What late fees can a landlord charge in Louisiana?

Verified July 9, 2026 All Louisiana topics →

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

HB 292 (2026 Reg. Sess.) — Act No. 63 — Amends R.S. 9:3251(A) to extend the itemized-statement window: from August 1, 2026 the lessor may forward the itemization 'within one month after the date the tenancy terminates or within fifteen days after the date that is one month after the tenancy terminates' — effectively one month plus 15 days for the itemized statement. The one-month deadline to return the deposit itself is unchanged, as are R.S. 9:3252-3254. Carry-forward: after 2026-08-01, fold this into security_deposits (itemization_rules / return_deadline_conditions) and re-verify the consolidated statute page on legis.la.gov.Status: Enacted — signed by the Governor May 11, 2026 (House 87-3, Senate 35-0); effective August 1, 2026; not yet reflected on the legis.la.gov consolidated statute page as of the check date (checked 2026-07-09).

Louisiana has no statute capping residential late fees and no mandatory grace period — a late fee is enforceable only if the lease provides for it, and the amount is policed solely by the Civil Code's stipulated-damages rule, under which a court may not touch the fee unless it is so manifestly unreasonable as to be contrary to public policy.

The Attorney General's guide puts it plainly: late fees cannot be charged unless provided for in the lease agreement (or agreed orally under an oral lease), the law sets no specific amount, and unreasonably high fees can be contested. Note that Louisiana's civilian standard is more landlord-protective than most states' penalty doctrine — the court's power to reduce a stipulated fee is the exception, not the rule — but a fee can be cut down in proportion to any partial performance by the tenant.

Louisiana 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	No statute addresses daily late fees; like any late charge they are creatures of the lease, enforceable as stipulated damages unless manifestly unreasonable (C.C. art. 2012), and reducible in proportion to partial performance (art. 2011).
Reasonableness standard	Louisiana's civilian stipulated-damages regime, not common-law penalty doctrine: parties may stipulate damages for nonperformance or delay (C.C. art. 2005), and 'stipulated damages may not be modified by the court unless they are so manifestly unreasonable as to be contrary to public policy' (art. 2012). The Attorney General's guide states the official position: 'The law sets no specific amount for late fees; however, unreasonably high fees can be contested.'

Notes and caveats

statutory_cap and grace_period_days null: no late-fee statute exists anywhere in Title 9 or the Civil Code lease title. must_be_in_lease true per the AG guide and by definition under art. 2005 (a stipulated-damages clause must be stipulated). MYTH TO DEBUNK: AI-generated landlord sites circulate '5-10% of monthly rent is presumptively reasonable' and 'fees over 15% have been struck down' as if legal benchmarks — no such percentages exist in any statute, and the sites cite no cases; the only standard is art. 2012's 'manifestly unreasonable' test. Do not render any percentage as law. Civil-law framing matters: describe late fees as stipulated damages (secondary obligation, art. 2005), not liquidated damages.

Statute citations

La. Civ. Code art. 2005 Official source
La. Civ. Code art. 2012 Official source
La. AG, 'A Guide to Louisiana Landlord & Tenant Laws' (late fees must be provided for in the lease; no specific amount set by law) Non-Payment of Rent Official source

How this record was verified: Direct read of statute text on the official Louisiana Legislature site (legis.la.gov Law.aspx section pages) for La. R.S. 9:3251-3254 and 9:3258 and Civil Code arts. 2005, 2011, 2012, 2680-2683, 2693, 2695, 2727, and 2728, with every load-bearing section independently re-read on a second host (codes.findlaw.com; law.justia.com blocked fetches with 403). Enrolled text of 2026 Act No. 63 (HB 292) read in full from the legislature's document server, plus the bill-status page confirming signature 5/11/2026 and 8/1/2026 effective date. Cross-checked against the Louisiana Attorney General's official guide 'A Guide to Louisiana Landlord & Tenant Laws' (La. DOJ Consumer Protection Section), noting that the guide's deposit-penalty figure ($200/actual damages) is stale — superseded by Acts 2018, No. 416. 2026 regular session swept for other relevant bills; none found beyond Act 63.