Late Charges

No lease or other rental agreement shall impose any interest or penalty for failure to pay rent until thirty days after such rent shall have been due. M.G.L. c. 186, §15B.

Under Massachusetts case law, excessive charges on default may be voidable as penalties or as unconscionable. See Begelfer v Najarian, 381 Mass. 177, 182 (1980) (finding note violated G.L. c. 271, Section 49, and was unenforceable because combination of default charges and interest exceeded 20 percent per year); A-Z Servicecenter, Inc. v. Segall, 334 Mass. 672 (1956) (acceleration of total interest charges on mortgage voided as penalty); De Cordova v. Weeks, 246 Mass. 100, 105, (1923) (doubling of 18 percent interest rate following maturity voided as penalty); In re Tavares, 298 BR 195 (2003) (finding that for purposes of calculating the total amount of interest under the usury provision of G.L. c. 271, Section 49, a broker's fee and attorney's fees were required to be added to the contract interest rate). But see Manganaro Drywall, Inc. v. Penn-Simon Const. Co., 357 Mass. 653, 658 (1970) (interest on principal payable only on default not unconscionable or a penalty).