united-states contract-law
Can a Freelancer charge late fees if not explicitly defined in the contract?
<p>For US-Law:</p>

<p>Can a freelancer charge a client late fees for late payments if they are not explicitly drawn out in a contract? </p>

<p>For example, let's say the freelancer has a contract for an hourly rate only, and no articles related to fees. However, the client has not paid for weeks and the freelancer notifies them he will charge a late fee if not paid in n days. </p>

<p>Is this viable? Will it holdup? Or is it an ambiguous situation?</p>

<p>In the absence of a time for payment, payment is due in a reasonable time. What is reasonable depends on all the factors of the relationship including things like prior dealings, industry norms, the nature of the work etc.</p>

<p>The OP has stated in a comment that the invoices were due “immediately” - this is not reasonable for a “freelancer” arrangement. Between 7 and 60 days is more likely the bounds of “reasonable”.</p>

<p>In the absence of a contractual provision, the contractor is not entitled to late fees or interest, particularly where it is unclear what is late and what isn’t.</p>

<p>If the non-payment persisted beyond what was reasonable the contractor could sue and the court would determine a definite date on which payment was due and the judgement would create a debt. The contractor would be entitled to interest on the judgement debt because that is a statutory rather than a contractual entitlement.</p>
