Late Fees with Covid
In the state of California, specifically Los Angeles, can we charge late fees during Covid? It won't be for the deferments but lets say rent is due on the 3rd and they pay me on the 20th. Legally, can I still tackle on late fees during Covid? 

&amp;#x200B;

(No we are not being heartless, this is only for tenants who have been operational during Covid, and more business during this pandemic) 

Thank you!!
[{"id": "fv9l0f3", "text": "Most likely not. Check local dept of housing. In north CA can not evict tenants until Dec 31. Majority are requesting hardship rent reduction, or pay a partial, some do not pay at all.  To evict a tenant that requires a court approval and you are looking at earlier 2021 assuming the court will be open.", "replies": [{"id": "fv9nz1w", "text": "Residential? No, you cannot charge late fees or raise rents for a year.", "replies": [{"id": "fv9zcmy", "text": "What about commercial", "replies": [{"id": "fvainsm", "text": "Yes, you can charge them late fees, as long as that fee was spelled out in the original lease. Late fees are considered part of the rent unless spelled out otherwise. Commercial tenants have up to 12 months to pay back due rent. So if you tenant has 6 months left on their lease, and they leave, you can assume you will never see that money. So yes, you can charge late fees but it is unlikely you will see them if the tenant is not current on its rent. \n\nCAM charges, NNN fee's are not considered part of the rent, and you should collect those right away. You should be billing those charges seperatly as a good practice anyway. \n\nFor missed rent payments, you can take that from the tenants deposit. Once it is depleated, you can issue a note to the tenant that they are in breach of contract for failure to maintain a deposit. \n\nIf instead of a deposit you have a letter of credit from the tenant, you can threaten to contact the bank unless the rent is current. This is a strong motivator for the tenant, as the bank is likely to not want to issue them more money once you draw down this letter, so that can potentially kill a business and most businesses want to avoid that.", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "fv9qgc0", "text": "Not sure why these folks are answering as if you asked about residential but maybe you could clarify. By \"fully operational\" you are referring to a business tenant, correct? They are open, but they are not paying rent. \n\nI can't speak on Cali as I am in Texas, but in Texas commercial tenants have no protections beyond their lease and the law. You can charge late fees, lock out, evict, etc. just like usual. Any concessions must be contractual and are not government mandated modifications to the lease.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "fva5tk5", "text": "Pretty sure the city of LA has a moratorium on evictions including not being able to charge late fees.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]