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153
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Michael Healy
  • Investor
  • Great Barrington, MA
39
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153
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Late rent / late fees in Massachusetts?

Michael Healy
  • Investor
  • Great Barrington, MA
Posted
Question for other Massachusetts landlords. I see that the state laws prohibit landlords from assessing a fee for late rent until 30 days after the rent was due. This seems rather ridiculous to me. But I also understand you can start eviction almost immediately. Since late fees are a key method for training tenants (endorsed by Brandon and Heather in their great book on managing rental properties)--how do you incentivize tenants without the ability to use a late fee? Let's assume it's a tenant who always pays but maybe 3-5 days late. Thanks!

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45
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24
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Nick Montville
  • Taunton, MA
24
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45
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Nick Montville
  • Taunton, MA
Replied

I'm not a lawyer, but what a lot of landlords do is list the rent at a higher price, and offer a "discount" if the rent is paid on the first. So it's essentially like a late fee if they don't pay on time.

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