What are a landlord’s rights if they choose to accept late rent?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
What are a landlord’s rights if they choose to accept late rent?
If a letter from Landlord reads, “I have decided to accept your past payment under reservation of the right to proceed with the court hearing on…”. Does this mean that I still have to appear in court or that my Landlord has the option to revisit this matter at a later date if he so chooses?
Asked on July 21, 2011 Virginia
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
What the landlord's letter is trying to prevent is a future claim by you that he or she agreed to accept a different payment date for when rent is due. The landlord has accepted your late payment for past rent and does not presently view you in breach ofyour rental agreement.
However, if rent is late again under the terms of the written lease, the landlord does not want a situation where you claim that there was an agreement to change the date of rent payment owed by acts of the landlord by accepting rent payement that was late.
The landlord has the option for future late payments to deem you in breach of the written rental agreement.
Good question.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.