Bill
HB 990
HB 990 requires written, advance notice before collecting late rent fees, details amount and timing, keeps existing fee caps, and delivery methods; effective Oct 1, 2025.
Status & Timeline
- Introduced: April 10, 2025 (Edition 1). Passed First Reading April 14, 2025.
- Effective date: October 1, 2025. Applies to late fees imposed on or after that date.
- Statute amended: G.S. 42-46 (North Carolina landlord/tenant fee rules).
- Companion bill: SB 1309.
Purpose / Intent
- To require landlords to provide lessees (tenants) with written notice before collecting certain late rent fees, increasing transparency and giving tenants clearer advance notice of monetary penalties for late rent.
Key provisions (what the bill changes)
- Adds a new subsection (b1) to G.S. 42-46 requiring that a late fee under subsection (a) may only be collected if the landlord provides written notice to the tenant prior to collecting the fee.
- Delivery methods allowed: hand delivery, U.S. mail, or electronic means if the rental agreement authorizes electronic delivery.
- Required content of the notice:
- Inform the tenant that a late fee will be — or has been — assessed for a past-due rental payment not received by the later of:
- (i) five days after the rent due date specified in the rental agreement; or
- (ii) the number of days after the due date specified in the rental agreement for imposing a late fee (so long as that number is not less than five days).
- Specify the amount of the late fee and, if already assessed, the date it was imposed.
- Existing statutory limits and rules for late fees remain unchanged:
- Monthly rent: late fee capped at $15 or 5% of monthly rent, whichever is greater.
- Weekly rent: late fee capped at $4 or 5% of weekly rent, whichever is greater.
- A late fee may be imposed only once per late rental payment and may not be deducted from a subsequent rental payment in a way that causes that subsequent payment to be late.
Who is affected
- Tenants/lessees: gain a statutory right to advance written notice before a landlord collects a late fee, and clearer information about amount and assessment date.
- Landlords/lessors: required to provide written notice (by hand, mail, or authorized electronic means) and to document delivery; landlords who do not provide notice may be precluded from collecting the fee (enforcement mechanism is through the statute and related landlord-tenant remedies).
- Property managers and housing providers: will need to update lease forms, notice templates, and delivery/recordkeeping procedures.
Practical impact & issues to watch
- Tenant protections: strengthens transparency and gives tenants a predictable warning before additional charges are collected.
- Administrative impact on landlords: adds a procedural step (notice and recordkeeping). Landlords using electronic consent should ensure rental agreements explicitly authorize electronic delivery.
- Interpretation questions: the statute requires notice “prior to collecting the fee” yet authorizes notice that a fee “will be or has been assessed,” which could create legal ambiguity about timing (e.g., what constitutes adequate prior notice). Implementation and enforcement may require clarifying guidance or case law.
- Enforcement / remedies: the bill does not explicitly create a civil penalty for failure to provide notice; affected tenants would likely assert statutory defenses or claims under G.S. 42-46 in disputes.
Practical recommendations (for stakeholders)
- Landlords should update form leases to (a) specify whether electronic delivery is permitted and (b) adopt standardized notice procedures (timing, content, and recordkeeping).
- Tenants should review lease language about late-fee timing and electronic notices and retain copies of any notices received.
Summary
HB 990 amends North Carolina’s landlord-tenant statute (G.S. 42-46) to require written notice before a landlord may collect a late rent fee, specifies acceptable delivery methods and required notice content, preserves existing fee caps and other limitations, and takes effect October 1, 2025 (applying to late fees assessed on or after that date).
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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