Rent Reeve — Rent increases and rent collection rules | rentreeve.com
A late fee is lawful only after the grace period and only up to its cap; a deposit is returnable unless deductions are itemized on time.
Rent is due on the day named in the lease. A grace period of about five days is customary, but it protects the tenant only if the lease states it — without that clause the rent is late on day 1, and any fee the lease lawfully allows can be charged at once.
Where a state regulates the late fee, it commonly caps the charge at 5-10% of the monthly rent or requires the fee to reflect the landlord's actual damages rather than punish. On a $1,500 unit that band is $75-$150; a lease that names a higher figure where a cap applies is exposed to dispute.
Security deposits carry their own ceilings. Where a state sets a cap it commonly runs one to two months' rent, several states fix the ceiling at exactly one month, and others set no limit at all — the lawful maximum is a local question, like the rent cap itself.
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At move-out, the deposit is returnable by default. Deductions must be listed in an itemized statement typically due within 14 to 30 days after the tenancy ends, and charges not itemized inside that window are generally forfeited — the deadline, not the damage, is what most often decides the dispute.
If rent goes unpaid entirely, collection runs on paper too: most jurisdictions require a written rent demand giving 3 to 14 days to pay before a notice to quit can be served, with the exact range varying by state. Filing without the demand is the defect that gets cases dismissed.
These money rules sit downstream of a valid increase — see Rent Increase Limits: Who Caps What for the ceiling and Giving Notice of a Rent Increase for the day count that makes the new rent collectable in the first place.
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