Laws Governing Rent Due Dates, Late Rent, and Increases

In the article on how much a landlord can charge for rent, I mentioned that some states have lows that govern the date rent is due, how it can be paid, how to treat late rent, and rent increases.

Rent Due Date

In general, rent is paid in advance and paid monthly on the first day of the month. There is often no “grace period” involved and the landlord can, if they want to, opt to terminate the lease if rent is a single day late. Some states have laws governing grace periods but there is no federal law. Also, a grace period could be worked into the lease if the landlord feels especially forgiving. Remember, landlords like renting out property and they like on-time payment. They aren’t going to terminate your lease because you forgot one day, unless it’s systemic and it becomes a problem they feel won’t fix itself.

Late Rent Payment

I mentioned earlier that one day late could mean lease termination (though this rarely happens), but one day late could also mean fees. There are laws governing late payment fees and they vary from state to state. Review the state laws to see what the limit is though chances are your landlord has it right (trust, but verify!).

Rent Increases

If you have a lease, the landlord can’t change it without your consent (you probably wouldn’t consent to a rent increase!). On rental agreements, which refresh every 30 days, the landlord can increase it with written notice within 30 days. This usually means that you get one period under the “old” rate and then the new rate kicks in. If they notify you mid-way through a rental period, you get that period plus one more period. They can increase it by however they want though.