North Carolina Late Rent Fee Laws: Limits, Grace Periods, and Penalties
What North Carolina landlords can charge when rent is late, how long they must wait, and what an illegal fee costs. Last reviewed 2026-08-16.
How much can a landlord charge in North Carolina?
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-46(a)(1) caps the late fee on monthly rent at fifteen dollars or five percent of the monthly rent, whichever is greater, so $900 rent yields a $45 ceiling and $250 rent still supports $15. Weekly rent is capped at four dollars or five percent of the weekly rent, whichever is greater. Subsection (b) permits the fee only once per late rental payment and forbids deducting a late fee from a later rent payment so as to put that payment into default. Any lease provision contrary to § 42-46 is void and unenforceable as against the public policy of the state under subsection (h)(4).
How late does rent have to be?
A late fee is chargeable only if the rental payment is five calendar days or more late, with the first day being the day after rent was due. Session Law 2024-47 added that counting rule to end disputes over whether the due date itself counted. Rent due on the first is therefore chargeable on the sixth.
Does the fee have to be in the lease?
Section 42-46(a) says the parties "may agree to" a late fee, so it must be in the rental agreement with a definite rent due date fixed. Administrative fees under subsections (e) through (g) go further and require a written lease, and a landlord cannot charge any administrative fee the statute does not expressly authorize.
What happens if you charge too much?
Under § 42-46(h)(4) any lease term contrary to the section is void, so an over-cap or early fee cannot be collected and a tenant who paid it can seek it back in small claims court. North Carolina tenants have also pursued landlords who charged unauthorized fees under the state's debt collection and unfair trade practice statutes in Chapter 75, which can carry treble damages and attorney fees.
Returned payment fees
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 25-3-506 permits a processing fee of up to thirty-five dollars for a check refused for insufficient funds or no account. The fee must still be provided for in the lease, and it is separate from and additive to the § 42-46 late fee.
Recent changes to the law
Session Law 2024-47, section 8, clarified the grace period count so that the first of the five calendar days is the day after rent was due; the General Assembly declared it a clarification of existing intent. Session Laws 2025-52 and 2025-54 rewrote the attorney fee and litigation cost provisions in § 42-46(i) retroactive to September 9, 2024. The $15-or-5% late fee cap itself was not changed.
What North Carolina landlords get wrong
North Carolina is unusually specific and the details bite. The fee is once per late payment, so a second charge for the same unpaid month is unlawful, and you cannot apply a late fee against the next month's rent to manufacture a new default. You cannot charge a late fee because the tenant failed to pay for water or sewer billed under G.S. 62-110(g). For subsidized units, the fee is computed on the tenant's share of the contract rent only, not the full contract rent including the subsidy. Separately, the statute authorizes only one of the complaint-filing, court-appearance, or second-trial administrative fees per eviction case, and claiming any other administrative fee is contrary to public policy.
The law itself
Frequently asked questions
What is the maximum late fee in North Carolina?
For monthly rent, fifteen dollars or five percent of the monthly rent, whichever is greater. On $1,200 rent that is $60; on $200 rent it is still $15. For weekly rent the cap is four dollars or five percent of the weekly rent, whichever is greater. Anything above those figures is void under G.S. 42-46.
How many days late before a late fee in North Carolina?
Five calendar days, counting the day after rent was due as day one. Rent due on the first is chargeable on the sixth. A 2024 amendment added that counting rule to the statute to settle the dispute. Weekends and holidays are included, since the statute says calendar days.
Can a North Carolina landlord charge a late fee every month rent stays unpaid?
Only one late fee per late rental payment. If March rent is never paid, you charge one fee for March, not a new one each month it stays outstanding. You also cannot deduct a late fee from a later rent payment in a way that pushes that payment into default. Both rules are in G.S. 42-46(b).
What can a North Carolina landlord charge for a bounced rent check?
Up to thirty-five dollars as a processing fee under G.S. 25-3-506, provided the lease authorizes it. That charge is separate from the late fee, so you can collect both if rent was also five or more days late. It applies to checks refused for insufficient funds or because no account existed.
Keep reading
Charging the wrong late fee can cost you more than the rent.
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