Late Rent Fee Limits in Connecticut

At a glance

Requirements one by one

The cap uses the lower of two calculations

Section 47a-15a(b) limits the charge to the lesser of:

• $5 per day, with an absolute $50 ceiling; or
• 5% of the delinquent rent payment.

For example, 5% of a $600 delinquent payment is $30. Even if the dollar-side calculation has reached its $50 ceiling, the lower $30 percentage figure is the maximum. On a $1,200 delinquent payment, 5% is $60, so the dollar-side amount still controls and can never exceed $50.

The grace period depends on the payment interval

The current statute gives a tenant nine days after rent is due, or four days after it is due for a one-week tenancy. It defines those periods as the "grace period," and a fee may be assessed only on a payment made after that period.

If the landlord's online rental-payment system prevented timely payment, the applicable period extends five additional days. The January 1, 2026 amendment adds an important limit: that extension applies only to the affected week or month, not every later payment.

The agreement must be written

The fee is not available merely because rent was late. Section 47a-15a(b) requires "a valid written agreement to pay a late charge." An oral tenancy can still be a rental agreement under Connecticut law, but this particular charge needs a valid written term.

One charge, and a tenant-share rule for subsidized rent

The landlord may not assess more than one late charge on a delinquent payment, "regardless of how long the rent remains unpaid." The $5-per-day language is one side of the amount formula; it does not authorize a second assessment on the same missed payment.

Where a government or charitable entity pays some of the rent, the 5% calculation uses only the tenant's share of the delinquent payment.

What trips people up

A landlord-caused portal failure changes the clock. The extra five days apply only if the landlord's online rental-payment system actually prevented payment when due. The extension is confined to the week or month in which that happened.

A lease cannot replace the grace period with an “early-payment discount.” Section 47a-4(a)(8) bars both a late charge before the statutory grace period ends and a clause that recasts the ordinary rent as a higher amount unless paid before that period expires.

The utility rule applies to new and renewed agreements from October 1, 2026. P.A. 26-113 § 1 added § 47a-4(a)(11), barring a term that charges the tenant for utilities without a separate meter measuring service delivered exclusively to that unit. The act leaves the late-fee cap in clauses (8) and (9) unchanged.

Common questions

Can a landlord charge the fee if the lease says nothing about it? No. The statute requires a valid written agreement to pay the late charge.

What if part of my rent is paid by a housing program or charity? The 5% side of the cap is calculated from your share of the delinquent rent payment, not the portion paid by the government or charity.

What happens to a lease term that charges too early or above the cap? Section 47a-4(b) makes a prohibited term unenforceable. These sections do not add a late-fee-specific damages multiplier or attorney-fee award.

Statutes and sources

• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-15a(a)-(b), as amended by Nov. Sp. Sess. P.A. 25-1 § 38 — grace periods, the landlord-online-system extension, valid written agreement, amount cap, tenant-share rule, and one-charge limit.

  (a) If rent is unpaid when due and the tenant fails to pay rent within nine days thereafter or, in the case of a one-week tenancy, within four days thereafter ... such nine-day or four-day time period shall be extended an additional five days if a landlord's online rental payment system prevents the payment of rent when due. Any extension of such time periods shall apply only for the week or month, as applicable, when such rental payment system prevents the payment of rent when due. ... (b) If a rental agreement contains a valid written agreement to pay a late charge ... Such late charge may not exceed the lesser of (1) five dollars per day, up to a maximum of fifty dollars, or (2) five per cent of the delinquent rent payment or ... five per cent of the tenant's share of the delinquent rent payment. The landlord may not assess more than one late charge upon a delinquent rent payment, regardless of how long the rent remains unpaid.

Official source: https://www.cga.ct.gov/2025/act/pa/pdf/2025PA-00001-R00HB-08002SS1-PA.pdf (accessed 2026-10-02) - Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-4(a)(8)-(10), (b) — clauses charging too early or above the cap are prohibited and unenforceable.

(a) A rental agreement shall not provide that the tenant: ... (8) agrees to pay a late charge prior to the expiration of the grace period set forth in section 47a-15a ... (9) agrees to pay a late charge ... in an amount exceeding the amounts set forth in section 47a-15a; or (10) agrees to pay a heat or utilities surcharge if heat or utilities is included in the rental agreement. (b) A provision prohibited by subsection (a) of this section included in a rental agreement is unenforceable.

Official source: https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_830.htm#sec_47a-4 (accessed 2026-10-02) - Conn. P.A. 26-113 § 1 — operative utility-meter clause for agreements entered into or renewed from October 1, 2026; it does not alter the late-fee clauses.

Section 47a-4 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026, and applicable to rental agreements entered into or renewed on or after said date): ... (11) agrees to pay for utilities billed to the tenant if no separate meter is used to measure utilities delivered exclusively to such tenant's dwelling unit.

Official source: https://www.cga.ct.gov/2026/act/Pa/pdf/2026PA-00113-R00SB-00335-PA.PDF (accessed 2026-10-02)