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Rent Late Fee Laws in Louisiana

Louisiana has no statute that caps residential rent late fees or requires a grace period; general Civil Code rules on stipulated damages apply to agreed damages.

Last checked . General information, not legal advice.

Louisiana at a glance

Late fee cap
No statewide cap
Under the Civil Code, a court may modify agreed (stipulated) damages only if they are manifestly unreasonable.
Cap (% of rent)
No statutory cap
Grace period
None required by statute
Any grace period comes from the lease.

Sources

Last checked

The rules in Louisiana

How much can a landlord charge as a late fee in Louisiana?

Late fee cap in Louisiana: No statewide cap. Under the Civil Code, a court may modify agreed (stipulated) damages only if they are manifestly unreasonable.

What percentage of the rent is the late fee cap in Louisiana?

Cap (% of rent) in Louisiana: No statutory cap.

How many days does a tenant have before a late fee can be charged in Louisiana?

Grace period in Louisiana: None required by statute. Any grace period comes from the lease.

Where do the Louisiana rent late fee laws come from?

The rules above come from La. Civ. Code art. 2005 and La. Civ. Code art. 2012. Each source is linked on this page. We last checked them in October 2026.

Good to know

Civil Code art. 2012 says stipulated damages may not be modified by a court unless they are so manifestly unreasonable as to be contrary to public policy.

What this means in practice

In many states, a landlord can charge a late fee only if the lease provides for it. Putting the amount, the due date, and any grace period in the lease in plain numbers helps both sides avoid disputes.

When a state counts a grace period, the details matter: whether weekends and holidays count, and whether the clock starts on the due date or the day after. Read the statute text linked on each state page rather than relying on a rounded summary.

Late fees are separate from unpaid rent. Keeping rent receipts and a record of the date each payment arrived makes it easier to check whether a fee was charged correctly and to resolve disagreements before they reach court.

General information, not legal advice. Laws change, and cities can add their own rules, so check the current statute before you rely on it.