District of Columbia: Late Rent Fee Limits

Requirements one by one

The cap is 5% of the full rent you owe

Section 42-3505.31(a) limits a late fee to "no more than 5% of the full amount
of rent due by a tenant." On $1,000 rent, the maximum late fee is $50. The base
is the full rent the tenant is responsible for, not just the part left unpaid.

Where a subsidy program pays part of the rent, only the tenant's share counts.
For a voucher tenant who owes $300 of a $1,000 rent, 5% of $300 is $15, and the
subsidy provider's $700 share cannot be pulled into the calculation
(§ 42-3505.31(c)(5)).

Rent must be more than five days late

Under § 42-3505.31(b)(2), a landlord may charge the fee only after the tenant
has failed to pay within five days of the due date — or after a longer grace
period if the lease provides one. If rent is due on the first, the earliest a
late fee can attach is the sixth.

The lease must state the maximum fee

The fee is allowed only if the written lease "informs the tenant of the maximum
amount of the late fee that may be charged" (§ 42-3505.31(b)(1)). A lease that is
silent on the maximum does not support a late fee.

One fee per late payment, no interest, no rolling it forward

Section 42-3505.31(c) bars a landlord from charging interest on a late fee,
deducting a late fee from a later rent payment, or imposing more than one late
fee on the same late payment. So a single missed payment can carry at most one
5% fee, and the landlord cannot manufacture a second fee by treating part of next
month's rent as payment of the old fee.

What trips people up

A landlord cannot evict you just for an unpaid late fee. Section
42-3505.31(c)(4) prohibits eviction "on the basis of the nonpayment of a late
fee." The late fee is collected separately from rent, and refusing to pay it is
not, by itself, a ground for eviction.

An unlawful fee is not collectible through the deposit. After the grace
period, a landlord may invoice a "lawfully imposed" late fee, payable within 30
days, and if it goes unpaid may take it from the security deposit at the end of
the tenancy (§ 42-3505.31(d)). But that route reaches only a lawfully imposed
fee. A fee that exceeds 5%, was never disclosed in the lease, was charged before
the grace period ended, or was calculated on a subsidy share is not lawful, and
cannot be invoiced or deducted from the deposit.

Common questions

My lease says the late fee is 10%. Is that enforceable? No. The maximum is
5% of the full rent you owe; a 10% fee exceeds the statutory cap.

Can the landlord charge a late fee every day rent is unpaid? No. Only one
late fee may be imposed on a given late payment, and interest and compounding are
prohibited (§ 42-3505.31(c)(1), (3)).

The housing authority paid its share late — can I be charged a late fee for
that? No. A late fee may not be imposed on the portion of rent a subsidy
provider is responsible for (§ 42-3505.31(c)(5)).

Statutes and sources

• D.C. Code § 42-3505.31 — the 5% cap, the five-day grace period, the written-
  lease disclosure requirement, the one-fee/no-interest/no-carryforward limits,
  the subsidy-share carve-out, the no-eviction-for-a-late-fee rule, and the
  invoice-and-deposit collection route for a lawfully imposed fee.

  (a) Pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, a housing provider may charge
  a late fee of no more than 5% of the full amount of rent due by a tenant. (b)
  A housing provider may only charge a late fee: (1) If the written lease
  agreement ... informs the tenant of the maximum amount of the late fee ...;
  and (2) If the tenant has not paid the full amount of rent within 5 days, or
  any longer grace period that may be provided in the lease, after the day the
  rent payment is due. (c) A housing provider shall not: (1) Charge interest on
  a late fee; (2) Deduct any amount of a late fee from a subsequent rent
  payment; (3) Impose a late fee more than one time on each late payment; (4)
  Evict a tenant on the basis of the nonpayment of a late fee; or (5) Impose a
  late fee on a tenant for the late payment or nonpayment of any portion of the
  rent for which a rent subsidy provider, rather that the tenant, is responsible
  for paying. (d) After the grace period ... a housing provider may issue a
  tenant an invoice to be paid within 30 days ... for any lawfully imposed late
  fees. If the tenant does not pay the late fee within the 30-day period, the
  housing provider may deduct from a tenant's security deposit, at the end of
  the tenancy, any unpaid, lawfully imposed late fees ...

Official source: https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/42-3505.31 (accessed 2026-07-20)