Housing & Tenant · Rent Late Fees
Rent Late Fee Limit in New York
The most a landlord can charge you for paying rent late in New York, the grace period you may be owed, and what to do about an unfair fee, cited to the statute.
The cap and the grace period in New York
The most a late fee can be, when it can be charged, and whether it has to be in your lease.
| Maximum late fee | Real Property Law §238-a caps the late fee at the lesser of $50 or 5% of the monthly rent. On rent of $1,000 or more the 5% figure passes $50, so $50 is the ceiling. On rent below $1,000 the cap is 5% of the rent, for example $40 on rent of $800. A fee written into the lease that is higher than this cap is not enforceable for the excess. |
| Grace period | No late fee can be charged unless the rent is more than 5 days late. If rent is due on the first, a fee cannot attach until the seventh. Paying within the 5-day window means no late fee is owed at all. |
| Must be written in the lease | Yes. A late fee that is not in your signed lease generally cannot be charged. |
| Local ordinance | The §238-a cap is a statewide floor of protection that applies across New York, including New York City. Rent-stabilized and rent-controlled units follow their own additional rules through the Division of Housing and Community Renewal, but the $50 or 5% late-fee cap still applies to them. |
| How it is enforced | The cap sits in the lease law itself, so a fee above it is unenforceable. A tenant can refuse to pay the excess, raise it as a defense if the landlord sues in housing court, and report a pattern of unlawful fees to the New York Attorney General. A late fee is not a valid basis for a nonpayment eviction the way unpaid rent can be. |
| Statute | N.Y. Real Property Law §238-a(2) (added by the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act). |
What you can do right now
Concrete, neutral steps if a New York late fee looks too high or came with no grace period. This is legal information, not legal advice.
- Compare your fee to the $50 or 5% cap
Take 5% of your monthly rent and compare it to $50. The legal maximum is the smaller of the two. If your rent is $1,000 or more, the cap is $50. If it is below $1,000, the cap is 5% of the rent. Any fee above that number is over the cap.
- Confirm the rent was more than 5 days late
Check when the rent was due and when you paid or the fee was applied. A late fee is only allowed once the rent is more than 5 days past due. If you paid within 5 days of the due date, no late fee should have been charged at all.
- Dispute an over-cap fee in writing
Send the landlord a short written message stating the §238-a cap, the fee you were charged, and the maximum the law allows. Keep a copy. Because a fee above the cap is unenforceable, you can decline to pay the excess and ask that it be removed from your ledger.
- Contact the NY Attorney General or a tenant group
If the landlord keeps charging over the cap or treats an unlawful fee as unpaid rent, contact the New York Attorney General or a local tenant-rights organization for free guidance. They can help you document the pattern and understand your options.
If a late fee looks too high or was charged with no grace period, you can push back. This resource explains your rights and how to raise it.
→ New York Attorney General: Tenants’ RightsThis is general legal information, not legal advice. Read your own lease and check for a local ordinance, since either can change the fee that applies to your home.
What New York renters get wrong
New York put a firm number on late fees in 2019, when the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act added Real Property Law section 238-a. Before that, leases could set almost any late fee they wanted. Now a residential late fee cannot be more than $50 or 5% of the monthly rent, whichever of those is less, and it cannot be charged until the rent is more than 5 days late. The "whichever is less" wording does real work: on rent of $1,000 or more the cap is $50, because 5% would be higher, while on rent below $1,000 the cap is 5% of the actual rent. The 5-day grace period is automatic. A landlord cannot shorten it or skip it in the lease. If a lease sets a late fee above this cap, the excess is not enforceable, so a New York tenant is never bound to pay more than the statute allows.
Common questions
What is the maximum late fee a landlord can charge in New York?
The maximum is $50 or 5% of the monthly rent, whichever is less. On rent of $1,000 or more the cap is $50. On rent below $1,000 it is 5% of the rent, so $40 on rent of $800. This comes from Real Property Law section 238-a.
How many days late can rent be before a late fee applies in New York?
Rent has to be more than 5 days late before any late fee can be charged. If rent is due on the first, a fee cannot attach until the seventh. Paying within 5 days of the due date means no late fee is owed.
Can my New York lease set a higher late fee than $50 or 5%?
No. Real Property Law section 238-a is a statewide cap, and a lease clause that sets a higher fee is not enforceable for the amount above the cap. The fee also has to be in writing in your lease to be charged at all, but writing it in cannot push it past the legal limit.
What can I do if my landlord charges a late fee over the cap in New York?
Tell the landlord in writing that section 238-a caps the fee at the lesser of $50 or 5% of the rent, and keep a copy. Because an over-cap fee is unenforceable, you can decline to pay the excess. If it continues, contact the New York Attorney General or a tenant-rights group.
Can a landlord evict me in New York just for unpaid late fees?
A late fee is treated differently from rent. A landlord cannot use an unlawful or over-cap late fee as the basis for a nonpayment eviction the way unpaid rent can be. If a landlord tries to bundle an unlawful late fee into a nonpayment case, you can raise the cap as a defense in housing court.
Not legal advicePlainStatute provides plain-language summaries of public law for general information only. This is not legal advice. Statutes change; always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above before acting.