Does a late fee have to be written into the lease in New York?

Yes — in New York a late fee must be stated in the lease.

Can a landlord charge a daily late fee in New York?

Effectively prohibited beyond the cap: total late charges for a late payment cannot exceed the lesser of $50 or 5% of monthly rent, and disguised structures (e.g., 'discounts' for on-time payment) have been struck down as illegal late fees.

What late fees can a landlord charge in New York?

Verified July 8, 2026 All New York topics →

Check your municipality. New York does not preempt local rent regulation — city or county ordinances may impose rent caps, notice rules, and fee limits that are stricter than the state-level rules on this page and are not covered here. Verify your municipality's ordinances before relying on any figure below.

What the state record says

New York has multiple rent-regulation regimes: rent control and rent stabilization (NYC Rent Stabilization Law and the Emergency Tenant Protection Act, administered by DHCR, with annual increases set by Rent Guidelines Boards), significantly strengthened by the 2019 HSTPA. Separately, the 2024 Good Cause Eviction law (RPL Article 6-A) applies in NYC and in localities that opt in: for covered units, a rent increase above the lesser of 5% plus CPI or 10% is presumptively unreasonable and can defeat an eviction for nonpayment of the increase.

Pending legislation — not yet law. The rules on this page reflect current law only. The following bill would change it if enacted:

S4856 (2025-2026 session) — Would amend GOL 7-108(1-a)(e) to extend the security-deposit return/itemized-statement deadline from 14 days to 30 days after the tenant vacates.Status: In Senate Judiciary Committee. Referred 2025-02-13; re-referred 2026-01-07 for the second year of the 2025-2026 session (routine). Assembly same-as: A2652. Not enacted as of the checked date. (checked 2026-07-08).

New York caps residential late fees at $50 or 5% of the monthly rent, whichever is less, and no fee may be demanded unless rent remains unpaid five days after its due date — a statutory grace period that applies statewide.

Any lease provision waiving or limiting these protections is void as against public policy, and courts have struck down workarounds such as inflated rents with 'on-time discounts' as disguised late fees. Late fees also cannot be recovered as 'rent' in a summary nonpayment eviction proceeding (RPAPL 702), so they must be pursued separately. Cooperative housing corporations have a limited carve-out allowing up to 8% of the monthly maintenance fee where the proprietary lease provides for it.

New York late fees at a glance

Statutory cap	$50 or 5% of the monthly rent, whichever is less
Mandatory grace period	5 days
Must be in the lease	Yes
Daily fees	Effectively prohibited beyond the cap: total late charges for a late payment cannot exceed the lesser of $50 or 5% of monthly rent, and disguised structures (e.g., 'discounts' for on-time payment) have been struck down as illegal late fees.
Reasonableness standard	Not addressed by statute

Notes and caveats

The cap and grace period were created by the 2019 HSTPA. must_be_in_lease is true as a matter of contract law (a fee not provided for cannot be demanded), and the statutory cap applies even to fees that are in the lease. reasonableness_standard is null because the hard cap supersedes any general reasonableness analysis.

Common questions: New York late fees

Each answer is the verified value from the table above, restated as a direct answer. Free to quote with a link to this page.

Is there a legal limit on late fees in New York?: $50 or 5% of the monthly rent, whichever is less.
Is there a grace period before rent is late in New York?: 5 days.
Does a late fee have to be written into the lease in New York?: Yes — in New York a late fee must be stated in the lease.
Can a landlord charge a daily late fee in New York?: Effectively prohibited beyond the cap: total late charges for a late payment cannot exceed the lesser of $50 or 5% of monthly rent, and disguised structures (e.g., 'discounts' for on-time payment) have been struck down as illegal late fees.

Statute citations

RPL 238-a (2)-(3) Official source

How this record was verified: Direct read of statute text on the official NY Senate legislation site (nysenate.gov): GOL 7-108 (full text), GOL 7-103 (full text read 2026-07-08, session 3 — confirmed subdivision structure: (1) trust/no commingling, (2) bank notice + 1% admin fee when interest-bearing, (2-a) 6+ unit interest-bearing mandate, (3) waiver void), RPL 238-a and RPL 226-c (official-source text confirmed via nysenate.gov), cross-checked against the NY Attorney General's Residential Tenants' Rights Guide (ag.ny.gov) and NYC Rent Guidelines Board guidance.