Connecticut Late Rent Fee Rules

What Connecticut law says

• The report says tenants generally get a nine-day grace period under CGS 47a-15a and 47a-4(a)(8), and week-to-week tenants get four days.
• The landlord may not start eviction or charge a late fee during the grace period, and leases cannot require late fees during it.
• Late fees apply only if the lease includes them.
• Fees 'must bear a reasonable relationship to the actual damages the landlord sustains'; the report notes one court found a 5 percent of monthly rent fee reasonable and a $5 daily fee excessive.

Steps for a landlord

• Put any late fee in the written lease.
• Do not charge a fee until the grace period has passed.
• Set the fee as a modest flat amount, not a daily accruing fee.
• Treat rent mailed within the grace period as timely.

What to put in the notice

• The lease clause that allows the late fee
• The rent due date and any grace period
• The late fee amount and the total now owed
• How and where the tenant can pay
• The date and your signature

Things to watch

• The report is from 2018 and relies partly on court decisions, so confirm current law.
• The page we read does not state a fixed percentage or dollar cap.
• Cities and counties can add their own rules, including rent control and extra notice requirements. Check your local rules too.

About this page

We checked this page against the official sources listed below in November 2026. Where an official page did not say something, we say so. Laws change and courts read them differently, so confirm the current rule with the statute, the court or a local attorney before you act. This is general information, not legal advice.