How to Pay Rent

A check is a secure form of payment that tells the bank to pay money from the check holder’s account to another party. Checks are still accepted by many landlords.

Advantages: Checks can be mailed in advance, and can be postdated to cash on that date.

Disadvantages: If the check bounces, the tenant gets charged a bank fee. And of course, receiving a check does not guarantee that the tenant has the money in their account.

Note that checks are not as common among millennials—something to keep in mind if you are renting to the student market.

Accepting rent by cash is not recommended as it’s easy to lose, hard to trace, and there may be discrepancies on how much the tenant paid you versus how much you received. Another disadvantage of cash is that each month, you will need to meet with the tenant for collection.

If you do accept rent by cash, which is not uncommon for landlords who rent out their basements or live nearby, always provide your tenant with a receipt to acknowledge they have paid, and provide a record of them doing so.

Tenants may prefer to pay by cash as a lot of people use it to keep track of how much they are spending. However, it doesn’t show up on their bank statement as anything more than a withdrawal, which is why it can be tough to attribute to a rent payment.