Late Rent -- In MAINE

[Stephen Dee]

Good Morning, 

I have a question about late rent notices in Maine. My first lease which was drafted by a lawyer here in Maine, had a late fee after the 6th of the month. From what I've read in a few different sources. Maine has a 15 day grace period. I became aware of this after another lawyer reviewed my lease, for another issue. At this point, I have been told two different things. One said, if you write in a late fee and the tenant signs it, it will hold up. The other said, Maine has a grace period and you can't charge a late fee until the 15th. I have been lucky that I haven't run into many issues with this. But, I realize it is only a matter of time before I have a tenant that starts to abuse this grace period or I end up in court for an eviction. I want to make sure I comply with the law 100%. BUT, it makes me nervous that a tenant could read the law and push his payments to the 14th without any recourse. It seems to be a recipe for the tenant to fall farther and farther behind on rent. Does anyone have any strategies for keeping tenants paying as close to the 1st as possible without causing a legal issue due to the grace period?