What late fees can a landlord charge in California?

Verified July 7, 2026 All California topics →

Check your municipality. California 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

Tenant Protection Act (AB 1482, Civ. Code § 1947.12): annual increases on covered units capped at the lesser of 5% + regional CPI or 10%, measured against the lowest rent in the prior 12 months, max two increases per 12 months, in effect through 2030. Exempt: housing with certificate of occupancy within 15 years (rolling), most single-family homes/condos not owned by corporations or REITs (exemption requires statutory written disclosure to the tenant), owner-occupied duplexes. Stricter local rent-control ordinances control where they exist.

California has no statutory dollar cap or mandatory grace period for residential late fees, but that does not make them a free-for-all: a late fee must be in the lease and is enforceable only as 'liquidated damages' — a genuine pre-estimate of what the late payment actually costs the landlord.

Fees that function as penalties are void, and courts have struck down charges in the range of 5-6% of rent where unjustified.

California late fees at a glance

Statutory cap	No statutory cap (see reasonableness standard and notes)
Mandatory grace period	None mandated statewide
Must be in the lease	Yes
Daily fees	Not specifically authorized; any fee structure must survive the liquidated-damages test.
Reasonableness standard	No statutory cap or mandated grace period. Late fees are enforceable only as valid liquidated damages under Civ. Code § 1671 — a reasonable estimate of actual damages from late payment, not a penalty. Local ordinances may impose additional limits.

Notes and caveats

Cap and grace period null: no statute sets them; §1671(d) presumes residential late-fee clauses void unless damages are impracticable to fix, placing the justification burden on the landlord.

Statute citations

Cal. Civ. Code § 1671 (d) Official source

How this record was verified: Web verification against leginfo.legislature.ca.gov (Civ. Code 1950.5, 827; AB 12 bill text) with corroborating county/city government sources (SF.gov, LA County DCBA, San Mateo County) for AB 1482 and Civ. Code 1954 operation.