Late fees and lease

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mizezdavis

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I am in IL and have a year lease which is up in Apr.
I was late with my rent in August and I just finished paying this month(Feb.)plus the $25 late fee for a total of $175.
There is a late fee in the lease of $25 if rent is paid after the fifth and $5 a day until late rent is paid.

We had a verbal agreement to pay $75 a month until the balance was paid off. He has been adding $25 every month which has tacked on almost $200 in late fees.

The kicker is that in my lease I am not supposed to pay for sewer or trash(yet he is sending me the bill), He has raised my rent(I am in a 1 year lease) and he still hasn't fixed the breaker in my apartment(I have no bathroom or kitchen lights)

My question is since I have finished paying that late month's rent plus the $25late fee, can he try to take me to court or send to collections for the excessive late fees?
If he does, do I have a good chance at winning since he has also defaulted on the lease by raising the rent and making tenants pay for sewer/trash?

I am getting my legal basis from Illinois legal aid website, which states: Second, a late charge in a written lease is illegal if it's a penalty, and not related to the actual cost to your landlord of your late rent. That cost consists of things like the interest or profit the landlord loses on your late rent payment. General contract law says that an agreed upon late fee is OK when it's hard to calculate those actual costs. But the lease's late fee must be a rough estimate of those actual costs. It can't be designed just to penalize you for being late. In legal terms, that rough estimate is called "liquidated damages."

I guess my real question is should I take him to small claims court first for the late fees or wait to see if he tries to take me to court? He would not have gotten over $200 in interest for that one late month. Maybe like $1, so it seems he is just trying to penalize me for being late.

Keep in mind, I have spent over $15,000 in 3 years with him and I had never been late before, and he gets to keep all the interest from my security depost.

Thanks to whom ever can clear this up for me!
 
A) I don't know. You began with a potential default. With regard to additional fees, I don't know what is in the lease. With regard to your penalties, that's a good point - have you raised this issue with him?

B) No - why bother going to court if you can work it out? If you say that you had a verbal agreement, send your check marked paid in full along with a letter via certified mail. I don't think anyone wants to go to court, especially over little amounts.
 
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