Pennsylvania has no statutory cap on residential late fees and no mandated grace period. A late fee is enforceable only if the written lease provides for it and the amount is reasonable rather than a penalty under contract principles. Courts generally view fees around 5 to 10 percent of monthly rent as reasonable.
The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 (68 P.S. Sections 250.101 et seq.) sets no dollar or percentage limit on late fees and requires no grace period before one may be charged. Enforceability instead turns on ordinary contract law: a late fee must be authorized in the written lease, must be a reasonable estimate of the landlord's loss, and must not function as a punitive penalty, which courts will not enforce. There is no statutory floor on timing, so a landlord may charge the fee immediately after the due date if the lease allows. Because no statute governs, the lease language and the common-law reasonableness standard control how large a late fee can be and when it applies.
No specific statutory penalty. A late fee that is unreasonable, punitive, or not authorized by the lease is unenforceable as a penalty under contract law, and a court may decline to award it.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Erie, PA
Erie's zoning ordinance does not restrict fence materials by type, but it imposes an opacity rule near corners and driveways: a fence is only 'see-through' i...
Erie, PA
Swimming pools in Erie must comply with IRC Chapter 42 Appendix G and IBC Section 3109.4 as adopted by the PA UCC (34 Pa. Code 401-405). Barriers must be at ...
Erie, PA
Erie's Zoning Ordinance regulates fence height, location, and visibility but does not prescribe a list of allowed materials for residential fences. Specializ...
Erie, PA
Erie's Zoning Ordinance Section 204.19 allows a fence to be placed up to but not over the property line, and does not require neighbor consent. Boundary disp...
Erie, PA
The City of Erie issues a dedicated 'Fence' permit. Applications run through Code Enforcement (Room 407, City Hall) and require zoning and building-code revi...
Erie, PA
Erie does not set a fixed numeric limit on the number of dogs or cats a household may keep, relying instead on nuisance and restraint provisions; Pennsylvani...
See how Erie's late fees & grace periods rules stack up against other locations.
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