My rent payment is due on the 1st of each month. I made arrangements with my leasing agent to pay a few days late and they accepted the agreement.
Subsequently, a day before the arranged pay date, I was served with an eviction notice and a letter to appear in court which they then claimed could be ignored as long as I paid the following day.
They advised me that it was an automatic process that they couldn't stop even when an arrangement was made.
I paid the rent the following day, as agreed and they acknowledged that the matter was now closed.
However, I have now received notification that I still have to appear in court since there is a $200 legal fee for the eviction notice/court filing.
Is this legal?
I made an arrangement (I still have proof of email exchange) prior to the 1st so how can I suddenly be charged for these fees after the fact just because it's an "automatic process that cannot be stopped"?
NOTE: I opted for the email solution as I figured it'd have more grounds than a simple telephone call.
Surely they would have to inform me in advance then that I can pay late but that I would also be liable for the legal fees. Or at the very least, something along those lines should be written into the leasing agreement?
And I'm now also told that I still have to appear in court if the legal fees (which in my opinion should not even be due) aren't paid in full.