Renting and lease...What is the correct interpretation of the lease?

[Zeze]

The lease reads:

"...each monthly payment to be due in advance on the 1st day of each month....The subtenant must pay a late charge of $50 for each payment that is more than five (5) days late."

I mailed the rent in, postmarked before the late period. Landlord claims she got it on 8th (today), therefore we have to pay the late fee. I don't suspect she's lying, USPS got it there late.

We're arguing over the word 'due' in the language.

Landlord: My interpretation of the word 'due' means the check in my hand, so you pay the late fee.

Tenant: That's an unclear language. I can mail it 3 months earlier and a shady LL can still claim he/she received it late and charge us ("I never had it in my hand"). There is no auditing mechanism aside from the postmark date. My postmark date is well before the late fee incurring date.

Long story short, we're basically fighting over this, thanks to stupid USPS. Going forward we'll set up certified mail or wire the money. But as of NOW and what's happened- we're debating if the late fee is justified or not.

 

[purbeast0]

i'd say it is on you. it sucks, but it not getting there on time isn't her responsibility, it's yours.

i'd just eat the cost if you want to keep living there and have a good relationship, otherwise try to fight it a bit more and see if she caves.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

What state are you in?

Serious question and relevant to your inquiry.

 

[LegendKiller]

Due means Due. You have to have it there the day it is due, no later.

Quit trying to be a wannabe lawyer, pay for $50 like a man, and move on.

Also, don't blame the USPS. You should always assume it takes *at least* 3 business days to get mail there. If the 1st falls on a Sunday assume that it won't get there till the 2nd, so you need to have mailed it on Tuesday to get there by Friday.

 

[Zeze]

Due means Due. You have to have it there the day it is due, no later.

Quit trying to be a wannabe lawyer, pay for $50 like a man, and move on.

Also, don't blame the USPS. You should always assume it takes *at least* 3 business days to get mail there. If the 1st falls on a Sunday assume that it won't get there till the 2nd, so you need to have mailed it on Tuesday to get there by Friday.

Yea I'm already ramping up to just pay and move on. But this particular case does bother me.

 

[LegendKiller]

Yea I'm already ramping up to just pay and move on. But this particular case does bother me.

Crap happens. It's not worth the time.

 

[SolMiester]

Im still trying to fathom why anyone would send a chq\money order in the post\courier?....do you guys not have electronic banking over there?, what sort of 1st world country are you?

2c...LOL

 

[nace186]

You could always send in earlier, and write the date on the check to be couple days after the month.

 

[Brainonska511]

You could always send in earlier, and write the date on the check to be couple days after the month.

Post-dating a check does nothing. Banks can and will still cash them.

 

[twinrider1]

Ultimately I think she is entitled to the late fee. But if this is the first time you've been late, it is an opportunity to negotiate a one-time exception. She isn't obligated, but if she wouldn't budge I'd be one PITA tenant until my lease was up.

 

[MongGrel]

Due means Due. You have to have it there the day it is due, no later.

Quit trying to be a wannabe lawyer, pay for $50 like a man, and move on.

Also, don't blame the USPS. You should always assume it takes *at least* 3 business days to get mail there. If the 1st falls on a Sunday assume that it won't get there till the 2nd, so you need to have mailed it on Tuesday to get there by Friday.

+1

 

[SSSnail]

People still write checks? Mine is sent and can be received the instant after I click "Send".

 

[SolMiester]

Post-dating a check does nothing. Banks can and will still cash them.

Post dated chq presented before the date is not a valid transaction, and can be reversed by request of the payee!

 

[DaveSimmons]

I had a credit card payment arrive a few days late thanks to the post office taking over a week to deliver.

I asked Chase nicely to remove the late fee based on my payment history (on time for many years) and surprisingly they agreed.

But it sounds like your landlady isn't as nice as a faceless multinational corporation, and though I'm no lawyer with bills it's usually your loss if they fail to arrive on time.

 

[Colt45]

As long as it's postmarked a with a reasonable time to get there, i think fuck them.

 

[BoomerD]

Post dated chq presented before the date is not a valid transaction, and can be reversed by request of the payee!

Maybe there...here, banks ignore the date on checks all the time. Post-dating a check means nothing.

As long as it's postmarked a with a reasonable time to get there, i think fuck them.

Good luck with that...and happy evictions!

 

[Leros]

I ran into this problem a few years back. You have to have your rent in their hands by the 5th of the month. Doesn't matter how it gets there. If USPS takes 3 weeks, that's not their problem and you're going to get fined.

 

[Colt45]

Good luck with that...and happy evictions!

Good luck evicting someone for being a week late on rent, once.

 

[Dari]

Due means Due. You have to have it there the day it is due, no later.

Quit trying to be a wannabe lawyer, pay for $50 like a man, and move on.

Also, don't blame the USPS. You should always assume it takes *at least* 3 business days to get mail there. If the 1st falls on a Sunday assume that it won't get there till the 2nd, so you need to have mailed it on Tuesday to get there by Friday.

OP has no control once he sends something. It can be the USPS or the bank. I once used to do an automatic payment for a rental place via the bank and the management company still claimed they got it weeks later. I had it setup so that it was sent on the first (late fee is incurred after the 10th). This was a check directly from the bank. Once, they claimed they got it on the 18th. Fuck 'em. Even if the penalty was a $1 I would've fought them tooth and nail because I did my part and I had no interest in investigating what happened with my bank and the management company and paying a penalty because of what others claimed or did (or did not do). They backed down when I told them just what I thought of their claim. Fuck 'em all.

 

[Dari]

I ran into this problem a few years back. You have to have your rent in their hands by the 5th of the month. Doesn't matter how it gets there. If USPS takes 3 weeks, that's not their problem and you're going to get fined.

Then it's he said/she said. If they're willing to start bad blood against a paying tenant over something so trivial then that's their choice.

 

[Rakehellion]

i'd say it is on you. it sucks, but it not getting there on time isn't her responsibility, it's yours.

This. If something's going to be late, you hand deliver it or opt for next-day air.

Tenant: That's an unclear language. I can mail it 3 months earlier and a shady LL can still claim he/she received it late and charge us ("I never had it in my hand"). There is no auditing mechanism aside from the postmark date. My postmark date is well before the late fee incurring date.

If the landlord is a shady swindler, then you get next day mail or use a check or credit card that can be tracked. Tenant can be a shady swindler who makes up excuses too. You know it could have been late, so it's the tenant's fault.

Long story short, we're basically fighting over this, thanks to stupid USPS. Going forward we'll set up certified mail or wire the money. But as of NOW and what's happened- we're debating if the late fee is justified or not.

The late fee is justified, but he could give you a pass since it's the first time.

 

[Jeeebus]

What state are you in?

Serious question and relevant to your inquiry.

The only relevant response so far.

 

[boomerang]

The only relevant response so far.

Yup. And the OP chose not to answer. Maybe the OP is not aware that Sho'Nuff is an attorney. I'll take free legal advice any time I can get it.

Anyway, the lesson to be learned is not to trust the Post Office for any correspondence that has importance. That's a lesson I learned 40 years ago.

 

[jaedaliu]

Bank of America will send a check for me. If it shows up late and I get hit with a penalty, they'll reimburse me if I provide proper documentation.

And for Sho'Nuff, I believe ZeZe lives in New York.

 

[Rakehellion]

Bank of America will send a check for me. If it shows up late and I get hit with a penalty, they'll reimburse me if I provide proper documentation.

Ah yes, I used this service for a while. Real convenient since I don't have a checkbook, let alone a book of stamps.