What is a “Late Fee”?
A late fee is a fee which can be charged when a duty is not completed in a timely fashion. Late fees can take a number of forms, but in all cases, in order to be legal, late fees must be disclosed at the time that the contract for the service is written. For example, if a rental agreement includes a note that a late fee will be charged when the rent is more than five days late, the landlord can legally levy that fee, but if the contract does not include a discussion of late fees, the landlord may not collect them. One of the most common types of late fee is the fee related to billing. Rent, credit card payments, utility payments, and other types of bills can all be subject to late fees if they are not paid by the date they are due. The late fee can be a flat fee, or a percentage of the total due, and it is typically based on a per-day basis, causing the fee to rise for each day that the payment is not made. Another type of late fee is a fee which is charged when rented or borrowed mate
