$148 late fee for being short $36? What are your guidelines for late fees?

Sorry longish post-
Curious to know what your property (or management company) guidelines are when it comes to late fee charges , late fee charges for amounts under $100, Small Balance Notices to residents to help avoid late fee, etc.
I live at a Westdale property and I got an email saying I was $36 short ($21 for rent and $15 for utility’s and because if this I was charged $148 late fee)
From my experience (with many property management companies) we offer 1 time waived late fee & No late fee charges for amounts under $100. We send out small balance letters as a friendly reminder to the residents in case they weren’t aware - usually they are not and pay right away.
If anyone from Westdale wants to jump in please do! I’m curious to what their other properties do.

Check with your state. In our state (Minnesota) a late fee can not be more than 8% of the current monthly balance.

No flex on late fees from us. If the tenants do take it serious they will never pay on time! Rent isn't late until the 6th!

1 time waived late fee when asked. For balances under $100 I give them until the 10th (rent is late on 6th) to rectify and threaten a late fee but most are paid by then so I usually let it go. However do it again and I will refuse the rent payment.

No late fees for balances under $100 at my community.

Anyday after the 1st is late with a late change..

I thought Texas is waiving late fees until the pandemic slows down? Idk if that’s true but what i heard

They were with approved documentation but that ended

We charge a late fee on ANY dollar amount owed for RENT only. Small balance letters for any other charges. We do a one time no charge. Currently, here in WA state, we are not allowed to charge any late fees.

Dang. That's excessive. We charge $50 on day 4 and $75 on day 7 but that can't exceed 8% of the balance owed. But we also personally call our residents and it's usually just an innocent error that clears up our receivables that same day, easily.

We only charge late fees for unpaid RENT after the 3rd. We will do a one time courtesy waive. We will waive all late fees for those who are affected by Covid 19 <with documentation>.

Everyone is charged the same no matter what the unpaid late balance is...late fees apply on the 6th

Same. Fair housing.
You get 1 freebie, then you pay it. (Except right now bc everything is waived due to COVID.)

They don’t do the 1 time courtesy waive! Isn’t that ridiculous

All I can say is WOW! You are only allowed to charge a small % on water you need to read your lease as for rent that is another question and there have been several large management companies that have been sued for over charges in late fees. So did you pay your rent on time except for the 21.00?

Yes exactly. I paid the full $36 as soon as she told me.

I always give everyone a one time waiver which is not breaking in fair housing due to the fact the I give to Key Word everyone

The rent is due on the 1st on most lease agreements. Typically there are no late fees on anything under $100.

Watch out. Fair housing and accounting nightmare if you are not consistant. And remember. Residents talk.

Check your state laws-just to keep them honest. In my state they could have not charged you that much. And from a customer service standpoint that is terrible- I’d look into that policy because I take responsibility for being late and paying a late fee but that is usury.

No late fees on balances! Only on late rent. Unless your old balance was unpaid from a previous month, that would then become rent for the current month and thus be late and subject to a fee. Oldest balances get paid first ALWAYS

Does your lease show the 10% of rent late fee? (TAA) we cannot charge more than 10% of one months rent and only charge of RENT balance is over $100.