Late Fee Laws by State
A 50-state comparison for residential rentals. Every figure in this table comes from a statute verification pass against official state sources — each row shows its own verified date, and each state links to the full rules with citations. 13 of 50 states are verified so far; the rest are marked "verification pending" and are being added in batches rather than filled with unverified secondhand numbers.
| State | Statutory cap | Grace period | Must be in lease | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Verification pending | |||
| Alaska | Verification pending | |||
| Arizona | Verification pending | |||
| Arkansas | Verification pending | |||
| California verified 2026-07-07 | No statutory cap | None mandated | Yes | Full rules & citations |
| Colorado | Verification pending | |||
| Connecticut | Verification pending | |||
| Delaware | Verification pending | |||
| Florida verified 2026-07-08 | No statutory cap | None mandated | Yes | Full rules & citations |
| Georgia verified 2026-07-08 | No statutory cap | None mandated | Yes | Full rules & citations |
| Hawaii | Verification pending | |||
| Idaho | Verification pending | |||
| Illinois verified 2026-07-08 | No statutory cap | None mandated | Yes | Full rules & citations |
| Indiana | Verification pending | |||
| Iowa | Verification pending | |||
| Kansas | Verification pending | |||
| Kentucky | Verification pending | |||
| Louisiana | Verification pending | |||
| Maine | Verification pending | |||
| Maryland | Verification pending | |||
| Massachusetts verified 2026-07-08 | No statutory cap | 30 days | Yes | Full rules & citations |
| Michigan verified 2026-07-07 | No statutory cap | None mandated | Yes | Full rules & citations |
| Minnesota | Verification pending | |||
| Mississippi | Verification pending | |||
| Missouri | Verification pending | |||
| Montana | Verification pending | |||
| Nebraska | Verification pending | |||
| Nevada | Verification pending | |||
| New Hampshire | Verification pending | |||
| New Jersey verified 2026-07-08 | No statutory cap | None mandated | Yes | Full rules & citations |
| New Mexico | Verification pending | |||
| New York verified 2026-07-08 | $50 or 5% of the monthly rent, whichever is less | 5 days | Yes | Full rules & citations |
| North Carolina verified 2026-07-08 | $15 or 5% of the monthly rent, whichever is greater (monthly rent); $4 or 5% of the weekly rent, whichever is greater (weekly rent) | 5 days | Yes | Full rules & citations |
| North Dakota | Verification pending | |||
| Ohio verified 2026-07-08 | No statutory cap | None mandated | Yes | Full rules & citations |
| Oklahoma | Verification pending | |||
| Oregon | Verification pending | |||
| Pennsylvania verified 2026-07-08 | No statutory cap | None mandated | Yes | Full rules & citations |
| Rhode Island | Verification pending | |||
| South Carolina | Verification pending | |||
| South Dakota | Verification pending | |||
| Tennessee | Verification pending | |||
| Texas verified 2026-07-07 | Safe harbor: a late fee is presumptively reasonable up to 12% of monthly rent (structure with 4 or fewer units) or 10% (more than 4 units); higher fees are lawful only if justified as uncertain damages from late payment (§ 92.019(a-1)). Initial + daily fees combine into a single fee for the cap. | 2 days | Yes | Full rules & citations |
| Utah | Verification pending | |||
| Vermont | Verification pending | |||
| Virginia | Verification pending | |||
| Washington verified 2026-07-08 | No statutory cap | 5 days | Yes | Full rules & citations |
| West Virginia | Verification pending | |||
| Wisconsin | Verification pending | |||
| Wyoming | Verification pending | |||
Greyed states have not yet completed statute verification and are being added in batches — see methodology. No figure appears here unless it was verified against official state sources on the date shown.