Paid a notary $75 to fix a typo that was costing me $2,400

My landlord's lease had a line where the late fee was written as "$50 per day" instead of "$5 per day," and I signed it without reading closely back in March. After two late payments, he tried to tack on $2,400 and I panicked until a paralegal friend pointed out that a fee that high could count as an illegal penalty in my state. I paid a notary $75 to stamp a written notice disputing the charge, and the landlord dropped it down to $150 within a week. Turns out most lease penalties over a certain amount are just unenforceable scare tactics, but nobody tells renters that. Has anyone here fought a late fee like this and won, or did your landlord just ignore the notice?

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brooket4317h ago

Did the notary actually explain why a stamped notice carries weight? Because the real trick here is that most states treat late fees as "liquidated damages," meaning the landlord has to prove he actually lost that money, and a $50/day fee looks nothing like real damages in front of a judge or a housing board. You basically called his bluff with paperwork, which is way cheaper than court and way more effective than just asking nicely.

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