Last week, a thread surfaced on Bellingham’s Reddit page asking if a management company is allowed to require tenants to pay rent online, but then charge a transaction fee for paying online.
With many companies using online portals to collect rent, online payments are increasingly common, and they often come with a service charge. But if you’re required to use a payment method that includes a service fee, is that effectively making you pay more in rent than you had agreed to? Here’s what Washington state law has to say.
Landlords are required to accept checks
According to RCW 59.18.063, landlords are required to accept rent payments made by a personal check, a cashier’s check or a money order. Payments made by mail have to be accepted, unless the landlord specifies an easily accessible location where you can drop off the check instead.
The same 2022 legislation that created that requirement added a line to RCW 59.18.230 making any lease in which the tenant “agrees to make rent payments through electronic means only” unenforceable.
There is an exception
There is an exception to that rule. Landlords don’t have to accept a check if the tenant has had a check bounce within the previous nine months. After the nine-month mark, landlords are once again required to accept a check.
Additionally, landlords are allowed to reject rent payments made in cash.
Can a landlord charge a fee for accepting a check?
So a landlord has to accept rent payments made by check in most cases. But can they charge a processing fee for checks similar to the ones charged for online payments?
While it’s not explicitly prohibited, it seems unlikely. Typically, the purpose of a processing fee is to offset the fee that the credit card company charges your landlord, or the fees associated with using a third-party website to pay rent. Since banks typically won’t charge fees for depositing a check unless you’re not an account holder, you’re likely in the clear.
If you think you’re being charged a fee even after paying by check, you can review your lease or contact your landlord and ask for clarification. If you still believe you’re being wrongly charged, contact local and statewide tenants’ rights resources in Washington, such as the Tenants Union of Washington State.
