Does late fee continue to accrue until late fee is paid?

[Nicole Wood]

Hello,

So i stupidly broke rule #1 and rented to my sister. It's been nothing but a battle with her since day one!!! She has paid her rent late every month...this month she still hasn't paid it all and the last day to pay is the 5th. Late fee is 10$ per day after the 5th....so she is up to 100$ as of today....she says she's bringing me the other 300$ that she owes on rent on thursday...but she can't pay the late fee...so my question is does the late fee continue to accrue until she's paid the total WITH the late fee or do I have to stop it accruing as of wednesday if she pays thursday?

Unfortunately her being my sister I also know that in august/beginning of september she went on 2 vacations out of state, the state fair, a concert and the county fair...so she is NOT struggling financially she is just putting rent as her LAST priority! This is very frustrating.

I plan on evicting her ASAP however, I was unexpectedly taken out of work at the end of july due to pregnancy and had the baby 2.5 weeks ago...my disability got messed up as well!! and still isn't fixed, plus my husband had to take some time off to help me out and he hasn't gotten his pay for that either so we aren't in position as of yet to do that!!! 

I know how many mistakes I have made here so no judgement please just advice and answer to the late fee question! Thank you!

[Jeff Copeland]

The answer is clear: Whatever the lease says. Period.

[Ray Harrell]

The answer is, check your local laws. Here in Chicago you can't make any fees part of the rent, so no matter how long they take to pay it, as long as they pay rent, they are current.

Ideally I'd like to add fees to rent, so when they pay only the rent, it's considered late, and you can add more fees. Check your local laws...they supersede any lease language.

[Anthony Wick]

Are your parents around? Call them and tell on her. No, seriously. Maybe your parents will opt to keep the family peace and pay her rent, and help her move someplace else. 

Anyway, my state laws say the max a landlord can charge for late fees. So, $20 a day here, up to $100 a month. And that's what my lease says. And, any money paid goes to late fees first, and rent second. So, if they're late one month, but just pay the rent each month, they will always accrue that $100 each and every month, because their full rent will never be paid on time. 

[Irina Belkofer]

Don't file eviction on your sister - just talk her into moving because you have to pay mortgage etc.

Family is more important than money, that's why it's a bad idea. Now it's done and you do your best.

Don't rash into anything quickly in such an emotional time - you'll regret later.

[Shane H.]

It is pretty clear you wrote this while emotions were running high and it shows. I am not judging, as i would offer the same advice if this was a non-relative tenant. I'd recommend taking a step back from the situation, look at it from a 10k foot view and wait until you can approach this with a clear mind and heart. Usually i'd say stick to the lease, be consistent, and be firm. That being said, I agree with @Irina Belkofer in that it is not worth the money to have an eviction between you and a family member. Let the technicalities on the late fees go, find the best middle ground solution for both of you, and offer her a bonus to find a new place as you'd rather salvage your relationship and it isn't worth having this come between you two.

Chalk the loss of fees and possible rent for a move out bonus as a relatively inexpensive lesson learned about renting to family/friends.