If I ever get sued (knock on wood), this account cannot be levied, because it isn't my money.

If the water bill goes unpaid the city levies a lien on the property that must be paid before the property can be sold or otherwise transferred.

I bought my condo. 6 months into living in it, a "Special Assessment" was levied to replace the boiler.

Here a late fee can be no more than an NSF / dishonoured payment fee levied by the landlord's financial institution ... which is ~$50.00 across the major banks.As Marcia and others have said, a flat fee is much easier to communicate to the tenants and simpler to administer.

The judgment company will determine if your tenant is judgment proof or not and if odds are good to collect they might offer you 50/50 split and pay court costs to wage garnish or levy bank accounts etc.

Yep, go to court, get a judgment, then you can garnish their wages, levy their bank accounts, put a lien on their car through the DMV - basically, anything they own.

For instance, stand in the management office and take the rent checks as they come in, too.Here is a great document that is on the CA courts website about how to go about collecting on a judgment in CA, including using the sheriff, levying bank accounts, putting a lien on their vehicles through the DMV, etc.

Plus, if you ever need to levy their bank account, you have their account info.

Interesting piece to add to this @Levi T.

@Levi Caron, Nice Job!