Rent check got lost in the mail, should I be charged a late fee?

Question

I live in Texas, and pay my rent via mail to my landlord in another part of the state. The lease states that the rent is due by the 5th of each month, and if it is late I must pay a 10% late fee. I always put the rent check in the mail a day or two before the first of the month, and it has never been late. I placed the rent in the mail on 8/31, and due to some freak thing with the mail, it did not get delivered until 9/8. The postmark shows it was mailed 8/31, but my landlord is insisting on charging me the late fee, "in order to maintain the tenant/landlord balance and honor the contract." I feel this is totally wrong and unfair; it does not honor the spirit of the contract to be punishing me for a problem I did not cause and could not have foreseen. I feel like if I had mailed it on the 4th, then yeah... ding me. But 5 days should have been plenty of time, when it usually only takes 2. Is there anything in rental law that would back me up? Or, conversely, shut me up?

Update:

The lease is ambiguous on the point of if it needs to physically be in the landlord's possession by the 5th. Either way, if it's lost in the mail, it's lost in the mail. How is that something to punish the tenant for, when that is the only payment method available?

? · Accepted Answer

The rent was late ... you owe the late fee.

There is nothing in Texas' landlord/tenant law that would prevent the landlord from charging you the late fee in this case. The landlord di not cause the delay. The landlord is enforcing a legally binding contract.

The landlord did not have your check in his hand on the 5th. The rent cannot be paid if the landlord does not physically have it in his hand. There is nothing ambiguous about that.

Expert8675309 · Answer

This is what I would do:


1.  Pay the late fee....just let this one go.

2.  In the future...make it pain for the landlord and protect yourself at the same time...send each rental payment in the future by certified mail, signature required.

Once the jackass goes to the post office a few times and has to show an ID to pick up your rent check, he'll stop being a pain.  The fee to mail it this way guarantees you will never be charged a late fee again.

He CANNOT legally refuse to accept mail in that manner.

If he calls to complain...just be super nice and say, "Mr. Landlord...I sure wouldn't want you to get your rent checks late anymore...so I figured that this way, you would be 100% sure of when I sent them since you apparantly don't trust the post mark of the United States Postal Service....now, if you would be kind enough to send me in writing that you'll allow me to deduct the late fee that I already paid from my next month's rent...we can stop all this nonsense."

PS:  In most states, a postmark is legal proof of when an item was mailed.

Anonymous · Answer

In Ca 10% will be illegal, only 6%
If the check mark shows on the 8/31 he shouldn't charge any fee
but remember we are people and we do think different

kemperk · Answer

a; how long have you been a tenant?
if more than a year, you have this one in the bag.
c; let him know that you will solve this problem IF he
waives late fees BECAUSE they are the fault of the Post
office, NOT YOU--tell him you will set up auto payments from
your bank direct to his bank!

d; if he says NO WAY, pay the late fee no matter what--
do not pay.............and just continue as you are normally
doing and see if he sends you an eviction notice.

in court, you will win.

get back to me for any more help

Trending News

Rent check got lost in the mail, should I be charged a late fee?

4 Answers