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Dan N.
  • Investor
  • Round Rock, TX
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113
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Tenant claims late fee clause of lease is invalid

Dan N.
  • Investor
  • Round Rock, TX
Posted Feb 4 2014, 06:49

Hi BP,

This month I have had my first late rent (two tenants, actually). I sent a firm reminder email right after midnight asking if everything was OK and summarizing the lease's late fee schedule.

This morning, one tenant responded:

Just to let you know, when you changed where and how we pay our rent to direct deposit at the bank, that negated the late fee portion (Section 6) on our rent. I just took a leasing class with the head of the Texas Leasing Commission and he covered that in class. So, today, I will be depositing a check in your bank account for (rent amount without fees) and that will cover our rent in full.

Some background: A property manager put this tenant in place over 2 years ago. The lease was renewed after the original lease expired. After renewal, I decided to start managing the property myself. I gave the tenant bank direct deposit info to pay rent directly into the bank so I didn't have to deal with postage (or hopefully bounced checks). I can't find my notice where I informed them of the new payment method

I reviewed the Texas Property Code Sec. 92.019 governing late fees and I don't see anything relevant. http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/SOTWDocs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm

Can anyone suggest a reason why this might be valid? I will be asking for clarification about why the tenant thinks this and I will consult my attorney, if needed to clarify.

Thanks in advance,

Dan

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