Enter your rent and the late fee you were charged. See whether it’s within what your state allows — many late fees are higher than the law permits.
Days late = days after the due date, counting the day after rent was due as day 1.
This tool gives general information, not legal advice. It applies a grace period and cap only where we have verified the statute against the official legislature text (currently New York and North Carolina) and describes California’s verified reasonableness rule. For other states it says plainly that the rule is not verified and gives no verdict. Late-fee law can change; verify against your state’s current statute before acting.
A late fee is only enforceable if two things line up: your lease has to actually allow it, and the amount has to stay within what your state permits. Many states cap late fees at a fixed percentage of the monthly rent, require a grace period before any fee can be charged, or apply a general "reasonableness" standard that courts use to strike down fees that function as a penalty rather than a real estimate of the landlord's cost.
That is why the same $75 fee can be perfectly legal in one state and unenforceable in another. The checker above compares the fee you were charged against the rules for the state you pick, so you can see whether it is inside the typical range before you pay it or raise it with your landlord.
What this tool looks at:
In many states, yes. Some cap the fee at a percentage of monthly rent, some require a grace period, and others apply a general reasonableness standard. A fee that is not tied to a real cost and works purely as a penalty is the kind courts most often refuse to enforce. The limit depends on your state and your lease.
A grace period is a set number of days after the due date during which rent is still considered on time and no late fee can be charged. Where a grace period is required, a fee charged on day one is usually not collectible.
Generally a late fee has to be written into the lease to be enforceable. A fee that appears for the first time on a ledger or notice, with no matching lease term, is worth questioning.
You can raise it in writing with your landlord, citing the lease clause and the applicable rule, and ask for it to be corrected. Main AI can analyze the lease clause and draft that letter, but this tool is informational and is not legal advice.
This tool is general information, not legal, medical, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and change over time; verify anything important against your state’s current rules or a qualified professional.