What late fees can a landlord charge for overdue rent?
Where rent is not paid on time, a landlord may charge a late payment fee in an amount set by the minister. The Act itself does not name a figure; the minister's figure is in Residential Tenancies Policy 07-007: $5 for the first day and $2 for each day after, to a maximum of $75 for an unbroken run of unpaid rent (one maximum for the run, not one per month: Policy 02-004 applies it "in any consecutive number of rental periods"). Rent due on the 1st is due by midnight that day, so the first late day is the 2nd (Policy 07-007). Set the fee out in the lease, and tell the tenant in writing when you charge it: in decision 26-0284-NL (2026) the tribunal allowed a late fee only from when the tenant became aware it had been assessed. Paying the overdue rent, including the fee, before the date in a notice for unpaid rent cancels that notice (s.19(2)). Separately, where a rent cheque is returned NSF, the landlord may charge the tenant the same fee the financial institution charged the landlord, and no more.
- Where this comes from
- Section 15; Residential Tenancies Policy 07-007 (and 02-004); decision 26-0284-NL, Residential Tenancies Act, 2018 (Newfoundland and Labrador)
- Last reviewed