Would it cause discriminatory problems if I were to charge one tenant more late fees than the other tenants. I’m thinking about this because this one tenant has a history of being late, while the other tenants are never late so no need for the bigger late fees.
Absolutely discriminatory and grounds for legal action if you do that. What’s wrong with getting the late fee every time the person is late? Are they not paying it? Are they putting up a fight?
Why charge a discriminatory extra fee on top? The late fees are in all leases and need to be the same for everyone in the park.
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Get rid of the tenant that is continually late. The reason they pay late is because you have trained them to believe it is OK to pay whenever they choose. It is always the fault of a landlords poor business practices. They are bad for business and will cost you more in the long run than fees will cover. Send them a ultimatum clearly stating that if they pay late one more time they will not have their lease renewed.
No tenant should ever be allowed to pay late more than twice. It is a landlords responsibility to properly train their tenants to always pay on time and in full.
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Probably a good question for you state MHA. It’s probably illegal but may be permissible if it’s spelled out in your lease. It has to apply to everyone equally typically for you to be safe.
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Thanks everyone. I decided to make it the same for everyone.
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This isn’t legal advice and you’re best off consulting with an attorney, but my hunch is if you set a higher late fee for anyone who’s been late x number of times in any 12 month period it might be legal. If it flies with your attorney I actually don’t think it’s a crazy idea depending on your park.
If you just decide to raise the late fee on this one tenant that’s obviously totally illegal (and rightly so)
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