If I own a mobile home and rent the land that it is on, can I be charge $5 a day in late fees for 2 years without my knowledge?
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If I own a mobile home and rent the land that it is on, can I be charge $5 a day in late fees for 2 years without my knowledge?
I owed $195 in late fees because of a late payment; because of 2 years of adding late fees they now say I owe them over $2000. I was only late on that 1 payment and have paid all rent payments on time since then. I was told that no more late fees would be added because I was making monthly payments on time.
Asked on January 8, 2012 under Real Estate Law, South Carolina
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
If you have been charged retroactively for late rent by your landlord without any advance warning to place you on notice by your landlord, you can be charged for late fees, but you can assert many defenses including "waiver" of this claim for late charges.
First, does your written lease contain a provision where you would be charged a late fee? If so, does the written lease state how notice is to be given and how the late fee is to be assessed? If not, then the landlord has another hurdle to overcome to validly assert that you owe late fees.
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