What happens when you are late on your rent?

In the era of direct deposit and automatic withdrawals, many renters never give the payment of rent a second thought. However, things can happen - credit cards can expire, wires can get crossed, and you can find yourself having not paid the rent on time. So, now what?

First and foremost, don't panic! Texas law specifies a period of time after the rent was due in which the landlord cannot even assess late fees.

Here's what Section 92.019 of the Texas Property Code has to say:

(a) A landlord may not collect from a tenant a late fee for failing to pay any portion of the tenant's rent unless:

(1) notice of the fee is included in a written lease;

(2) the fee is reasonable; and

(3) any portion of the tenant's rent has remained unpaid two full days after the date the rent was originally due.

Let's briefly unpack those three elements.

First of all, a late fee cannot be assessed unless it appears as part of the lease you signed. Now, in all likelihood, the lease you signed does mention a late fee. The standard form that many apartment complexes use - The Residential Real Estate Listing Agreement (TXR 1102) - includes a section (Section 20) for the express purpose of writing in the terms of the late fee. So, don't expect to be able to argue about that first requirement.

Second, the fee must be reasonable. What makes a late fee "reasonable?" The law answers that question explicitly. If you happen to live in a duplex, triplex, or smaller property, the fee can be no more than 12%. If you live in a standard apartment complex, the fee can be no more than 10%. HOWEVER, if the landlord can prove that he or she was financially damaged beyond the amount those percentages would yield, then the fee can be higher.

Finally, you cannot get charged a late fee unless you are two full days past the due date. So, if rent is due on the 1st of the month, you won't start getting late fees on your account until the 4th.

Don't celebrate yet

Now - before you start planning to be late on your rent all the time, you need to know about one other element of the law. Specifically, you need to know when the landlord can begin to evict you. Here's the truth:

In Texas, the landlord can serve you with a Notice to Vacate or Pay Rent immediately after you miss paying your rent.

In that case, you have 3 days to pay the full balance of your rent, or the landlord can begin the process to evict you. So, even though you may win the battle with respect to a late fee, you can easily lose the war - where the war is the place you live.

Worse yet, you only get the Notice to Vacate or Pay Rent the first time. After that, it's an unconditional Notice to Vacate. With the unconditional notice, you have no choice but to move out in 3 days, or risk eviction.

In other words, you only get one time to be late and be served that notice before the landlord has the option to tell you to hit the road.

Communicate with your landlord or apartment management

The last thing to understand, though, is that all the scary stuff in the previous section is what the landlord or apartment manager can do, not what they have to do. In many cases, the owner of the property may not be too quick to pull the trigger on an eviction because it's a pain to find a new tenant.

If you have mostly been a good tenant, in that you've paid on time up to this point, you haven't caused any trouble, and you've kept the property in good order, there's a good chance that you can sort out a missed rent payment with your property owner without too much of an issue. You don't have to be a kiss-up, exactly, but it's a good idea to maintain - at the very least - cordial relations with the landlord or the people in the office.

The bottom line is that paying your rent is a human process, so there are allowances for mistakes and errors to take place. As long as you communicate, take steps to resolve it quickly, and don't make a habit of it, you'll be fine.