Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Georgia

Regarding rent and late fees: Am I allowed to continue charging late fees until the late fees are paid? Or do late fees stop once I recieve the rent check, even if the late fees have not been paid?

The background:

I have a rental property. The tenant consistently pays late. She usually sends a check for the full amount of the rent 5 days after it's due. I then tell her what the late fees are, and she sends a second check with the late fees. The way my late fees are set up, it's $10 for the first day, and $5 additional for each subsequent day.

For example, if rent is $1000, and the tenant pays $1000 on the fifth of the month, (when the late fee would at up to $30), and she then pays the late fee on the 10th of the month (five days later), would the fee be $30, or would it be $55?

Hope this makes sense. Thank you law gurus!


Asked on 6/16/16, 12:20 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Glenn M. Lyon, Esq. MacGREGOR LYON, LLC, Business Attorneys

It would be $30 unless the lease dictates that she pay late fees on the late fees, but that would be unusual. However, the fact that she pays the late fees late would be grounds for eviction independent of the fact that she paid rent late.

www.macgregorlyon.com

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Answered on 6/17/16, 5:47 am


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