Our building near the Bed-Stuy/Clinton Hill border just installed one of those package locker systems in the vestibule with zero notice. Now the property manager put up a sign saying anything not picked up within 48 hours is “stored” and will cost $5 per day starting yesterday. No mention in our lease. No email. Just a laminated sign.

Here’s the kicker: the lockers are tiny! My monthly Chewy box doesn’t fit, so it goes on the floor next to the recycling bin, and they’re calling that “storage” too. We’ve paid by check for years and now they’re saying fees can be added to the portal. Is this actually enforceable? Can they just change “house rules” mid-lease and call it rent? I’m already drafting a response, but I want to know if anyone has actually pushed back and won.

Oh wow, I just moved into my first NYC apartment and our building has a package room but no fee yet. I didn’t know they could charge like that. Do they actually add it to your portal or send an invoice? Did your original lease say anything about package rules? I order stuff all the time and sometimes I’m away Friday to Monday, so $15 for a weekend feels wild. Following this.

48 hours is tight. My old spot in Sunset Park tried a similar sign after people treated the mailroom like a storage unit. Management can usually change house rules without amending the lease, but a per-day package fee is sketchy if it wasn’t in your original papers.

If I were you, I’d call 311 and ask if it counts as an illegal fee or rent overcharge. Take photos of the sign and any package slips with timestamps. And don’t pay the fee through the portal as “rent.” Pay your actual rent by check and write “rent only” on it, so they can’t claim a partial payment.

Wait, so it’s $5 per package per day? That adds up fast. My building in Dyker Heights doesn’t have lockers at all, packages just disappear. I’d almost prefer lockers. But charging after 48 hours without it being in the lease? Can they send that to collections? Sorry if that’s a dumb question.

In my experience, if it wasn’t in the lease, you can probably ignore the fee, but they might try to take it from your security deposit or block renewal later. Look up whether the “house rules” were actually delivered to you. They can make reasonable rules, but this is a penalty disguised as storage unless they’re giving you an actual locked space.

I’d get one or two neighbors to sign a short letter. Also ask the carrier or landlord for the locker notification policy. If delivery starts the clock before you’re even home from work, that 48 hours is impossible.

RedHook_R, yes! The oversized boxes are the whole fight because the lockers are tiny. It’s four Parcel Pending lockers and a corner next to the recycling bins. I measured one locker—maybe 18x12x24? My Chewy order doesn’t stand a chance. So it goes on the floor by the trash and then they want $5 a day because it’s “clutter.”

Has anyone tried asking management if they’re registered for any city consumer affairs rule about surprise fees? I know there’s no special “package theft law” but this feels like one of those junk fees the city was talking about. I refuse to ship stuff to my office because I already got a lecture about receiving personal packages at work.

Wait, so if the box doesn’t fit in a locker, it just goes on the floor? That seems worse than before. I just tried a smaller Amazon locker for the first time this week after reading this thread. Do you think putting a bigger apartment number on the box helps? Also, if they add the $5 to my portal, can I pay only the rent portion and not the fee? What happens then?

Nah, they can’t just put Chewy by the trash and call it storage. That’s wild. In my building they send an email and you get three days, but no fee. If the super actually has to move a box into a locked closet, maybe a one-time fee could hold up, but not $5 per day.

Check if your lease says something like “owner may adopt rules; rules are incorporated by reference.” If it does, you and your neighbors may have to argue the fee is unreasonable. $5 per day for a corner by the bins is very unreasonable. Call the Met Council on Housing hotline, they’re good with this stuff.

I’d also check with the carrier. Sometimes UPS won’t leave stuff in the new locker unless you’ve registered, so they mark it “left at mailroom” and the clock starts before you even get home. Ask management for the timestamp and notification policy. If they can’t show you were notified, they can’t start the 48-hour clock.

For Chewy, maybe split the order or use a UPS Access Point. But definitely don’t pay the fee quietly. Once one person pays, they’ll slap it on everyone.

Thanks everyone, this is really helpful. I didn’t know house rules could change mid-lease. Does anyone know if the city has a sample letter to send for these fee disputes? I want to tell my aunt in Sunset Park because she had a similar thing with a $3 “package handling fee” even though she signed for packages. I’m learning more here than I did from my broker.