VIC Commercial Lease - Late Fees

[rjwhyte]

Hi all,

Can a landlord arbitrarily decide to begin charging a "Late Payment Admin Fee" on a commercial lease?

Noting this is for payments maybe a few days late.

Is this a "depends what's in your lease" answer or is there some other law on the matter?

Thanks very much

 

[Rod]

Is this a "depends what's in your lease" answer

Yes.

Commercial leases are different to residential leases and the parties in commercial leases are assumed to be business people who know what they are doing.

 

[Rob Legat - SBPL]

Generally, if it’s not in the lease then you can’t charge it. However, most commercial leases do have some mechanism for extra cost for late payment.

 

[rjwhyte]

Thanks for the answers gents