Can a landlord charge late fees on top of late fees with out any form of notification?

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Can a landlord charge late fees on top of late fees with out any form of notification?

My mom and dad have lived in this mobile home park for many years and there landlord has been no problem until a few months ago. My parents have been late a few times but they always manged to pay there late fees or at least they thought they always let the landlord know when they were running behind. The landlord has been understanding. Well one day my father called the landlord to let him know when he could pay his rent and the landlord told him that he owed him $2000 for past late fees. Is this legal?

Asked on March 22, 2011 under Real Estate Law, Alabama

Answers:

M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 13 years ago | Contributor

Do your parents rent the mobile home and the land or just the land?  Do they have a lease?  The lease is a contract and the contract should state in it if there are penalties for paying late (late fees) and how much they are.  State laws sometimes set a maximum amount for  late fees and reasonableness is generally the standard elsewhere.  So let's start with their lease and what it says.  You can not alter a lease orally so the conversations with the landlord mean nothing really if he wants to enforce the written lease.  I would take all your documents to an attorney to review.  If your parents qualify try legal aid.  Good luck to them.


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