Late Rent Fee Limits in Minnesota

At a glance

Requirements one by one

The 8 percent cap and the written-agreement rule

Section 504B.177 does two things at once: it forbids a residential late fee unless the parties put it in writing, and it caps the fee that a written agreement may charge.

A landlord of a residential building may not charge a late fee if the rent is paid after the due date, unless the tenant and landlord have agreed in writing that a late fee may be imposed. The agreement must specify when the late fee will be imposed. In no case may the late fee exceed eight percent of the overdue rent payment.

Two conditions therefore have to be met before any fee is lawful. First, a written agreement must say that a late fee may be imposed and must state when it is imposed. Second, the amount may never exceed 8 percent — and the 8 percent is measured against the overdue rent payment, not the full month's rent, so a partial payment shrinks the base the fee runs on. The statute also settles a labeling question: a late fee "is not considered to be either interest or liquidated damages," so it neither counts toward an interest limit nor has to satisfy liquidated-damages doctrine.

Federally subsidized and housing-assistance tenancies

Two paragraphs adjust the rule for subsidized housing. If a federal program's statute, regulation, or handbook that permits late fees conflicts with the 8 percent rule, the landlord may instead use a late-fee schedule that complies with the federal source:

if a federal statute, regulation, or handbook permitting late fees for a tenancy subsidized under a federal program conflicts with paragraph (a), then the landlord may publish and implement a late payment fee schedule that complies with the federal statute, regulation, or handbook.

And where the landlord has a housing assistance payments contract with a government (for example, a Section 8 or Rural Development tenancy), the fee is figured only on the tenant's own share of the rent:

A late fee charged by a landlord who has entered into a housing assistance payments contract with the federal, state, or local government must be calculated and assessed only on the portion of rent payable by the tenant.

What trips people up

The 8 percent runs on the overdue amount, not the whole month. If you owe a partial balance, the cap is 8 percent of that overdue payment, not 8 percent of the full monthly rent.

No written late-fee term means no lawful late fee. The lease itself can be oral, but the late-fee agreement has to be in writing and has to say when the fee applies. Without that written term, the landlord "may not charge a late fee" at all, no matter how small.

A landlord cannot manufacture an earlier due date with a discount. The statute says the "due date" does not include a date earlier than the lease's due date that the tenant could pay by to "earn a discount." A landlord who lists an artificially early due date paired with an early-payment discount cannot use that earlier date to start the late clock.

Common questions

My lease is spoken, not written — can I still be charged a late fee? No. A late fee is lawful only if the tenant and landlord "agreed in writing that a late fee may be imposed." An oral tenancy with no written late-fee term has no lawful late fee.

Is there a set number of days before the fee kicks in? Section 504B.177 states no fixed grace period. It requires the written agreement to specify when the fee is imposed, so the timing comes from your agreement rather than from a statutory waiting period.

I get housing assistance — how is my late fee calculated? Only on your portion of the rent, not on the government's share, when the landlord has a housing assistance payments contract. If a federal program's own rules on late fees conflict with the 8 percent cap, the landlord may follow a schedule that complies with those federal rules instead.

Statutes and sources

• Minn. Stat. § 504B.177(a)–(c) — a residential late fee is barred unless agreed in writing, is capped at 8 percent of the overdue rent payment, and is neither interest nor liquidated damages; subsidized-tenancy paragraphs allow a federally compliant schedule and limit the fee to the tenant's rent share.

  (a) A landlord of a residential building may not charge a late fee if the rent is paid after the due date, unless the tenant and landlord have agreed in writing that a late fee may be imposed. The agreement must specify when the late fee will be imposed. In no case may the late fee exceed eight percent of the overdue rent payment. Any late fee charged or collected is not considered to be either interest or liquidated damages. For purposes of this paragraph, the "due date" does not include a date, earlier than the date contained in the written or oral lease by which, if the rent is paid, the tenant earns a discount. (b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), if a federal statute, regulation, or handbook permitting late fees for a tenancy subsidized under a federal program conflicts with paragraph (a), then the landlord may publish and implement a late payment fee schedule that complies with the federal statute, regulation, or handbook. (c) A late fee charged by a landlord who has entered into a housing assistance payments contract with the federal, state, or local government must be calculated and assessed only on the portion of rent payable by the tenant.

Official source: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/504B.177 (accessed 2026-07-20)