Can your Landlord charge you a late fee if he just doesn't want to come get the check?

Question

I have the rent check sitting here waiting for him to come and get it and have told him that he can pick it up, but he wants me to bring it to him. Can he charge me a late fee if he doesn't pick it up before my 5 day window period?

Answer 1

Yes he can charge a late fee. It's not his job to come around and collect his rent. It's your job to either deliver it to him or mail it on time that it reaches him by the due date.

Answer 2

ive never heard of any landlord charging a late fee. if i were you i'd have someone check into that i'm not sure he can legally do that. and what was your agreement on how the rent got to him was it that he should pick it up or you would take it to him? if it was that he would pick it up i dont see how he can.but if you were supposed to bring it to him than yes.but i REALLY would check into the legality of him charging you a late fee.in all my life i never heard of that

Answer 3

Last place I rented, the landlord was at my doorstep the first day it was due.   But, unless he's very far from you, take it to him or get his address and mail it.

Answer 4

How about you pick up all your mail from the places that usually send it to you ?  Does anyone else pick up a check from your apartment ?

So the answer is yes, he can charge you the late fee.

Answer 5

Do you call the electric company and the phone company and tell them to come pick up their checks, too?

Paying your rent is an obligation on *YOUR* part, not on the part of the landlord. You are responsible for getting the rent to him, either in person or through the mail. If *you* don't get the rent *to him* by the date it's due, then yes, he can and should charge you a late fee.

Answer 6

Your lease would normally include the method of delivery/payment arrangement for the rent.  You should follow that method.   If the landlord has always come by in the past to pick it up, and that is your arrangement, he/she can't just change it all of a sudden.  But if you've always mailed past cheques, then you can't suddenly change the arrangement either.  You should check with your state or provincial landlord/tenant authority, and your lease, to see if it is legal to charge you a late fee.

This seems like a petty dispute...I recommend that you do what you can to keep the relationship on good terms.  You never know when you will need a favour with paying the rent a couple of days late, or a positive reference for your next landlord.

Answer 7

If I could have I would have tripple clicked the thumbs up for landlord--- use the postal service

Answer 8

You ARE kidding, right ?  It is NOT the responsibility of the landlord to come chasing you down to pick up his rents.  It is YOUR responsibility to deliver it to the landlord's place of choice, either in person or by mail.

And yes, he CAN charge you the late fee, since you are abrogating YOUR responsibilities.

Answer 9

What?  You are kidding.    He is not a mail delivery boy.

It is not his responsibility to come hunting his check down.    Bring it or mail it to him, it is your job to get it to him, not the other way around.