Q: my landlord told me i was gonna be served by the sheriff and then told me no messing around.
My rent is due the 1st of the month. I sent my check out and it must of gotten lost in the mail. So the landlord emailed me and said " As of yesterday, December 11, I had not received rent for the month of December 2019 which was due on December 1. Pursuant to your lease, you are now also responsible for additional rent of $50 for the month of December 2019 as your rent was not received by December 10.
Please also be aware that if rent of $950 and additional rent of $50 is not received by December 20, I will be following up with legal notice that you are in default of your lease. I hope we do not have to pursue this path.
Then messaged me on December 13 that he was giving the information to the lawyer that day.
I told him I sent the check and his response was "I suggest you cancel and send me a direct deposit soon. I have already contacted legal."
Then December 17 sent me " fyi no mail. Lawyer will be sending your notice tomorrow, copy to my work place.
is this harasment?
A: No, this is not harassment, but there are several potential issues here. One you may want to explore is, assuming this is a residential lease, the maximum late fee for rent not paid within 15 days after it is due is 4% of one month's rent. So, if your rent is $950 per month, the late fee cannot be more than $38.
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