Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: when is rent due

Your lease or rental agreement should call for a date at which a late fee can be charged.

Re: when is rent due

who cares, if you pay it on time 1-2 no late fee!!!! read the agreement you signed --- no wirtten agreement the 1st but there should be no late fee as nothing in writing.

Re: when is rent due

If the rental agreement or lease says rent is due on the first. it is late on the second.

Then, if the agreement or lease specifies a number of days grace period, or a particular amount of lateness that triggers a late fee, that's where you'll find your answer. Three to five days is not uncommon.

However, if the agreement or lease says that a fee is charged on late payments without specifying a number of days, then ANY amount of lateness triggers the fee, even 15 minutes.

Next, if the agreement or lease does not say anything about late fees, no late fee can be charged.

Finally, excessive and unreasonable late fees are not enforceable in court.

I assume throughout we are talking about residential property. Mini-storage operators must wait a while, 10 days I think, before they can charge a late fee.

Re: when is rent due

If you have a written agreement, the date when a late charge will be added to any past-due rent should be spelled out in the written agreement. There is no provison under the law for an "automatic" late charge. Also, there is no provision for a "grace period", and if the rent is due on the 1st, you are "late" if it is not paid on the 1st and the landlord can give you a 3-day notice to pay rent or quit any day thereafter, with or without a demand for a late charge. Too often tenants think an agreement to pay rent on a certain day is an "estimate" or something--it means what it means.