Is your tenant on social security? I have some on that and they get paid depending on the first letter of their last name. Some on the third Wednesday of the month. I adjusted their rent due day to match up. Otherwise they would be late every time.

Disclaimer: I have not read the OR law.

We in VA also may not charge a late fee until it is 5 days late.

I understand that as not changing the due date, but just that I can't penalize them yet.

Some tenants understand it as they don't need to pay the rent until the 5th - since it doesn't cost them anything until then. These are the same tenants who will try to push the envelope on other things & take advantage of whatever or whomever they can.

So, on the first day after it was due, I would notify the tenant that it is late & that if it is not paid in full by day five, there will be an additional, late fee due.

Give notice of eviction for non-payment on day 6. make sure they know you are serious.

Actually, this should not be news to them, because when renting to this type of tenant (class C/D), it would have been clearly explained up front that it would not bode well for them to play this game.

Ask them if it would be OK with them if their paycheck was 5 days late, with no warning, and they never knew if it would be on time or when it may show up.

Once you put cooperation up on the top of the list for qualification, this can be minimized going forward.

Oh, yeah - NEVER argue with a tenant. It makes them believe they are getting to you & have control. Only state the facts, professionally in writing, then follow through.

If rent is due on the 1st, any day after that, it is late. In NC I can't charge a late fee until after the 5th. It just means that if you are continually my problem child, I raise the rent higher than I would normally because you are annoying me.

I have a doctor who always pays right before the late fee kicks in. His rent went up $100. It would have been half that. It will probably go up $100 next year and the year after because I don't care if he stays or goes. He's the last payer. He's that problem child.

I have one that always pays on the 5th, every single month, has for 3 years. I think she thinks if an emergency comes up, she wants to have the money available, why else?

I don't know your situation, but some of our tenants throw the rent in the mail on the first (I'm assuming) and it takes the slow road to get to me. Sometimes not until after the 5th. I don't stress about it and make it an issue until it becomes an actual issue (not paying the rent), because I don't need a vacancy over the rent being a day late.

Anyway...from our friends at AI...

A landlord may only charge a late fee starting on the 5th day of the rental period and only if all of the following are true:

1ã Written lease requirement

There must be a written rental agreement that clearly states:

That late fees will be charged

The type of late fee

The amount or calculation method

The date rent is due and when late fees begin

Without this, no late fee is allowed at all. [oregon.public.law]

2ã Statutory timing rule (nonwaivable)

Even if the lease says otherwise, Oregon law overrides it:

No late fee may be charged before the 5th day

As I understand it, even in Oregon it is late if paid after the due date. You just cannot charge a late fee until the fourth day after the due date.

As I understand it, even in Oregon it is late if paid after the due date. You just cannot charge a late fee until the fourth day after the due date.

In MA rent due on the first can be considered late if not paid in full on the second and eviction for non-payment of rent can start. We can't charge a late fee until the rent is 30 days late by which time you should have already started the eviction ptocess. The late fee must be "reasonable" & written in the rental agreement.

In reality very few MA LLs actually start & follow thru with non-payment evictions this soon. We have to comply with all sorts of local & state wide rules & regulations regarding the exact wording & timing of the non-payment NTQ as well a a bunch of other paperwork. Some of this paerwork includes info on what the tenant's rights are.

Wow, so many different rules from so many different places.

Rent is due on the due date. It is late the next day. I do not have all my rents due on the first, but I do follow the rent is late the next day.

Exceptions are if the due date is a holiday or non-banking day if they drop the money off at the credit union. I do not except mailed in rents. I do have electronic transfers for a few and they get the payments in on time.

I can only charge 10% for the late fee. I tell everyone that I am not in the business of collecting late fees. If it becomes common practice I may very well non-renew them.

Have had a few that kept paying late fees so often that they forgot what their rents were. Some I moved to payday due dates to help them, and me, out.

No matter what you do I agree completely that it is not worth arguing with a tenant. Once it gets to that point it is time to start eviction proceedings.

Late fees and breach of contract are two different things. While you can't charge a late fee for the first few days, they are still in breach of contract. The question is what is allowed in this case.

In Texas we have a 3 day grace period. We can, however, include a clause in the Lease that in essence states that repeated late payment is a serious violation of the lease and will not allow the tenant to "cure" but rather they will be required to "quit" within 3 days after x number of late payments in some set period. This in essence allows the landlord to evict if the tenant continually pays late.