Apartment complex charges tenant $75 for having an overnight guest: ' I tried calling the desk numerous times before the charge was due to dispute it'

Author image for JR Atkinson
JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Dec 4, 2025 10:00 AM EST

Nobody likes feeling controlled, especially in their own home. 

When you're in your house, it's your rules. Except, of course, that's never true. Especially when you're renting. Landlords have a way of getting into your business even when you don't want them to. It's kind of their whole thing. They would go into your home and tell you where to hang your paintings if they could. But how far is too far when it comes to landlord control? There are some things that most of us would never put up with, even if it meant having to find new housing. What about a rule that fines you every time you have an overnight guest?

That's the situation this woman found herself in when in student housing. Student housing has different rules, of course, but if you're paying rent, you should be able to do basic things with your space. But when this tenant hit a hard time and needed a friend over, she couldn't have imagined what was in store after she went home for Thanksgiving break. 

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  • Two female roommates have pizza on the floor.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • She was hit with a fee that didn't make sense, and she wasn't sure if it was legal. So she turned to the internet for advice from other renters and experts, who swooped in to explain what was going on. Read on to see what happened in this story and decide what you would have done in her shoes. 

  • Charged for... having a visitor

    SALT & LIGHT 26 STUDENT HOUSING at Crosswalk 11/26/2025 late fee on lease violation $25.00 $100.00 11/21/2025 overnight guest $75.00 $75.00 Home Payments Insurance More G
    via u/Direct-Bake1671
  • So I live at an apartment complex in Indiana. I've always paid my rent on time, I don't make a fuss or anything at the building I'm not rowdy, but I got charged $75 for having my friend over past 8 PM.
    via u/Direct-Bake1671
  • Now it says in my lease we're not allowed people overnight without checking them in, but there are never people at the front desk (they said it's "optional" for the RAs now because they don't pay them enough to care) and I didn't plan on my friend staying over, but it was right before the anniversary of my dad's death and I really needed someone (and who tf wants to go to an RA? My roommates don't understand, they've both got decent dads. My friend who was over gets it).
    via u/Direct-Bake1671
  • Plenty of other people have. overnight guests all the time, my one roommate says her old roommate has friends over every. Single. Weekend. And I didn't hear anything about a fine regarding that. There is nothing in our lease agreement that says I agree to be fined for that. Help?
    via u/Direct-Bake1671
  • PS, I tried calling the desk numerous times before the charge was due to dispute it because it was THANKSGIVING BREAK AND I WAS AT HOME, and nobody answered. They are still trying to have me pay the $25. Help?
    via u/Direct-Bake1671
  • • D.. • 20h ago Edited 19h ago So, because it's student housing, this is a different ballgame than what most people will understand. These tend to have different rules than a typical home because they're specifically designed for students. The way I'm reading it:
    via u/Direct-Bake1671
  • You were not charged a fee for the guest. You were charged a fine for not checking the guest in and they stayed overnight. You broke the rules of your lease, and are being fined for it. It's just not being made very clear. Your friends who have people over every weekend likely check them in and go through the system.
    via u/Direct-Bake1671
  • You were fined $75 for breaking the rules. You were fined an additional $25 for not paying the original fine on time. It's not a $75 fee and a $25 fine, it's $100 worth of fines. You don't "agree" to a fine, it just happens.
    via u/Direct-Bake1671
  • E... 19h ago Edited 19h ago • • Seems like you live in a shared space communal student housing on a Christian faith based campus. This is not an "apartment". It's more like a dorm. Seems like they have very strict rules about late night/ overnight guests, especially those of the opposite gender. Read over your lease again. You've probably missed the fees.
    via u/Expert-Vast-3234
  • I take it that since your "roommates don't understand" they are the ones that complained and that is why a fee was assessed. Going forward you should probably do your sleepovers at your friend's house instead of have someone in a bedroom that you share with a roommate.
    via u/Expert-Vast-3234
  • Two women enjoy a TV show while sitting on the sofa at home.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • ADirtFarmer • 17h ago . Next time don't rent a place with a bunch of religious bs in the lease.
    via u/ADirtFarmer
  • sirpoopingpooper • 19h ago . Since this is student housing, it falls under different laws/provisions and there's broader latitude for fines like this... That said, you'll need to read your student handbook, any kind of housing agreement/lease,
    via u/sirpoopingpooper
  • and housing rules to figure out how this is dealt with and what you will technically owe. Did you have to check in the guest after 8 or just have to check in overnight guests? How late was the friend there? How long do you have to pay housing violations and how are days defined (business days or calendar days)?
    via u/sirpoopingpooper
  • All this said, there should be a way to contest fines and even if you technically owe them, you can still contest them due to extenuating circumstances. Worst case, bring it up directly with the housing director (or equivalent title). If there's a technicality that you find,
    via u/sirpoopingpooper
  • start with that. Say that there wasn't a means to check someone in because there was no RA on duty. And that it wasn't a guest, it was a friend helping you through a health crisis (mental health is health) and friend left afterwards (if they did?).
    via u/sirpoopingpooper
  • Anxious_Inspect... • 14h ago In practice, even if not enshrined in law, students in school owned or managed housing do not have full tenant rights. For example, a school can ban a student from the property, or change the locks, without going through the full eviction process.
    via u/Anxious_Inspector_88
  • The first thing you need to do is find out if the housing is truly 100% independent of the school, and if you have access to all tenant protections - no eviction, bans from the property, changing locks, etc. without a court order. The answer to that question will help you
    via u/Anxious_Inspector_88
  • strategize how you deal with the landlord. The landlord will act like an authority figure, and will not want you to know of limits on their power. You need to know what can legally happen if you say "I will only pay that fee when ordered to do by a court of comptent
    via u/Anxious_Inspector_88
  • jurisdiction, and you cannot lock me out or make me move without going through the full eviction process.". Evictions range from a pain in the butt to anightmare for the landlord depending on the state. You also need to know if Indiana law establishes a
    via u/Anxious_Inspector_88
  • different landlord/tenant relationship for independent "student housing" than traditional apartment rentals. Create a paper trail of certified return receipt letters in case this ends up in court, or you file a legal complaint against the landlord.
    via u/Anxious_Inspector_88
  • The fact there is even an RA position hints that you as a tenant are not being treated as a "full adult" but someone who is under tighter supervision. The name "Salt & Light", and logo, suggest the landlord has a religious orientation and this may be a result of their value system wanting to deter fornication.
    via u/Anxious_Inspector_88
  • 00Raeby00 .7h ago Don't pay it because this isn't how the law works. Let them sue you in small claims court and they'll lose.
    via u/00Raeby00
  • . keynes2020 18h ago Ask for proof. Say you didn't have a visitor or didn't know the person.
    via u/keynes2020
  • BrianChange704 • 14h ago Private entities cannot levy "fines." They can only charge damages (actual or liquidated). Unless they were damaged here (and I suspect they weren't), this is unenforceable. That said, they can evict you for violating the lease.
    via u/BrianChange704
  • Echidna Fit8786 15h ago I would pay the fees & look into normal housing asap. Then move as soon as you can. Make sure you ask about sister properties to make sure you dont end up at a property still managed or owned by the same people.
    via u/EchidnaFit8786

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