Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

As usual, Mr. Linehan is giving off the cuff advice on the law of a state he is not admitted to practice in. In California you cannot be charged a late fee unless it is set forth in the lease or rental agreement you signed. So the first step is to look at your lease and see. The landlord cannot create a late fee obligation after the lease is signed just by sending you that notice. If the lease does have a late fee provision, it also must be reasonable. It cannot be imposed as a fine or penalty for late payment under California law. It must be reasonably related to the landlord's cost of a late payment. Considering most landlords will not incur any cost until your late payment affects their ability to pay the mortgage, and most mortgages have a 10 to 15 day grace period, your landlord may not have ANY costs of a late payment of less than five days (after that the time to make sure your check clears might impact their mortgage payment with a 10-day grace period).