Texas Late Fees: Must Be Reasonable, 12%/10% Safe Harbor, 2-Day Grace (§ 92.019)

Tex. Prop. Code § 92.019 bars a landlord from collecting a late fee unless notice of the fee is in a written lease and "any portion of the tenant's rent has remained unpaid two full days after the date the rent was originally due." The fee must be reasonable. A late fee is deemed reasonable if it is "12 percent of the amount of rent" for a dwelling in a structure with not more than four units, or 10 percent for structures with more than four units; higher fees are allowed only if reasonable in relation to uncertain damages from the late payment. The fee may combine an initial charge and a daily charge, counted as a single late fee, and any lease provision waiving these protections is void.

A landlord who violates § 92.019 is liable to the tenant for "the sum of $100, three times the amount of the late fee collected in violation of this section, and the tenant's reasonable attorney's fees."