Can a California Landlord Require Online Rent Payments? Portal Fees, Checks & Civil Code § 1947.3

The short answer

California Civil Code section 1947.3 generally requires a landlord or landlord's agent to allow rent and security-deposit payments by at least one method that is neither cash nor electronic funds transfer. An online portal, ACH debit or another computer-initiated transfer can be offered, but the statute does not let an ordinary landlord make electronic payment the only available method.

The same section expressly says a landlord or agent may not charge a tenant any fee for payment by check for rent or a security deposit. A mandatory online-processing charge should therefore be separated from an optional convenience fee: the clearest statewide problem under section 1947.3 is an arrangement that leaves the tenant without the required noncash, non-electronic payment option.

California requires at least one noncash, non-electronic payment option

Section 1947.3(a)(1) requires at least one authorized payment method that is neither cash nor electronic funds transfer. A landlord can offer electronic payments for convenience, but electronic payment cannot ordinarily be the tenant's only authorized path for paying rent or a security deposit.

Section 1947.3(e) also allows the parties to mutually agree that rent may be paid in cash or by electronic funds transfer only so long as another form of payment remains authorized under subdivision (a). The statute further says a waiver of these protections is contrary to public policy and is void and unenforceable.

ACH and online portal payments fit the statute's electronic-funds-transfer definition

Section 1947.3 defines an electronic funds transfer broadly as a transfer, other than one originated by a check, draft or similar paper instrument, that is initiated through an electronic terminal, telephone, computer or similar system to debit or credit an account. The definition expressly includes transfers through an automated clearinghouse and recurring electronic transfers.

That means an ACH payment made through a property-management portal is not transformed into a nonelectronic method merely because the portal calls it a bank transfer or technology service. The practical question is whether the landlord also authorizes a separate payment method that satisfies the statute.

California separately bars a fee for paying rent by check

Section 1947.3(b) says a landlord or agent shall not charge a tenant any fee for payment by check for rent or a security deposit. If check payment is an authorized method, management cannot add a separate check-payment fee to that transaction under this section.

Do not turn that specific rule into a claim that every optional debit-card, credit-card or ACH convenience fee is automatically unlawful. Section 1947.3 clearly protects access to a qualifying alternative payment method and separately prohibits a check-payment fee. Other fees can require a different legal analysis depending on what is charged, whether the payment method is optional, what the lease says, and whether another law regulates the charge.

California's Attorney General has enforced the online-only payment rule

In an October 24, 2025 enforcement settlement involving Mission Rock Residential California, the California Department of Justice said the company had illegally required some tenants to pay rent through an online portal without an option to pay by check or money order. The settlement required the company to accept rent by means other than its online portal or electronic funds transfer.

The settlement also required notice explaining how tenants could pay rent without incurring processing fees that could occur online. That enforcement action is a useful illustration of section 1947.3, but it should not be read as a blanket ruling that every optional online-processing fee charged by every landlord or third-party vendor is unlawful.

What if a tenant previously had a check returned or stopped payment?

Section 1947.3 contains a narrow exception after a tenant attempts to pay with a check drawn on insufficient funds or instructs the bank to stop payment. In that situation, a landlord may require cash as the exclusive payment method for a period not exceeding three months.

The landlord must provide written notice stating that the payment instrument was dishonored, identify the cash-only period, and attach a copy of the dishonored instrument. If cash-only payment changes the lease terms, the notice must also comply with the statute referenced in section 1947.3. This exception is a cash-only rule under specified conditions; it does not create a general online-portal-only exception.

A lease that lists checks is part of the evidence, but the statute stands on its own

If a lease or written payment policy lists personal checks, cashier's checks or money orders as accepted methods, keep that document. A later portal-only announcement can raise both statutory and contract questions, and the exact lease language can matter to the contract side of the dispute.

This guide does not decide whether a particular payment-policy change is also a breach of contract. Section 1947.3 provides the statewide payment-method baseline, while the lease and any local rules should be reviewed separately for additional rights or obligations.

What to document if management refuses a paper payment

Keep the lease and every renewal, the landlord's written payment instructions, any portal-only announcement, screenshots showing each available payment method and fee, copies or photographs of a tendered check or money order, written evidence that management refused it, the rent ledger, prior accepted payment history, and any late-fee or pay-or-quit notice that follows.

Ask management in writing which payment method it authorizes that is neither cash nor electronic funds transfer under Civil Code section 1947.3. If the dispute has already created a late-payment, eviction or credit-reporting risk, seek qualified tenant legal assistance promptly rather than intentionally withholding undisputed rent based only on an online article.

Use Max Rental Tools to keep the payment record organized

Max Rental Tools includes a Rent Payment Instructions Notice, Rent Receipt, Rent Ledger, Returned Payment Notice and Resident Communication Record. Those tools can help document what payment method was authorized, tendered, accepted or refused, while Civil Code section 1947.3 and current California government guidance remain the controlling legal sources.