I live in maywood, nj (bergen cty). When rent is late, my land lord charges $50 if it is not paid by the 5th of the month, and then again if it is not paid by the 20th of the month. Is this legal?
I collect Social Security Disability and receive rental assistance (not Section 8), & my landlord is aware, & there is no mention of the 5-business-day grace period in my lease. The only relevant answers I've been able to find to this question refer to the 5-business-day grace period, (N.J.S.A. 2A: 42-6.1 and 6.3), & not to multiple late fee charges. And yes, the late fee charges are referred to in the lease as additional rent.

We recently had a similar question. In that thread the question was whether a daily fee of $25 was legal. The answer there was Yes. So a late fee as you describe would also be legal.

I'm assuming this fee is in your lease.

If this fee is written in, yes. I don't see the issue of you being on social security as part of the issue. In general on direct deposit, the money is in your bank on the 1st day of the month, so on the first you should be able to be in and pay. Thus not being late.
Or you should have got caught up and paid ahead so when you get a check on the first of this month, it will pay your next months rent. Really how you do it, is not your landlords problem, you having the rent paid on time is your problem to figure out how to

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ScottGem

We recently had a similar question. In that thread the question was whether a daily fee of $25 was legal. The answer there was Yes. So a late fee as you describe would also be legal.

I'm assuming this fee is in your lease.

---

@ScottGem - while I'm obviously not happy with the answer, thank you, because it is helpful to get others input. Further research & discussion has also indicated these fees are negotiable, (as is almost anything), so I should be able to come to a reasonable agreement with my landlord regarding this issue.

I also read the post to which you referred above, & the correct cite for late fees is in nj is: Cite: N.J.S.A. 2A: 42-6.1 and 6.3. This refers not only to the grace period, but also to whom it applies, (which in my situation, includes me), but it is also what triggered my question, as there is no mention of multiple late fees.

You might also want to check out this site:
LSNJLAW - E: Chapter 4: Leases

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Fr_Chuck

If this fee is written in, yes. I don't see the issue of you being on social security as part of the issue. In general on direct deposit, the money is in your bank on the 1st day of the month, so on the first you should be able to be in and pay. Thus not being late.
Or you should have got caught up and paid ahead so when you get a check on the first of this month, it will pay your next months rent. Really how you do it, is not your landlords problem, you having the rent paid on time is your problem to figure out how to

---

@Fr_Chuck - My social security disability status is part of the issue, because the law requiring 'five business days grace' applies to those with disability status, but makes no mention of multiple late fees, which was part of my question, along with the fact that my lease states 'paid by the fifth of the month,' and not, for example, 'within 5 business days of the 1st of the month.' The majority of your "answer" is not only irrelevant & inaccurate, it's outright insulting.

I do not appreciate being spoken to as if I were a child. Besides the fact that direct deposit DOES NOT provide on the 1st of the month, but rather the third for me, I am fully capable of managing my finances. I would happily continue paying my rent with the previous month's check, as I have until now, so that it is not only not late, but rather early, & I need not concern myself with the grace period, which happens to be built into my standard lease here because the rent check must be mailed out of state. It is only now, after 3 years living here, that I even had to recognize the application of late fees because, not only am I supporting my 2-person household fully, but also I recently have incurred hundreds of dollars in monthly medical bills that have tightened my financial flexibility severely. Your answer implied that I’m too stupid to understand a basic budget, & was not only unhelpful, but also inaccurate, being that my current disability status IS also my landlord's problem, by law.
Cite: N.J.S.A. 2A: 42-6.1 and 6.3.