‘Rogue’ landlord sparks feud with renter over ‘insane’ late fee for bizarre reason: ‘So petty’

A ‘rogue’ landlord has sparked outrage for charging a tenant an ‘insane’ fee after receiving her rent money one day late. 

Property owner Martin sent a blunt text message to the renter, notifying her that a £25 ($A50) ‘late fee’ had been applied for overdue rent. 

‘Rent’s late. £25 ($A50) late fee applies. I’ll send the invoice,’ he texted. 

Confused, the tenant said she had already paid on the same day the rent was due.

However, the landlord insisted the payment was late.

‘I received it today. Rent was due yesterday. That’s late, hence the fine,’ he said. 

The tenant explained that she had been making the same payment at 3:15pm every month so the most recent rent was no different. 

‘I can show you the payment confirmation if you want,’ she continued. 

Refusing to back down, Martin said: ‘Not my problem. I go by when it hits my account.’

‘Come on Martin. You know I didn’t miss it. I paid it on the day it was due,’ the renter responded, to which the landlord replied: ‘Late is late.’

The tenant said the situation was ‘stressing’ her out so she asked if the owner could be more forgiving.  

‘It’s £25 ($A50) over bank timing. Can you please let this one go?’ she asked. 

But Martin wasn’t budging, saying: ‘If I let it go once, it happens again and again. That’s how these things start.’

She responded: ‘I’ve never paid late before. You know that.’

The landlord stood his ground, saying: ‘And I want to keep it that way. The fine is there to make sure rent isn’t late again.’

The renter tried to explain that she was never late because the payment was made the day before so the timing was out of her control.  

‘Next time, make sure it clears before the due date,’ Martin said firmly.

‘The fine stands.’

The renter then asked, ‘So you’re teaching me a lesson now?’ to which he replied: ‘I’m enforcing rules. Invoice will be sent today.’

It’s unclear what happened next between the landlord and renter but the heated text exchange was re-shared by British property strategist Jack Rooke on social media. 

‘Is this enforcing rules… or just being petty?’ Jack said, adding that he was on the tenant’s side. 

In Australia, it’s illegal for landlords or agents to charge tenants general ‘late fees’ for overdue rent. According to the NSW Government, if a tenant is frequently late paying rent, their tenancy can be ordered to end, even if they pay the amount they owe.

Jack’s video has been viewed more than 40,000 times, with many sharing they would either refuse to pay the late fee or deduct $50 from their next rent payment. 

‘This would unlock a new level of petty inside me and I would have so much fun,’ one said, laughing. 

‘I’d just laugh in his face and say no to paying it,’ another suggested. 

‘Landlord needs to get a better bank obviously,’ one shared. 

‘Here’s what you do… Don’t pay it. They can’t evict you over a £25 ($A50) fine. It isn’t going to be worth the court costs and any judge with sense will throw out the case,’ another added. 

Many slammed the landlord over his ‘illegal’ act, with one sharing: ‘He can’t just add extra charges on for something beyond her control… She paid on time – him attempting to get more money is, if I’m correct, a form of extortion.’

‘Late fees for rent are not a thing, illegal – paying rent late is also not grounds for eviction,’ another pointed out. 

‘I’d say super petty landlord but then also don’t pay it on the last day if you can avoid doing so because banks will always make it clear a transaction can take up to 48 hours to transfer,’ one added.

Meanwhile, one tenant said he can ‘relate’ to the renter after he had a ‘rogue’ landlord who tried to issue him a late fee every month.

‘At court, my case was upheld. The landlord had to pay for my barrister and hers. The total cost was £11,000 ($A21,700), including court costs,’ they said.