questions & answers

Question: I've been renting an apartment for % years I always questioned there late fees they use to charge 50.00 then five dallars a day after. this year they raised my rent by 30.00 and they raised the late fee by 25.00 and 10.00 a day after now the late fees are 75.00 after the 3rd and 10.00 a day after. I pay 715.00 a month for a one bed room apt. I just want to know if this late fee is legal. That over 10% of my rent in late fees. I work full time and get paid every two weeks unfortunately I have to pay late fees due to this I feel like the management is taking avantage of the tenants is this legal

Answer: Under the Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, the late fees that a landlord charges (a) must be in writing and (b) must be “reasonable” (A.R.S. 33-1338(B)). Unfortunately, there is no specific rule about what is or is not reasonable. However, you may wish to bring the new $75 + $10/day fee to the attention of your local civil legal aid organization, which, depending on where you live, is either Community Legal Services (http://clsaz.org), Southern Arizona Legal Aid, Inc. (https://www.sazlegalaid.org), or DNA-People’s Legal Services (https://dnalegalservices.org).