When is rent late? & How to collect rent!

The lease agreement sets the terms for when rent is late. There’s a lot of variations out there, so please read the lease contract carefully. Most leases are going to have the rent set to be due on the 1st day of the month. That means January rent is “due” on January 1st. That means on January 2nd the rent is late.

Tenants should get in the habit of paying rent early, near the end of the prior month because rent is technically late after the first. The law has no “grace period”, but most leases do charge a late fee if the rent is paid after the 3rd day of the month. For example, rent is due January 1st, it’s late if not paid on the first, then a late fee will be applied to the tenant if not paid by midnight on January 3rd