Q: Landlord is charging a late fee of 1200 when our rent is only 878
Hello my landlord takes rent off for cleaning work. For the last 6 months he is supposed to clear the dept off of cozy.com this month i told we won't pay the rent till it's cleared. Now he posted a 3 day late fee of 1200 when the rent is only 878
A: It is a bit unclear what you mean that he posted a 3 day late fee notice. 72 hour notices can only be used for demanding payment of rent - and only rent, NOT including late fees, utility charges, fees, etc. Including non-rent charges in a 72 hr notice renders the notice defective and unenforceable. Further, any late fee must be disclosed ahead of time in a written rental agreement AND it must be reasonable in amount - which your's sounds like it is not. All this said, withholding rent is very dangerous and if done without careful legal help, you seriously risk eviction. So if the landlord follows through, you may want to review everything with a local landlord-tenant attorney. You may even already have claims against your landlord, including for court costs and attorney's fees.
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