late fees

[jessie]

my landlord is charging me $50 a month in late fees. i heard this is too high. my rent is $ 600 a month. am i being overcharged. the landlord has not renewed my lease in 3 years.how legal is this.

[jlwilson]

late fees must be reasonable and nonpunitive and bear some reasonable relationship to the amount of rent involved in ny. are you rent regulated? did your old lease have a provision for late charges? are they charged on the 2nd day of the month or are you not condidered late until a week or so after? courts examine late fees carefully. $50 does sound high for a $600 a month rental.

[lappert]

And there are even questions how the LL would collect. He can't take you to housing court for non-payment of late fees (although he might be able to tack it on to a pre-existing non-payment - not sure). He might have to go to small claims or civil court. Also he would have to comply with Federal Fair Debt Collection rules. I'd say let him charge them, don't pay (but do some more research on that)

[Cranky Tenant]

Is this a rent stabilized apartment?