Rent Late Fees

[David P.]

I have heard different opinions regarding late fees. My properties are in the Denver Metro area, and the currently renting for $1150 per month and I charge $20 day late fee stated in the lease. Is this fair and reasonable for a 3/2 duplex? I have not found any written laws in this regards but doesn't mean there are not any; all advice welcomed.

[Patrick L.]

Originally posted by @George P.:

i think you can charge anything you want. if the renters dont like it, they should be on time

That is terrible advice without knowing what the state and local laws are in a specific area you could be advising someone to do something illegal. You can't just impose whatever fees you want and hope they're legal. That's like if you were a day late on your mortgage payment and got a ntoice that there's a $100k fee for that and you called up and they said "if you don't like it, you shouldn't have been late.....please pay today or we're going to foreclose on your house." There are often laws that specifically cover these fees and if not only fees found to be "reasonable" will be upheld by a court of law.