Late fee limits are set by each state, not federal law. Only 17 of the 51 U.S. jurisdictions (50 states plus Washington, D.C.) cap late fees by statute; in the remaining 34 they simply must be reasonable and written into the lease. 13 states also require a grace period before any late fee can be charged.
Last updated · Verified against each state's official statute publisher
Every state name links to that state's full tenant-rights guide. Each row shows the statutory cap, grace period, lease requirement, and the exact statute.
| State | Statutory cap | Grace period | Must be in lease | Statute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | No statutory cap — must be reasonable | No mandatory grace period | Required | Ala. Code § 35-9A-161 |
| Alaska | No statutory cap — must be reasonable | No mandatory grace period | Required | Alaska Stat. § 34.03.020 (no late-fee provision in AS 34.03) |
| American Samoa | No specific statutory cap — must be reasonable | No mandatory grace period | Required | American Samoa Code Ann. tit. 37 |
| Arizona | No statutory cap — must be reasonable and stated in lease | No mandatory grace period | Required | Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 33-1368 |
| Arkansas | No statutory cap — must be reasonable | No mandatory grace period | Required | Ark. Code § 18-17-401 |
| California | No statutory cap — must be a reasonable estimate of costs from late payment | No mandatory grace period (many leases include 3-5 day grace period voluntarily) | Required | Cal. Civ. Code § 1671 |
| Colorado | Statutory cap$50 or 5% of past due rent, whichever is greater | 7-day grace period7-day grace period required before late fee can be charged | Required | Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-105 |
| Connecticut | Statutory capLesser of $5/day (max $50 total) or 5% of overdue rent | 9-day grace period9-day grace period required by law | Required | Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-15a |
| Delaware | Statutory cap5% of monthly rent | 5-day grace period5-day grace period required | Required | Del. Code tit. 25, § 5501(d) |
| District of Columbia | Statutory cap5% of the full amount of rent due | 5-day grace period5-day grace period required by law | Required | D.C. Code § 42-3505.31 |
| Florida | No statutory cap — must be reasonable | No mandatory grace period | Required | Fla. Stat. § 83.46 |
| Georgia | No statutory cap — must be reasonable | No mandatory grace period | Required | O.C.G.A. § 44-7-2 |
| Guam | No specific statutory cap — must be reasonable | No mandatory grace period | Required | 21 Guam Code Ann. § 42101 et seq. |
| Hawaii | Statutory cap8% of the amount of rent due | No mandatory grace period (many leases include one voluntarily) | Required | Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-21 |
| Idaho | No statutory cap — must be reasonable | No mandatory grace period | Required | Idaho Code § 55-305 |
| Illinois | No statutory cap — must be reasonable (Chicago RLTO 5-12-140(h): $10/month for the first $500 of monthly rent plus 5% per month of any amount above $500) | No statewide grace period; Chicago requires 5-day grace period under RLTO | Required | 765 ILCS 705/5 |
| Indiana | No statutory cap — must be reasonable | No mandatory grace period | Required | Ind. Code § 32-31-3-9 |
| Iowa | Statutory capRent ≤$700: $12/day max $60 total. Rent >$700: $20/day max $100 total | No mandatory grace period but fee schedule is capped per day | Required | Iowa Code § 562A.9(4) |
| Kansas | No statutory cap — must be reasonable | No mandatory grace period | Required | Kan. Stat. § 58-2545 |
| Kentucky | No statutory cap — must be reasonable | No mandatory grace period | Required | Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.565 |
| Louisiana | No statutory cap — must be reasonable | No mandatory grace period | Required | La. Civ. Code Art. 2703 |
| Maine | Statutory cap4% of monthly rent | 15-day grace period15-day grace period required | Required | Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, § 6028 |
| Maryland | Statutory cap5% of the unpaid rent due for the delinquent rental period (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-208(d)(3), as amended by HB 273 (2025), eff. Oct 1, 2025) | GRACE PERIOD: No statewide statutory grace period under RP 8-208 - Maryland law does not require any number of days to pass before a late fee may be charged. A lease may specify a grace period, and some counties impose one by local ordinance (Montgomery Co: 10 days, Prince George's Co: 5 days) - note these where applicable, but the ABSENCE of a grace period is NOT a violation. Do NOT flag a late fee as a violation merely because no grace period was given. | Required | Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-208(d)(3) |
| Massachusetts | No statutory cap — but effectively cannot charge late fees until rent is 30 days overdue | 30-day grace period30-day grace period required for all residential tenancies | Required | Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 186, § 15B |
| Michigan | No statutory cap — must be reasonable | No mandatory grace period | Required | MCL § 554.634 |
| Minnesota | Statutory cap8% of overdue rent amount | No mandatory grace period (but some local ordinances may apply) | Required | Minn. Stat. § 504B.177 |
| Mississippi | No statutory cap — must be reasonable | No mandatory grace period | Required | Miss. Code § 89-8-19 |
| Missouri | No statutory cap — must be reasonable | No mandatory grace period | Required | Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.060 |
| Montana | No statutory cap — must be reasonable | No mandatory grace period | Required | Mont. Code Ann. § 70-24-201 |
| Nebraska | No statutory cap — must be reasonable | No mandatory grace period | Required | Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1414 |
| Nevada | Statutory cap5% of periodic rent | 3-day grace period3-day grace period — late fee cannot be charged before the 4th day | Required | NRS 118A.210(4) |
| New Hampshire | No statutory cap — late fees must be set in the rental agreement and may not be unconscionable or punitive (general reasonableness standard) | No statutory grace period required | Required | RSA chapter 540 (no specific late-fee statute) |
| New Jersey | No statutory cap — must be reasonable (courts have used 5-6% as a benchmark) | No general statutory grace period; a 5-business-day grace period is required by statute only for senior citizens receiving Social Security Old Age/Railroad Retirement/other governmental pensions in lieu of Social Security, and for recipients of SSDI, SSI, or Work First NJ benefits (N.J.S.A. 2A:42-6.1 & 2A:42-6.3). | Required | N.J. Stat. § 2A:42-6.1 |
| New Mexico | Statutory cap5% of monthly rent per rental period in default | No mandatory grace period | Required | N.M. Stat. § 47-8-15(D) |
| New York | Statutory cap$50 or 5% of monthly rent, whichever is less | 5-day grace period5-day grace period required by law | Required | N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 238-a |
| North Carolina | Statutory cap$15 or 5% of monthly rent, whichever is greater | 5-day grace period5-day grace period — fee cannot be charged until rent is 5+ days late | Required | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-46 |
| North Dakota | No statutory cap — must be reasonable | No mandatory grace period | Required | N.D. Cent. Code ch. 47-16 (general residential); § 47-10-28(11) (mobile home parks) |
| Northern Mariana Islands | No specific statutory cap — must be reasonable | No mandatory grace period | Required | 2 CMC § 4901 et seq. |
| Ohio | No statutory cap — must be reasonable | No mandatory grace period | Required | Ohio Rev. Code § 5321.04 |
| Oklahoma | No statutory cap — must be reasonable | No mandatory grace period | Required | Okla. Stat. tit. 41, § 109 |
| Oregon | Reasonable flat fee (the customary amount charged in that rental market — no percentage cap); OR a per-day charge not exceeding 6% of that flat fee, beginning on the 5th day; OR 5% of the periodic rent charged once for each succeeding 5-day period (can cumulate above 5% of monthly rent). No late charge until the 5th day of the rental period. | 4-day grace period4-day grace period — fee cannot be charged until the 5th day after due date | Required | Or. Rev. Stat. § 90.260 |
| Pennsylvania | No statutory cap — must be reasonable | No mandatory grace period | Required | 68 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 250.501 |
| Puerto Rico | No specific statutory cap — governed by Código Civil de Puerto Rico | No mandatory grace period | Required | Código Civil de Puerto Rico, Art. 1168 et seq. |
| Rhode Island | No statutory cap — must be reasonable | No statutory late-fee grace period. The 15-day period in § 34-18-35 bars an eviction demand until rent is 15 days in arrears — it does not bar a late fee. | Required | R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-15 |
| South Carolina | No statutory cap — must be reasonable | No mandatory grace period | Required | S.C. Code § 27-40-310 |
| South Dakota | No statutory cap — must be reasonable | No mandatory grace period | Required | SDCL § 43-32-12 |
| Tennessee | Statutory cap10% of the rent amount that is past due | 5-day grace period5-day grace period required — fee cannot be charged until 6th day after due date | Required | Tenn. Code § 66-28-201(d) |
| Texas | Statutory capStructure with 4 or fewer dwelling units: max 12% of monthly rent. Structure with more than 4 dwelling units: max 10% of monthly rent. Daily charges permitted if total stays within the cap. | 2-day grace periodRent must be unpaid for 2 full days after the due date before a late fee can be charged (§ 92.019). | Required | Tex. Prop. Code § 92.019 |
| US Virgin Islands | No specific statutory cap — must be reasonable | No mandatory grace period | Required | 28 V.I.C. § 781 et seq. |
| Utah | Statutory capGreater of 10% of periodic rent or $75 | No mandatory grace period | Required | Utah Code § 57-22-4(5) |
| Vermont | No statutory cap — must be reasonable | No mandatory grace period | Required | Vt. Stat. tit. 9, § 4455 |
| Virginia | Statutory capLesser of 10% of periodic rent or 10% of remaining balance due | No statutory grace period. § 55.1-1204(E) caps the late fee at 10% but does not mandate a grace period; the 5th-of-month default in § 55.1-1204(C) applies only to tenancies with no written rental agreement. | Required | Va. Code § 55.1-1204(E) |
| Washington | No statutory cap — must be reasonable | 5-day grace period5-day grace period required — RCW 59.18.170 prohibits charging a late fee for rent paid within 5 days after its due date | Required | Wash. Rev. Code § 59.18.170 |
| West Virginia | No statutory cap — must be reasonable | No mandatory grace period | Required | W. Va. Code § 37-6A-1 et seq. |
| Wisconsin | No statutory cap — $20 or 20% of rent (whichever is greater) is deemed reasonable per ATCP 134 | No mandatory statewide grace period — ATCP 134.09(8) does not require one; late fees are governed by the rental agreement (some municipalities, e.g. Madison, impose local grace-period/cap rules) | Required | Wis. Stat. § 704.44; ATCP 134.09(8) |
| Wyoming | No statutory cap — must be reasonable | No mandatory grace period | Required | Wyo. Stat. §§ 1-21-1201 through 1-21-1211 (no late-fee provision) |
A “Statutory cap” means the state sets a legal maximum in the cited statute; the rest require only that the fee be reasonable and written into the lease. “No mandatory grace period” means the state sets no fixed number of days, so the lease governs. Local ordinances can add stricter caps or grace periods. Verified July 2, 2026 against each state's official statute publisher.
Only 17 of the 51 jurisdictions in the table cap residential late fees by statute — commonly a percentage of the rent (often 5%) or a set dollar amount, whichever the law specifies. In the other 34, there is no statutory ceiling: the fee simply has to be a reasonable estimate of the landlord's costs, and courts can strike down fees that function as a penalty. Whichever applies, the fee must be written into your lease to be enforceable. The exact rule for your state appears in the "Statutory cap" column.
A grace period is the number of days rent can be late before a fee can be charged at all. 13 states set a mandatory grace period by statute — ranging from a few days to 30 days in the most protective states — while the rest leave it to the lease. A grace period is separate from a cap: a state can require one without capping the fee, or cap the fee without requiring a grace period. The "Grace period" column lists each state's rule.
Even where no statute sets a number, a late fee is only enforceable if it is written into the rental agreement and is not punitive. Fees far above the landlord's actual costs — often anything beyond roughly 5–10% of the rent — are frequently challenged as unlawful penalties. In capped states, any fee above the statutory limit is void for the excess. Local ordinances can add stricter caps or grace periods on top of state law, so always check your city's rules too.
It depends on the state. Only 17 of the 51 U.S. jurisdictions (50 states plus Washington, D.C.) set a statutory maximum — usually a percentage of the rent or a fixed dollar amount. In the other 34 there is no statutory cap, and the fee only has to be reasonable and stated in the lease. Find your state in the table for its exact limit.
17 jurisdictions cap residential late fees by statute: Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia. Each sets its own limit — some use a percentage of the rent, others a dollar figure or a per-day schedule. See the "Statutory cap" column for the precise rule and statute in each of these states.
In 13 states, yes — statute requires a set number of days to pass before any late fee can be charged, ranging from a few days to 30 days in the most protective states. Everywhere else there is no mandatory statewide grace period, so the lease governs. Check the "Grace period" column for your state, and note that some cities add their own grace-period rules.
Yes. Across every state, a late fee is only enforceable if it is written into the rental agreement — a landlord cannot invent one after the fact. Beyond that, the fee must be reasonable (or within the statutory cap where one exists). The "Must be in lease" column confirms this requirement applies in your state.
No. There is no federal statute setting late fee limits or grace periods for residential rent — these are governed entirely by state (and sometimes city) law, which is why they vary so widely across the 51 jurisdictions in the table. Federal law only enters through general protections like the Fair Housing Act and the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.
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