Can a landlord or rental agent refuse a check as payment?
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Can a landlord or rental agent refuse a check as payment?
Live in mobile home on rented lot owned by an out of state landlord. Person collecting has said they will no longer take personal checks for lot rent.
Asked on November 17, 2011 under Real Estate Law, North Carolina
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
A landlord or rental agent can refuse to accept a check in full payment for monthly rental. However, the failure to do so is not a particularly wise idea from what you have written concerning your question if personal checks had been accepted in the past.
Custom and practice in the real estate industry is that monthly payments are made by personal check. If your written lease makes no specific reference as to how the monthly payment is to be made, then you are entitled to make the payments by personal check. For the landlord to require direct deposit, cashiers check or a money order would require an additional expense upon the tenant not contemplated when the lease was entered into.
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