Real Property Law Section 238-a, added by the 2019 HSTPA, caps residential late fees at $50 or 5% of the monthly rent, whichever is less, and bars any late fee until rent is more than five days overdue. Lease provisions that try to waive these limits are void.
RPL Section 238-a provides that a late fee "shall not exceed fifty dollars or five percent of the monthly rent, whichever is less." No landlord may "demand any payment, fee, or charge for the late payment of rent unless the payment of rent has not been made within five days of the date it was due," creating a mandatory five-day grace period. The statute also restricts application and background-check fees, capping the latter at $20 or actual cost. Critically, "any provision of a lease or contract waiving or limiting the provisions of this section shall be void as against public policy," so landlords cannot contract around the cap or grace period.
Late fees above the cap, or charged before the five-day grace period ends, are unenforceable; waiver clauses are void as against public policy.
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