My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: CA
Background: I've been in my home that is rented for 9 years. The original lease had a paragraph about late fees. It stated that if the rent is not paid within three days after it is due, a $150 late fee will be charged, along with a charge of $30 per day starting at the beginning of the month (excessive?).
My question is, I received an email from the landlord yesterday (12th of the month) stating that my check was never received, and that I owed the $150, plus $30 per day since the first of the month.
I have my carbon copy from my check book showing the check I wrote, as with every month for the last 9 years.
Am I legally responsible for the USPS losing my check? Also, when is it reasonable for the landlord to contact me to let me know that he hadn't received my rent payment? I assume that after the fourth of the month, if no payment is received, they would tell me immediately so I can rectify the situation if late fees are beginning to be charged. Is it ethical to wait until the 12th before telling me? I had no way of knowing that my check wasn't received, otherwise I would have been proactive in replacing it to reduce any unnecessary fees to be incurred. It is normal for my check to be deposited from the 10-12th of the month, so I had no idea that fees were piling up.
How can a landlord justify charging for this time, when I know there is no way that he himself is not incurring these kind of fees as a loss because of this situation.
What should I do?