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Re: Tenant refuses to pay late fee - Landlord Forum thread 359086

Re: Tenant refuses to pay late fee by Tom on February 20, 2019 @13:53

                              
I'm pretty sure Garry is wrong about this. I don't specifically know Iowa laws but consider this: If you can't evict for not paying late fees, why would you be allowed to convert rent money into late fee money and then evict for being short on rent money?

In my jurisdiction, the LL can't use rent to cover fees. So if they owe a $60 fee for February, you could give them notice that they owe $800 rent + $60 fee, not $860 rent. And if they paid $800, you can't penalize them for nonpayment - no additional late fee and no cause for eviction.

Check your laws. You too Garry.
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Re: Tenant refuses to pay late fee by Garry on February 20, 2019 @14:54 [ Reply ]
Tom, unless you are a LL in Iowa, and have done several evictions in the past 5 years, PLEASE do not try to second guess our eviction laws, or me. I belong to a local LL group which teaches about all things Landlording. We have a judge and an attorney come to speak to our group once a year, every year----been doing that for over 20 years now. We ask a TON of questions about our LL/T laws, and our eviction laws. In fact, our local judges will even send a LL that loses their case in court, TO OUR GROUP, because we know the laws, and how to do things CORRECTLY. Our judges WILL NOT ALLOW A LL TO EVICT anybody, IF the late fees are included with the rent on the FE+D papers. A T may admit to the judge that they owe both the rent and late fees, but if a LL includes the late fees, the FE+D will be dismissed , and the LL will need to refile all over again, minus the late fee amount.

You are right, Tom, that we should be able to include late fees with the unpaid rent, but the Iowa laws say we can't, so we just learn the laws, follow them, and then teach them to our LL group members. That's why how to handle late fees, should be in the lease from day 1. If they're not, a LL must notify a T in writing, by cert and reg mail, of the way the late fees will be handled in the future.
    Re: Tenant refuses to pay late fee by Tom on February 20, 2019 @15:08 [ Reply ]
    No need to yell. I didn't second guess the laws. I said to check them. As for you, yes, I second guess everything you say. I've been on this forum for years and find that you're in error quite a lot, and often state your opinions as if they are fact or law, misleading the innocent person you're responding to.

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