Tennessee Month to Month Lease

Tennessee Late Fee Laws — Grace Periods, Caps and Illegal Fees (2026)

By Oleg Kachko · Updated September 29, 2026

✓ Law Verified September 2026

Tennessee late fee laws decide two things every renter eventually needs to know: how many days you have before a late fee can be charged, and how big that fee is allowed to be. This guide gives the Tennessee answer to both in plain English, plus what to do when a fee breaks the rules, verified against official Tennessee sources as of September 2026.

Tennessee Late Fee Laws at a Glance

Grace period before a late fee 5 days under T.C.A. § 66-28-201(d), counting the day rent is due. If day 5 falls on a Sunday or legal holiday, no late fee can be charged if rent is paid the next business day. This applies only in the 17 counties covered by URLTA (§ 66-28-102): Anderson, Blount, Bradley, Davidson, Hamilton, Knox, Madison, Maury, Montgomery, Rutherford, Sevier, Shelby, Sullivan, Sumner, Washington, Williamson and Wilson. Other counties: NONE by statute.
Cap on the late fee 10 percent of the amount of rent past due, not the full monthly rent, under T.C.A. § 66-28-201(d), in URLTA counties. The cap covers any late charge “however described.” Other counties: NO CAP by statute.
Must be in the written lease UNVERIFIED. Secondary sources say a late fee must be in the written rental agreement, and many tenants can argue no fee is owed if the lease says nothing. No statute text confirming this was found.
Per-day late fees NO RULE on per-day fees specifically. In URLTA counties all late charges, however described (including daily fees), together cannot go over 10 percent of the past-due rent and cannot start before the 5-day grace period ends.

How Much A Tennessee Landlord Can Charge

The cap: 10 percent of the amount of rent past due, not the full monthly rent, under T.C.A. § 66-28-201(d), in URLTA counties. The cap covers any late charge “however described.” Other counties: NO CAP by statute.

In URLTA counties the 10 percent cap and 5-day grace period control. In counties with no statute, secondary sources say a judge decides whether a contested late fee is reasonable, and a fee far above the landlord’s real loss may be treated as an unenforceable penalty. UNVERIFIED: no Tennessee case or official court source confirmed this.

Under the Tennessee late fee laws, the number in the lease is the starting point, not the last word. A fee that is legal in size can still be illegal in timing (charged before the grace period runs), in form (never written into the lease), or in how it is collected.

The Grace Period: When the Clock Actually Starts

Statutory grace period in Tennessee: 5 days under T.C.A. § 66-28-201(d), counting the day rent is due. If day 5 falls on a Sunday or legal holiday, no late fee can be charged if rent is paid the next business day.

This applies only in the 17 counties covered by URLTA (§ 66-28-102): Anderson, Blount, Bradley, Davidson, Hamilton, Knox, Madison, Maury, Montgomery, Rutherford, Sevier, Shelby, Sullivan, Sumner, Washington, Williamson and Wilson. Other counties: NONE by statute.

A lease can give you more time than the Tennessee late fee laws require, but never less. A fee charged inside the grace period is not owed.

Three Rules Landlords Get Wrong

Must the fee be in the lease? UNVERIFIED. Secondary sources say a late fee must be in the written rental agreement, and many tenants can argue no fee is owed if the lease says nothing. No statute text confirming this was found.

Can it come out of your deposit? YES, in general. Under T.C.A. § 66-28-301 a landlord may apply the deposit to “unpaid rent or other amounts due and owing” when the tenant moves out. The landlord cannot keep any of the deposit if it wasn’t held in the required account or no itemized damage list was given, and a late fee over the legal limit is not lawfully owed.

Can a late fee alone get you evicted? Tennessee’s nonpayment process is built around unpaid rent. Under T.C.A. § 66-28-505 the landlord must give a 14-day written notice to pay or leave. A lease waiver of that notice cannot shorten the 5-day grace period, and the waiver must be in 12-point bold type or larger.

UNVERIFIED: whether unpaid late fees alone can support an eviction; many leases call late fees “additional rent,” so check your lease and your general sessions court.

What to Do About an Illegal Late Fee in Tennessee

You may be able to pay the rent but dispute in writing any late fee charged during the 5-day grace period or above 10 percent. You can raise the illegal fee as a defense in a detainer (eviction) case or sue in general sessions court to get it back. No statutory penalty for illegal late fees was found, and free help is available from legal aid through help4tn.org.

Whatever the remedy, keep paying the rent itself on time and in full. Dispute the fee separately, in writing, citing the Tennessee late fee laws rule it breaks, and keep a copy. Landlords rarely file a case over a disputed fee; they do file over unpaid rent, so never withhold rent to protest a fee.

Do the Math Before You Pay

Take the fee in your lease and compare it to the rent. A fee of a few percent of monthly rent is the range most Tennessee courts accept as reasonable; a fee that approaches a week of rent, or one that keeps growing by the day without limit, is the kind that gets thrown out.

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Then check the date: count the days from the due date to the day the fee was charged, and set that against the grace period above.

Two numbers decide almost every late-fee dispute, the size of the fee and the day it was charged. Write both down before you call the landlord, because the Tennessee late fee laws are easiest to enforce when you can state exactly which rule was broken.

Paper Beats Memory: Protecting Yourself Going Forward

Pay rent in a way that leaves a dated record, a bank transfer, a portal receipt, a check image, so a “late” claim can be answered with a timestamp. If you know rent will be late, tell the landlord in writing before the due date; many will waive the fee once, and the message itself is evidence of good faith.

Keep every fee notice. A pattern of fees charged inside the grace period, or above the cap where Tennessee has one, is exactly the evidence a small-claims judge wants to see, and it is the evidence that turns one disputed fee into a refund of every fee you paid.

Recent changes in Tennessee: The 5-day grace period and 10 percent cap apply only in URLTA counties, which have more than 75,000 people by federal census. SB1893/HB2025 (2024), which would have required landlords to disclose fees before an application, died on April 25, 2024. No 2025-2026 change to the late-fee rules was found.

Tennessee Late Fee Laws: Quick Answers

Is there a maximum late fee in Tennessee? Yes. Under the Tennessee late fee laws, 10 percent of the amount of rent past due, not the full monthly rent, under T.C.A. § 66-28-201(d), in URLTA counties. The cap covers any late charge “however described.” Other counties: NO CAP by statute.

Can my landlord charge a late fee that is not in my lease? UNVERIFIED. Secondary sources say a late fee must be in the written rental agreement, and many tenants can argue no fee is owed if the lease says nothing. No statute text confirming this was found.

Can I be evicted for an unpaid late fee? Tennessee’s nonpayment process is built around unpaid rent. Under T.C.A. § 66-28-505 the landlord must give a 14-day written notice to pay or leave. A lease waiver of that notice cannot shorten the 5-day grace period, and the waiver must be in 12-point bold type or larger.

UNVERIFIED: whether unpaid late fees alone can support an eviction; many leases call late fees “additional rent,” so check your lease and your general sessions court.

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Official Tennessee Sources & Resources

Using the Tennessee Late Fee Laws Without Starting a War

The Tennessee late fee laws are only useful to a tenant who reads the lease first. Find the late-fee clause, check its amount and its trigger date against the rules on this page, and write down what the lease actually says before you dispute anything.

If the fee breaks the Tennessee late fee laws, say so in writing and pay the rent itself on time anyway, an illegal fee is a small-claims problem, while unpaid rent is an eviction problem. Under the Tennessee late fee laws, the renter who keeps paying rent and disputes only the fee is the one who wins.

This guide to tennessee late fee laws was last verified against official sources in September 2026. Late-fee caps are a live legislative topic in several states, re-check before relying on a figure in court.

More Tennessee Tenant Rights Guides

Disclaimer: This guide is informational only and is not legal advice. Landlord-tenant laws change and vary by city and county within a state. Verify current rules with your state, your local court, or a free legal-aid office before acting. If you are facing eviction, contact a local tenant attorney or legal-aid organization right away.

Renting? Protect your belongings — compare renters insurance at Home Insure Guide. Divorce involving a lease? See Divorce Help Guide. Unsafe housing / toxic mold injury? Some cases qualify — see Mass Tort Info.