025 and 2026

New Mexico made the biggest cut. SB 267, effective June 20, 2025, lowered the cap from 10% to 5% and limited the base to rent only, not deposits or utilities.

Maryland's HB 273, effective October 1, 2025, changed the 5% cap so it runs on the unpaid rent instead of the full amount due. If you paid most of your rent on time, the fee shrinks accordingly.

Connecticut added a tenant protection that starts January 1, 2026. If the landlord's own online payment system blocked your payment, you get 5 extra grace days. Washington, under a 2025 law, made any lease clause allowing fees inside the 5 day window unenforceable.

Illinois has a new rental fee law, HB 3564, signed in June 2026 and taking effect January 1, 2027. Until then the state has no statewide cap. Early drafts included a late fee formula, but reports indicate the final version dropped it, so check the enacted text before relying on it. Chicago already has its own limit: $10 on the first $500 of rent plus 5% of the rest.

Some proposals went nowhere. Kansas bills in 2026 would have capped late fees at 5% of rent, and none passed. Michigan bills signed in September 2026 require a no fee way to pay rent, but they deal with payment processing charges, not late fees.

Your landlord charged too much. What should you do?

Find the late fee clause in your lease. In Colorado, DC, Minnesota, Oregon, Texas and Virginia, among others, the fee has to be written into the lease or rental agreement to be charged at all.
Check the due date and your state's grace period. A fee charged on day 3 in New York or day 6 in Colorado is premature.
Do the math on the right base. In Maryland the cap runs on the unpaid rent only. In New Mexico it runs on rent alone, not utilities, deposits or other charges. In Colorado it runs on the past due amount, not the full month's rent.
Count how many fees were stacked. Colorado, Connecticut and North Carolina allow only one late fee per late payment.
Write to your landlord. Quote the statute, show your calculation and ask for a credit. Keep a copy.
If that fails, call your local tenant rights group or legal aid office. Colorado adds a $50 penalty per violation, so an overcharge there can cost the landlord more than the fee itself.

Can a landlord evict you over unpaid late fees?

Some states say no outright. Colorado and DC both bar eviction for unpaid late fees alone. DC also bans interest on late fees and any fee on the part of rent paid by a subsidy.

Oregon has a related rule: a landlord cannot quietly take an unpaid late fee out of your next rent check and then call that rent short. That trick creates a new default out of an old fee, and the statute forbids it.

Oklahoma treats a late fee as damages, not rent. That means a landlord there cannot fold the fee into a 5 day notice for nonpayment of rent.

In states without these protections, read your lease carefully. Some leases define late fees as "additional rent," which can blur the line between a fee dispute and an eviction case. If you get a notice, pay the rent itself first and dispute the fee in writing.

Federal law and city rules

We found no federal law that caps rent late fees on private housing. The limits come from state statutes and, in some places, local ordinances. City rules can be stricter than the state's. Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle, Tacoma and Burien all have their own late fee rules.

Location inside a state matters too. Tennessee's 10% cap and 5 day grace period apply only in counties covered by its landlord tenant act. Texas sets a 12% safe harbor for buildings of 4 or fewer units and 10% for larger ones. Washington's 2025 caps under HB 1217 cover manufactured home lots, not apartments.

Frequently asked questions

What is the maximum late fee a landlord can charge for rent?

It depends on the state. Where a cap exists it is usually 5% of rent. Maine is the lowest at 4%, while Texas presumes up to 12% reasonable for buildings of 4 or fewer units. In the 29 states with no statewide limit, the lease sets the amount, but courts can still refuse a fee that acts as a penalty.

Is a 10% late fee on rent legal?

In some states, yes. Utah allows the greater of 10% or $75, Virginia allows up to 10%, and Tennessee allows 10% in covered counties. In New York, Delaware, DC, New Mexico and other 5% states it would be over the limit. In Maine the cap is just 4%.

How many days late can rent be before a landlord charges a late fee?

Only 13 states, counting DC, set a minimum by law. Texas requires 2 full days, Nevada 3, New York and Washington 5, Colorado 7, Connecticut 9, Maine 15 and Massachusetts 30. Elsewhere the lease usually decides, so a fee can start the day after rent is due.

Does California cap rent late fees?

No. California has no fixed percentage cap, and claims of a 4% or 6% limit are wrong. Under Civil Code § 1671, a late fee holds up only if it is a reasonable estimate of the landlord's actual loss from late payment. A 2025 bill that proposed limits, AB 1248, did not pass.

Can my landlord charge a late fee every day rent is late?

Some states allow daily fees within a ceiling. Iowa permits $12 or $20 a day with a monthly maximum of $60 or $100, depending on rent. Connecticut allows $5 a day up to $50. Oregon allows a daily fee up to 6% of the flat fee. Colorado, Connecticut and North Carolina limit landlords to one fee per late payment.

Can a landlord charge a late fee that is not in the lease?

Usually not. Many statutes, including those in Colorado, DC, Minnesota, Oregon, Texas and Virginia, require the fee to appear in the written lease. Wisconsin bars late fees not stated in the written agreement. In Idaho, a fee missing from a written agreement can be added only after 30 days' written notice.

Can I be evicted for not paying a late fee?

In Colorado and DC, no. Both bar eviction for unpaid late fees alone. Oregon forbids landlords from applying your rent to an old late fee to create a new default. In other states, pay the rent first and dispute the fee in writing, since some leases call fees additional rent.

Did any states change their rent late fee laws in 2025 or 2026?

Yes. New Mexico cut its cap from 10% to 5% in June 2025. Maryland tied its 5% cap to unpaid rent in October 2025. Connecticut added 5 extra grace days in 2026 when a landlord's payment portal blocks payment. Illinois passed a rental fee law that takes effect January 1, 2027.

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Rent Late Fee Laws by State: Caps, Grace Periods and What Counts as Reasonable

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How we built this data

We built this dataset from the law in each state, then had a second, independent review re-check every entry against primary sources and correct anything that did not match. Each row links to its source.

Of the 51 entries, 48 were confirmed directly against the statute itself or the state agency that enforces it. 3 rest on several secondary sources that agree, usually because the official site could not be reached or because there is no statute to read where the answer is that no law exists. Data verified on October 11, 2026.

Sources

Cite this data

ClauseAudit, “Rent Late Fee Laws by State: Caps, Grace Periods and What Counts as Reasonable”, updated October 11, 2026, https://clauseaudit.com/lease/late-fee-laws-by-state. Free to reuse with a link back (CC BY 4.0).

This page summarises the law as verified on October 11, 2026. Laws change, cities and counties can add their own rules, and the details of your situation matter. It is general information, not legal advice.