Arizona late fee laws for rent: reasonable, written and tied to the five-day notice
Arizona does not set a dollar or percentage cap on late fees in A.R.S. 33-1368. The statute refers only to a "reasonable late fee set forth in a written rental agreement." Unpaid rent leads to a written notice of nonpayment, and the tenant then has five days to pay before the landlord can move to end the tenancy.
What does Arizona law say about late fees?
The only place the Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act mentions a late fee in the section covering unpaid rent is A.R.S. 33-1368(B). It uses the words "late fee" and "reasonable," and it ties the fee to the written rental agreement. It does not name a percentage, a dollar amount, or a day count before the fee can start.
That leaves you with two working rules. First, the fee has to be written in the lease before the rent is late. A fee you invent later, or one you only mention by text message, is not "set forth in a written rental agreement." Second, the amount has to be reasonable. The statute does not define the word, so a modest flat fee that clearly fits the lease is the safer choice than a large or compounding one.
How does the five-day notice work?
Section 33-1368(B) says that if rent is unpaid when due and the tenant fails to pay within five days after written notice of nonpayment, the landlord can terminate the rental agreement. The notice must also state the landlord's intention to terminate if the rent is not paid within that period.
Notice that the five days start from the notice, not from the due date. A tenant who is late on the 1st has not used up any part of the five days until you actually deliver written notice. Many owners send a plain reminder first and treat the formal nonpayment notice as a separate document.
- Check the lease: is the late fee written there, with an amount?
- Wait until rent is unpaid, then deliver the written notice of nonpayment.
- State the amount of rent owed and say you intend to terminate if it is not paid within five days.
- Keep proof of how and when the notice was delivered.
What can a tenant pay to stay, and does the late fee count?
Yes, the late fee counts, but only a reasonable one that the written lease sets out. The statute lets a tenant reinstate the rental agreement by paying all past due rent and a reasonable late fee set forth in the written agreement, if payment comes before a special detainer action is filed. After filing, the tenant must also pay reasonable late fees, attorney fees and court costs.
Example a made-up Phoenix-area owner rents a unit at $1,600 a month and the lease has a $75 late fee. The tenant misses the 1st and receives the nonpayment notice on the 8th. If the tenant pays $1,675 ($1,600 plus $75) before any court filing, the tenant has paid what the statute lists. If the owner has already filed and spent $100 in court costs and $400 in attorney fees, the amount to reinstate becomes $1,600 + $75 + $100 + $400 = $2,175.
How should you set a fee that holds up?
- Write one clear amount in the lease, and say when it applies.
- Keep it proportionate to the rent. Arizona gives no safe percentage, so a number far above the cost of chasing a late payment invites a fight.
- Do not stack repeated daily charges unless your Arizona attorney has approved the wording.
- Charge it once for the same missed payment and show it as its own ledger line, apart from rent.
Keeping the fee on its own line matters in Arizona because the statute lists "past due rent" and the "late fee" as two items a tenant pays to reinstate. Blending them into one lump sum makes it harder to show later what the fee actually was.
What should you keep on file?
Keep a short paper trail for every late payment in Arizona: the lease page with the fee, the date you delivered the nonpayment notice, how you delivered it, and the ledger line showing the fee. If a tenant disputes the fee months later, those four items answer most questions without a phone call.
How DoorKeeping handles it in Arizona
DoorKeeping posts the late fee you set in your rules, shows it as its own line, and sends the tenant a reminder. Rent and payments stay in your own bank accounts. DoorKeeping never holds your money and sends a payment only when you approve it. This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm your lease wording and your notice with your own Arizona attorney.
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Questions
- Is there a maximum late fee in Arizona?
- The statute names none. A.R.S. 33-1368(B) requires only that the late fee be reasonable and set forth in a written rental agreement.
- How long does an Arizona tenant have to pay after a nonpayment notice?
- Five days after written notice of nonpayment, and the notice must state the landlord's intention to terminate if the rent is not paid in that time.
- Can an Arizona landlord charge a late fee that is not in the lease?
- No. The statute refers to a late fee set forth in a written rental agreement, so a fee that is not written in the lease has no footing under that section.