Late Rent in NYC: Five Days, Then $50 or 5% — Whichever Is Less

New York gives residential tenants five days before a late fee is legal, and it caps that fee at $50 or 5% of the monthly rent, whichever is less. A lease that says otherwise does not win.

The five days

Real Property Law § 238-a(2) says an owner may not demand a payment, fee, or charge for late rent unless the rent has not been paid within five days of the date it was due. A fee on day two is not a strict building policy. It is a charge the statute does not allow.

The five days run from the due date in the lease. If rent is due on the first, a fee cannot attach until the sixth. That is a grace period written into the law, not a courtesy the owner can remove in the fine print.

The cap

The fee itself cannot exceed fifty dollars or five percent of the monthly rent, whichever is less. On a $4,000 rent, 5% is $200, so the legal late fee is $50. On a $800 rent, 5% is $40, so the legal late fee is $40. The $50 figure is not a minimum and not a flat charge. It is the top of a "whichever is less" test.

Any lease provision that waives or limits this section is void. A clause that sets a $150 late fee, or that starts the fee on day one, does not become enforceable because you signed it.

What a late fee is not

A late fee is not rent, and paying it does not erase the underlying balance. Nonpayment can still be a reason an owner starts a case. The fee cap does not mean rent can be ignored for five days without consequence beyond the fee. It means the extra charge has a start date and a ceiling.

A bounced-check charge is a separate subdivision of the same statute. It is limited to the actual bank cost or the amount in General Obligations Law § 5-328, and it has to be in the lease. Do not let a returned-check fee get described as a second late fee.

This is a summary of the statute, not advice about a particular ledger. The text is RPL § 238-a. For an apartment at The Anthem, the leasing desk is (212) 684-3222, or schedule a tour and ask how rent is paid before you sign.