A responsibility to pay rent: It’s the one thing tenants everywhere have in common. The details about paying rent—such as the amount, how to pay it, and when it’s due—are specific to each landlord-tenant relationship. When a rent-related problem arises, both landlords and tenants are bound to the applicable laws where the rental is located, as well as the terms of the lease or rental agreement.
State and local laws often address the topic of rent to some degree—some areas might have enacted a comprehensive rent control program, while others might have only a single statute addressing late fees. Regardless, any lease or rental agreement you sign must comply with applicable laws. Beyond that, though, you and your landlord are free to negotiate terms. Most of the time, your lease or rental agreement is your roadmap for paying rent, with specifics about the amount you pay, when it’s due, to whom you pay it, and the consequences of paying late.
Because your lease or rental agreement is a contract, both you and your landlord are bound to its terms. When you violate the contract, your landlord has certain rights under both the agreement itself as well as the law. Read on to learn more about your rights—and responsibilities—when it comes to paying rent.
If you have a written lease or rental agreement, it will specify the date your rent is due. Many written agreements require tenants to pay rent on the first of the month, but this isn’t a legal requirement: you and your landlord may negotiate any mutually-convenient due date.
Unless the rental agreement or state law says differently, tenants are not entitled to a grace period: The date on which you must pay your rent is firm. In some states, if the rent due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the law allows the tenant to pay the rent on the next business day. Likewise, your lease might specify a similar grace period.
The states that provide a mandatory grace period before rent is considered late are an exception. Landlords in New Jersey, for example, must wait five business days before charging a late fee, but only when the premises are rented by specified elderly or low-income tenants (New Jersey Stat. Ann. §§ 2A: 42-6.1 and 6.3). Texas landlords must include late fee provisions in the lease, must only charge reasonable fees (as defined by the statute), and cannot charge a late fee until the tenant’s rent has remained unpaid for two full days after the due date (Tex. Prop. Code Ann. § 92.019).
Grace period rules vary widely from state to state, so check your state law.
In the absence of an agreed-upon or legally mandated grace period, any payment not made on the due date is late and in violation of the lease or rental agreement. Your landlord might be able to charge you a late fee (discussed below) or terminate your tenancy for nonpayment of rent.
In most places, landlords may charge late fees so long as the terms and conditions of the fee are spelled out in your lease or rental agreement. The late fee must also comply with any state or local late fee laws, which often limit the total amount of late fees a landlord can collect.
For example, under Iowa law, late fees vary depending upon the amount of rent For rents of $700 per month or less, the limit is $12 per day, or a total amount of $60 per month; for rents exceeding $700 per month, the late fee maximum is $20 per day or a total amount of $100 per month. (Iowa Code Ann. § 562A.9.)
Most states, however, don't put a dollar limit on late fees, although general legal principles restrict landlords from charging unreasonably high late rent fees, such as 10% of the rent. Courts are unlikely to uphold outrageous late fees.
Your landlord may terminate your tenancy when you don’t pay rent by the due date or the end of any grace period. In some states, landlords must give tenants the opportunity to pay rent by a certain deadline before filing an eviction lawsuit. In other states, landlords can send tenants an unconditional quit notice that requires the tenants to move out before a certain date, with no opportunity to fix the situation by paying rent. States’ termination notice for nonpayment of rent laws vary on when a landlord can send the notice—it could be immediately (the day after the missed rent due date), or it could be a few days after the rent due date.
State laws also vary as to how the landlord must serve a rent nonpayment notice, and how many days (if any) the landlord must give you to pay the rent or move out before the landlord can file an eviction lawsuit. In California, for example, a landlord may give a tenant a nonpayment of rent notice as soon as the rent is late, and the notice must give the tenant three days to pay rent or move before the landlord can file for eviction (Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 1161(2).)
State landlord-tenant laws vary widely when it comes to rent, late fees, termination of rent, and lease requirements. Plus, the facts of each case are unique—for example, state rent and termination rules sometimes provide exceptions for victims of domestic violence. This article provides a brief, general introduction to the topic. For a detailed explanation of landlord-tenant law in your state, including how it applies to your situation, consult a local landlord-tenant lawyer.
