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New York rent late fee law

What your landlord is allowed to charge when rent is late, how soon they can charge it, and what to do about a fee the law doesn't allow.

Maximum late fee

Lesser of $50 or 5%

Grace period

5 days

The cap

Under N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 238-a; RPAPL § 702, New York caps residential late fees at $50 or 5% of the monthly rent, whichever is LESS — one of the strictest caps in the country, enacted in the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act. (Housing co-ops may charge shareholder-tenants up to 8% of the monthly maintenance fee if the proprietary lease provides for it.)

When the fee can start

No late fee may be demanded unless the rent has gone unpaid for more than five days after its due date. The cap and grace period apply regardless of what the lease says — lease provisions waiving them are void as against public policy. In rent-stabilized units, a late-fee clause must appear in the initial vacancy lease and cannot be newly added at renewal.

If you've been charged an illegal fee

An illegal late fee is unenforceable, and a landlord cannot pursue late fees in an eviction case at all: RPAPL § 702 limits residential summary proceedings to rent only, no matter what the lease says. Rent-stabilized tenants can also challenge unlawful fees through DHCR.

Local rules that matter

New York City — rent-stabilized units

The same $50-or-5% cap applies, with extra rules: the late-fee clause must be in the initial vacancy lease, the 5% is computed on the rent actually charged (a preferential rent, if you pay one), fees never become part of the legal rent, and "pay on time or lose your preferential rent" schemes are not allowed.

DHCR Fact Sheet #44

Recent changes

In October 2025, New York added rules for bounced-check fees (RPL § 238-a(2-a)): they must be provided for in the lease and are capped by reference to General Obligations Law § 5-328. The late-fee cap itself is unchanged since 2019.

Charged a fee the law doesn't allow?

Answer a few questions and get a formal demand letter citing N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 238-a; RPAPL § 702 and exactly which rule your landlord broke — free to generate and download. We can also send it by USPS Certified Mail for you, with the delivery record that holds up in court.

Dispute my late fee

Did your landlord also keep your security deposit?

New York landlords have 14 days to return your deposit after you move out — and real penalties apply when they don't. Generate a formal demand letter citing N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108, and we can send it certified mail for you.

Demand my deposit back

Common questions

Is there a limit on late fees for rent in New York?
Yes. Under N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 238-a; RPAPL § 702, New York caps residential late fees at $50 or 5% of the monthly rent, whichever is LESS — one of the strictest caps in the country, enacted in the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act. (Housing co-ops may charge shareholder-tenants up to 8% of the monthly maintenance fee if the proprietary lease provides for it.)
Can my landlord charge a late fee the day rent is due in New York?
No. No late fee may be demanded unless the rent has gone unpaid for more than five days after its due date.
What can I do if my landlord charged an illegal late fee in New York?
An illegal late fee is unenforceable, and a landlord cannot pursue late fees in an eviction case at all: RPAPL § 702 limits residential summary proceedings to rent only, no matter what the lease says. Rent-stabilized tenants can also challenge unlawful fees through DHCR.

Other New York tenant rights

Landlords who get one of these wrong often get another wrong too.

New York security deposit lawHow long your landlord has to return it, and what they owe if they don't.New York landlord entry lawsHow much notice your landlord owes you before letting themselves in.

Late fee laws in other states

These rules change at the state line. Every page is checked against that state's own published statute.

How this page was checked

  • Read from the source. Every deadline, cap and penalty here was taken from the legislature's published text — the statute, session law or administrative code itself.
  • No legal-information websites. Commercial summaries were used only to find a provision, never as authority for it. An automated check fails our build if any state we serve cites a secondary source.
  • Locked against drift. The verified figures are pinned by regression tests, so a later edit cannot quietly change a deadline or a penalty.
  • Last verified August 14, 2026. Laws change — confirm the current text before relying on it.

General information, not legal advice. We are not a law firm.

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