Rhode Island sets no statutory cap on rent late fees, so the amount is governed by the lease. There is no formal late-fee grace period in the Act, but R.I. Gen. Laws Sec. 34-18-35 bars a nonpayment demand until rent is 15 days in arrears, creating an effective window before eviction can begin.
The Rhode Island Residential Landlord and Tenant Act does not fix a maximum late charge or a mandatory late-fee grace period, so a late fee is enforceable as agreed in the lease. The closest statutory protection is in R.I. Gen. Laws Sec. 34-18-35, which provides that rent must be 'due and in arrears for fifteen (15) days' before the landlord may send the written nonpayment demand that starts the eviction clock. That 15-day threshold functions as a grace period against eviction, not a cap on the late charge itself. Because no statute limits the dollar amount, courts evaluate late charges for reasonableness; a fee far above market norms can be challenged as an unenforceable penalty.
No specific statutory penalty for charging a late fee. A fee a court finds unreasonable may be treated as an unenforceable penalty, and a landlord cannot begin a nonpayment eviction until rent has been in arrears for 15 days under Sec. 34-18-35.
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