Arizona Late Fee Law for Landlords: What the Statute Says

Arizona's landlord and tenant statute sets no late-fee cap, grace period or formula. The one standard it gives is in A.R.S. 33-1368(B), which speaks of "a reasonable late fee set forth in a written rental agreement" when it says what a tenant must tender to reinstate a lease. Anything beyond that is not in the statute text.

Where the text mentions late fees

The phrase late fee appears only in 33-1368(B), and late charges only in 33-1377(F). Do not merge the three stages of 33-1368(B): tender before filing, payment after filing, landlord's discretion after judgment.

What a late fee needs under the text

1. It is in a written rental agreement. Both reinstatement sentences say "set forth in a written rental agreement". A.R.S. 33-1310(13) counts written, oral and implied agreements as a rental agreement, but the late-fee sentences name only the written kind. A.R.S. 33-1322(E) adds: "A written rental agreement shall have all blank spaces completed."
2. It is reasonable. The word is there; the text does not define it.
3. It is part of the reinstatement figure. Before filing the tenant must tender past due rent plus that fee; after filing, also attorney fees and court costs.

What the text does not say

• A dollar or percentage cap.
• A grace period. The notice route opens when "rent is unpaid when due". The due date is whatever the parties agreed; A.R.S. 33-1314(C) says that unless otherwise agreed, monthly rent is payable "at the beginning of each month".
• Whether a fee may be one-time, daily or recurring, how reasonable is measured, or any link to the landlord's actual cost.
• Whether the 5-day notice must state the fee. The text lists only "nonpayment and the landlord's intention to terminate the rental agreement if the rent is not paid within that period of time".
• Whether the written-purpose rule for "nonrefundable fees or deposits" in 33-1321(B) reaches late fees.

On each of these the text is silent. Ask the justice court clerk or an Arizona attorney; we do not import a limit from another state or from local custom.

Worked examples

Figures are ours, for arithmetic only. Rent is $1,400, due Thursday 1 October 2026. The signed lease sets a $60 late fee. Rent is not paid. The landlord delivers the written 5-day notice on Wednesday 7 October. Five calendar days (33-1368(G) says "days" means calendar days for that section) from 7 October is Monday 12 October. The text does not say whether the delivery day counts, so 12 October is the earliest safe date.

Blank clause: the lease reads Late fee: $____. Under 33-1322(E) blanks must be completed, and there is no figure to tender or to be stated in a judgment. An oral promise of a fee is a rental agreement term under 33-1310(13), but the text does not say what that does for reinstatement or judgment.

Do this

1. Put the late-fee amount and the day it applies in the signed written lease. Fill every blank. Give the tenant a signed copy.
2. The text gives no number. Choose one you can justify as reasonable; ask an Arizona attorney if unsure.
3. Keep a ledger: due date, payment date, fee charged.
4. Before serving the 5-day notice, work out the reinstatement figure (rent plus the lease's fee) so you can answer a tender the same day.
5. If the tenant tenders the full figure before filing, the text says the agreement "shall be reinstated"; do not file.

Common mistakes

• Relying on a text message or verbal promise for the fee.
• Leaving the fee blank or incomplete in the lease.
• Quoting a cap or grace period from another state or a blog. The statute text sets none.
• Adding charges the lease does not state to the pre-filing reinstatement figure.
• Counting 5 business days. 33-1368(G) says calendar days.
• Accepting a partial payment without a contemporaneous writing. A.R.S. 33-1371(A) keeps the right to proceed only if the tenant agrees in a contemporaneous writing, with a date on which the balance is due.
• Taking rent with knowledge of the default. 33-1371(C), subject to subsections A and B, treats acceptance of rent or any portion of it with knowledge of a default as a waiver of the right to terminate for that breach.

Checked against the text published on azleg.gov on 5 October 2026.

Sources

• A.R.S. 33-1368 — Arizona Legislature, Arizona Revised Statutes
• A.R.S. 33-1377 — Arizona Legislature, Arizona Revised Statutes
• A.R.S. 12-1178 — Arizona Legislature, Arizona Revised Statutes
• A.R.S. 33-1321 — Arizona Legislature, Arizona Revised Statutes
• A.R.S. 33-1310 — Arizona Legislature, Arizona Revised Statutes
• A.R.S. 33-1322 — Arizona Legislature, Arizona Revised Statutes
• A.R.S. 33-1314 — Arizona Legislature, Arizona Revised Statutes
• A.R.S. 33-1371 — Arizona Legislature, Arizona Revised Statutes

Related guides

• Arizona Security Deposit Return: The 14-Day Clock Explained
• Maximum Security Deposit in Arizona: 1.5 Months of Rent
• Arizona 5-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit (A.R.S. 33-1368(B))
• Arizona 10-Day Notice to Cure a Lease Violation (A.R.S. 33-1368(A))
• Arizona Eviction Process: Special Detainer Steps and Deadlines
• Can a Tenant Stop an Arizona Eviction by Paying Rent? (33-1368)
• Arizona Landlord Entry Notice Rules Under A.R.S. 33-1343
• Arizona Landlord Failed to Repair: Tenant Remedies and Deadlines
• Arizona Month-to-Month Notice and Rent Increase Rules
• Arizona Abandoned Tenant Property: Landlord Rules, A.R.S. 33-1370
• Arizona Landlord Retaliation Rules Under A.R.S. 33-1381

Informational only, not legal advice. Statute text checked against the Arizona Revised Statutes (Title 33, Chapter 10 and Title 12, Chapter 8, Article 4) as published at azleg.gov on October 5, 2026. Statutes change every legislative session and a court may read them differently than a summary does; for a dispute, an eviction or anything expensive to get wrong, talk to an Arizona landlord-tenant attorney.