Fee for overlock?

OHS

We have a late fee on the 6th and place an overlock on the unit on day 30 as well as lock their gate code.  Month after month after month we have the same tenants who get overlock, pay up and then overlocked again.  

BusyProperties

We charge $10 late fee but I know others charge more than that. 

ESS

In your state, do you have to adhere to the schedule? We lock out at the gate on the 2nd, first late fee and overlock is $15 on the 8th, second late fee is 21st $15. 

helenatim

According to MT State Lien law:

"A late fee of $20 or 20% of the monthly rent, whichever is greater, is a reasonable fee and may not be considered a penalty."

After doing a $10 Late Fee for years, we switched to $20 a few months ago.  This has definitely got a few more customers paying on time.  Late fee and gate lockout are on the 11th.
We then overlock the unit on the 30th and add $35 charge.
On 60 days, we cut the lock and add $35 Fee. And take photos and schedule the auction which adds $100 fee.
We are currently receiving nearly $1000 per month in Late Fee revenue. And our delinquency over 30 days is under 1%. So tenants are still late, but we make more money, and they rarely go to 30 days late.
I would suggest going to $20 Late Fee if possible.

teamcapitola

The fees you can charge are usually regulated by whichever state you are in. I would check with your states Self Storage Association just to be safe.

In California late fees are covered under Ca. Business & Professions codes 21713.5 

(California Self-Service Storage Facility Act -  B&P 21700-21716 )

Jim0623

This is how we stay legal.  We are allowed 1 late fee of $20 or 20% In Ohio.  We always used to charge 2 $10 fees .. 1 on the 6th and 6th day past due.  Lawyer said this wasn’t good but we could charge them for a service that we performed.  So I simply charge 1 $10 late fee on the 6th now and one $10 “overlock fee” on the 16th.  I say in my rental agreement what it is and that it’s a $10 fee every month for us having to use our lock and check it weekly.  

This keeps you within the law. You don’t want to do just one fee. Let’s say you do a late fee of $20 on the 6th.  Your customer then has no incentive to pay you for the rest of the month.  From the 7th-30th it’s the exact same price.