How to avoid paying late fees on rent (and why paying on time could eliminate rent increases in the future).

TL:DR

Does anything hurt more than paying exorbitant late fees on top of what already feels like sky rocketed rent prices?  It may feel like the landlord is being greedy by asking you to fork over high dollar late fees for paying past your rent due date, but remember they might also be relying on your rent to pay a mortgage, taxes, or other expenses and that can’t afford to be late either.

Since you and the landlord signed a legal agreement (the lease) stating when you are required to pay each rent cycle (usually monthly), you are indeed required to pay rent on time or early each month.  Ground breaking, I know.  

However, sometimes the life-slop hits the fan and you forget to pay; either due to an extenuating circumstance or maybe you simply forgot.  In any case, here are some tips to help guard your tenancy and avoid paying late fees.

If it’s the very first time you forgot to pay rent, ask the landlord (very kindly) for some leniency and to waive the late fee since it’s your first time paying late. 

It also helps tremendously if you were late due to a *legitimate* extenuating circumstance to justify your request.  An example of a legitimate circumstance could be your spouse having a baby or an unexpected death in the family.  If it is in fact the first time you’ve been late and you’ve been a good tenant otherwise, the landlord might be willing to cut you some slack.

If you’re habitually a late payer it probs won’t work to ask for leniency and the landlord will likely scoff at your request.  Also, if you pay late on the regs due to an “extenuating circumstance” (fake excuse) these excuses will run dry real quick and the landlord will see through your manipulation.

Not all landlords will grant sympathy for your first late payment but it’s worth asking especially if you are an otherwise reliable renter.

In addition, if you pay rent late this will almost assuredly come back to bite that booty when it comes time for a lease renewal or rent increase.  When renewing a lease, the landlord always considers whether or not you were a reliable renter including reporting relevant maintenance items, taking care of the home, and paying rent on time.  If payment was a constant struggle and they had to finagle with you every month to receive rent, you could be asked to leave after your lease expires or your rent could be increased by a hefty amount.

Landlords desire to retain solid tenants who don’t cause headaches and take care of the home.  During my time as a property manager, I had countless conversations with owners about whether to renew a lease or not.  If a renter had poor payment history they would likely not renew their lease or increase the rent to make it worth the hassle.

If you’re a gucci tenant without payment issues who takes care of the home, this is something a landlord appreciates and will also consider in a positive way when looking to renew your lease.  Not only can this lead to renewing your lease, it can lessen any rent increases and encourage the owner to perform updates on the home, allow pets, and other incentives that might not be offered to a renter with payment struggles.

*A note about paying rent late: If you are legitimately struggling to pay rent due to a loss of job, loss of dual income, etc., this should be a bigger and different discussion to have with the landlord rather than being able to afford the rent but just paying late.  If this is the case, breaking your lease and moving out early and into something more affordable might be the better option (read about not being able to pay rent here).

How much do late fees typically cost?  It depends on the amount your lease agreement stipulates.  I’ve seen them range anywhere from $20-$200.  In some cases there can be a one time flat fee or there’s a fee that accrues every day that you don’t pay rent.  That adds up!

If you don’t pay rent and a few days have passed, the landlord might opt to issue you a ‘3 day notice,’ which is a legal document sent to you or posted on your door that essentially gives you 3 days to either pay rent, move out, or be forcefully moved out (eviction).   



You do NOT want to get to the point where you receive a 3 day notice because it’s a last resort effort by the landlord to collect rent and it will show as a negative mark on your tenancy even if you end up paying rent after receiving the notice.  The mere fact that it had to be sent to you becomes a negative mark.  

This matters because if you want to rent in the future and are asked for a rental reference from your current landlord, if you have a 3 day notice on your record it could affect whether or not a future landlord decides to rent to you since you couldn’t pay rent on time.  Best to pay immediately even if there’s a late fee to avoid receiving a 3 day notice.  

This is also a good rule of thumb because many landlords also charge an additional fee to send/post a 3 day notice since it requires additional time and effort on their part.  So now you have to pay two fees instead of one.  Spare yourself the cost and pay on time!

Another reason to pay rent on time (as if you needed another) is the fact that some lease agreements have clauses that could result in you being told to move out before your lease expires if you pay rent late several times.  The magic number of paying rent late is usually 3 but it depends on what’s stated in your lease.  This clause legally allows a landlord to issue you a notice to move out because you paid late too many times.  It’s expensive and time consuming moving anywhere and what a bummer it would be to move early due to something entirely preventable.  

With these repercussions in mind, how do you avoid paying rent late and pay on time each month?  Here are some suggestions:

Set up auto-pay for your rent.

Automating your bills in general including rent is the best way to avoid paying rent late.  When the manual effort to pay on a certain date is removed you can rest assured you’ll pay on time.  Just make sure you have the funds in your account!

Set an alarm or calendar reminder on your phone.

If you don’t want to go the auto-pay route, set a reoccurring monthly alert on your phone calendar or alarm app.  This way you’ll receive a reminder each month.  Just make sure to follow through and pay!  In addition, I recommend setting the reminder at least 5 days before your rent is actually due.  This way you can pay rent early, look like a boss, and avoid any last minute interferences that could cause rent to be late.  

What if rent is due on the 1st of the month and it falls on a Saturday when your bank is closed?  Or what if you’re working all day and don’t have the time to pay rent that same day?  Paying in advance and giving a few extra days of leeway will avoid late fees and last minute anxiety should you need the extra time.  Plus it gives your landlord peace mind and shows them you’re a responsible tenant.  Win win!

In some cases you will be required to foot the bill for a late fee and that’s always a sad day.  But learn from it and take the necessary steps to make sure it’s the first and last time you’re late.  

Best of luck paying your spicy rent on time!