Late Rent Fees and Other State Rules on Paying Rent

Learn your state rent rules, including limits on late fees.

Most states have specific laws covering various aspects of rent. These rules (typically set out in the lease or rental agreement) may cover when rent is due (including what happens if the rent due date falls on a weekend date or holiday); where rent is due (such as to the landlord's business address); whether or not tenants have a grace period (for late rent before a landlord charges a late fee); and late fees (if any). Here are citations for statutes that set out rent rules in each state; note that the footnotes include details on state rules on late fees. When a state has no statute on a particular legal issue, the space is left blank. Other state laws cover the amount of notice landlords must provide to increase rent; rules and procedures for terminating a tenant for nonpayment of rent; extra fees a landlord may charge if a tenant's rent check bounces, or (in a handful of states) some form of rent control.

To read your state laws, see the website maintained by the Cornell Legal Information Institute.

State Rent Rule

State	When Rent Is Due	Grace Period	Where Rent Is Due	Late Fees
Alabama	Ala. Code § 35-9A-161(c)		Ala. Code § 35-9A-161(c)
Alaska	Alaska Stat. § 34.03.020(c)		Alaska Stat. § 34.03.020(c)
Arizona¹	Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 33-1314(C), 33-1368(B)		Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 33-1314(C)	Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 33-1368(B)
Arkansas	Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-401	Ark. Code Ann. §§ 18-17-701,18-17-901	Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-401
California²	Cal. Civ. Code § 1947		Cal. Civ. Code § 1962	Orozco v. Casimiro, 121 Cal. App.4th Supp. 7 (2004)
Colorado
Connecticut³	Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 47a-3a	Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 47a-15a	Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 47a-3a	Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. §§ 47a-4(a)(8), 47a-15a
Delaware⁴	Del. Code Ann. tit. 25, § 5501(b)		Del. Code Ann. title 25, § 5501(b)	Del. Code Ann. tit. 25, § 5501(d)
D.C.⁵		D.C. Code Ann. § 42-3505.31		D.C. Code Ann. § 42-3505.31
Florida	Fla. Stat. Ann. § 83.46(1)
Georgia⁶				Ga. Code Ann. § 44-7-16
Hawaii	Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-21(b)		Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-21(b)	Late charge cannot exceed 8% of the amount of rent due.
Idaho
Illinois	735 Ill. Comp. Stat. Ann. § 5/9-218		735 Ill. Comp. Stat. Ann. § 5/9-218
Indiana	Watson v. Penn, 108 Ind. 21 (1886), 8 N.E. 636 (1886)
Iowa⁷	Iowa Code Ann. § 562A.9(3)		Iowa Code Ann. § 562A.9(3)	Iowa Code Ann. § 562A.9(4)
Kansas	Kan. Stat. Ann. § 58-2545(c)		Kan. Stat. Ann. § 58-2545(c)
Kentucky	Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 383.565(2)		Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 383.565(2)
Louisiana	La. Civ. Code Ann. art. 2703		La. Civ. Code Ann. art. 2703
Maine⁸		Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 14, § 6028		Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 14, § 6028
Maryland⁹				Md. Code Ann. [Real Prop.] § 8-208(d)(3)
Massachusetts¹⁰		Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch.186, § 15B(1)(c); ch. 239, § 8A		Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 186, § 15B(1)(c)
Michigan	Hilsendegen v. Scheich, 21 N.W.2d 894 (1885)
Minnesota¹¹				Minn. Stat. Ann. § 504B.177
Mississippi
Missouri	Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.060
Montana	Mont. Code Ann. § 70-24-201(2)(c)		Mont. Code Ann. § 70-24-201(2)(b)
Nebraska	Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1414(3)		Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1414(3)
Nevada¹²	Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 118A.210		Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 118A.200	Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 118A.200, 118.210(4)
New Hampshire¹³				N.H. Rev. Stat. § 540:8
New Jersey¹⁴		N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2A:42-6.1	N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2A:42-6.1	N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2A:42-6.1
New Mexico¹⁵	N.M. Stat. Ann. § 47-8-15(B)		N.M. Stat. Ann. § 47-8-15(B)	N.M. Stat. Ann. § 47-8-15(D)
New York¹⁶		N.Y. Real Prop. Law 238-a		N.Y. Real Prop. Law 238-a
North Carolina¹⁷		N.C. Gen Stat. § 42-46		N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-46
North Dakota	N.D. Cent. Code § 47-16-20
Ohio
Oklahoma¹⁸	Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 41, § 109	Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 41, § 132(B)	Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 41, § 109	Sun Ridge Investors, Ltd. v. Parker, 956 P.2d 876 (1998)
Oregon¹⁹	Or. Rev. Stat. § 90.220	Or. Rev. Stat. § 90.260	Or. Rev. Stat. § 90.220	Or. Rev. Stat. § 90.260
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island	R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-15(c)	R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-35	R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-15(c)
South Carolina	S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-310(c)		S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-310(c)
South Dakota	S.D. Codified Laws Ann. § 43-32-12
Tennessee²⁰	Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-201(c)	Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-201(d)	Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-201(c)	Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-201(d)
Texas²¹		Tex. Prop. Code Ann. § 92.019		Tex. Prop Code Ann. §§ 92.019, 92.0191
Utah
Vermont	Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 9, § 4455
Virginia²²	Va. Code Ann. § 55.1-1204	Va. Code Ann. § 55.1-1204	Va. Code Ann. § 55.1-1204	Va. Code Ann. § 55.1-1204
Washington²³
West Virginia
Wisconsin²⁴				Wis. Adm. Code § ATCP 134.09(8)
Wyoming