California Civil Code 1947.3: Cash-Only Rent, EFTs, and Fees

California Civil Code Section 1947.3 requires every landlord to accept at least one form of rent payment that is neither cash nor an electronic funds transfer. It also lets tenants pay through a third party, caps any cash-only demand at three months after a bounced check or stop-payment order, and voids any lease clause that tries to waive these protections.¹

The Floor the Statute Sets

Subdivision (a)(1) draws a simple line. A landlord has to allow at least one payment method that is not cash and not an electronic funds transfer. In practice that means a personal check, cashier’s check, or money order. The statute does not list acceptable forms; it only sets the minimum. A landlord who takes only Venmo, or only cash at the door, is out of compliance.¹

The rule covers both rent and security deposits. Electronic options can still sit alongside a paper method, and often do. The violation is eliminating every non-electronic, non-cash alternative.

What Counts as an Electronic Funds Transfer

Section 1947.3 borrows its definition from the federal Electronic Fund Transfer Act. An electronic funds transfer is any movement of money started through an electronic terminal, phone, or computer that instructs a financial institution to debit or credit an account. That sweeps in credit and debit card charges, direct deposits, ACH transfers, phone-initiated transfers, and recurring automatic payments.¹ The federal statute carves out narrow categories such as check-guarantee services and certain securities transactions, but those rarely surface in a rental.²

If a landlord routes you through an app, a website, or any system that pulls money from your bank account electronically, that counts. The landlord can offer it. The landlord cannot make it the only choice.

Online Portals and Convenience Fees

Many landlords and property managers run rent through online portals, and some of those portals add a processing or convenience fee. Because portal payments are electronic funds transfers, a landlord cannot make the portal the sole way to pay. There has to be at least one alternative that is not cash and not electronic.¹

If every option you’re offered carries a fee, push back. A lease clause requiring exclusive use of a fee-bearing portal conflicts with Section 1947.3 and is unenforceable. You can ask the landlord to accept a check or money order without any surcharge, and the statute is on your side.

Paying Through Someone Else

Subdivision (a)(3) lets a tenant pay rent through a third party. That covers a relative, a social services agency, or a charitable organization stepping in on your behalf. The landlord may require the third party to sign a written acknowledgment stating two things: that the third party is not a current tenant of the unit, and that accepting the payment does not create a new tenancy.¹

The statute even supplies a template acknowledgment, so a landlord cannot reject the payment by claiming the form was wrong. Without a signed acknowledgment, though, the landlord does not have to accept the payment. A landlord can request a fresh acknowledgment for each payment, or the parties can agree that a single acknowledgment covers a series of payments.

When a Landlord Can Demand Cash Only

There is one exception to the non-cash rule. If a tenant bounces a check or issues a stop-payment order, the landlord can demand cash as the only payment form for up to three months. The clock runs from the date of the bounced check or stop-payment instruction, not from the date the landlord sends notice.¹

A couple of details matter here. The statute does not require the stop-payment to be improper. Any stop-payment instruction opens the door to a cash-only demand, even where the tenant had a real dispute. The landlord picks the length of the cash-only period, up to the three-month cap. Once it ends, the landlord has to resume accepting a non-cash, non-electronic option.

What a Valid Cash-Only Notice Must Say

A landlord cannot flip to cash-only by phone or a hallway conversation. The statute requires a written notice that tells the tenant the payment instrument was dishonored and specifies how long cash will be the only accepted form, up to three months. A copy of the dishonored check or money order has to be attached to the notice. Without that attachment, the notice is incomplete and the cash-only demand is unenforceable.¹

A bank statement showing the funds never moved is not a substitute. The statute calls for a copy of the dishonored instrument itself. If the landlord doesn’t have it, the landlord can’t legally impose the cash-only rule.

The Section 827 Overlay for Lease Changes

Section 1947.3 flags a wrinkle that both sides often miss. If switching to cash-only changes the terms of the existing tenancy, the notice must also satisfy Civil Code Section 827, which governs how landlords change terms on periodic tenancies.¹

For a month-to-month tenancy, Section 827 generally calls for at least 30 days’ written notice before a change in lease terms takes effect. The notice can be served personally or by mail, and mail service may add time under Code of Civil Procedure Section 1013.³

When does it come up? If the lease already says you pay by check, moving you to cash-only changes an agreed term, and the 30-day notice applies on top of the Section 1947.3 requirements. The same reasoning holds for a fixed-term lease that lists multiple payment methods. Where the lease is silent on payment form, the argument is weaker, but a careful landlord will follow both statutes.

Money Order Receipts Are Not Proof of Payment

Section 1947.3 contains a small evidentiary rule worth knowing, especially during a cash-only stretch when you might reach for a money order. A receipt showing a money order or cashier’s check was issued only proves the instrument was purchased. It does not prove the instrument was delivered to the landlord.¹

If a landlord later says you never paid, the stub alone won’t end the argument. Get a separate receipt from the landlord or their agent when you hand the payment over. If you mail it, use certified mail with return receipt. Payment disputes usually collapse at exactly this point: the tenant has the money order slip but no proof the landlord received it.

Waiver Clauses Have No Effect

Any lease provision that tries to waive the protections of Section 1947.3 is void as a matter of public policy. That includes attempts to waive the non-cash payment option, the right to pay through a third party, and the three-month cap on cash-only demands. Signing such a clause does not surrender the right; the tenant can assert Section 1947.3 at any point in the tenancy.¹

The statute also works as a defense. If a landlord refuses a lawful payment method and then files for unlawful detainer based on nonpayment, the tenant can raise Section 1947.3. A landlord who rejects a payment the statute requires them to accept is on weak ground in an eviction case.

1
California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1947.3 – Payment of Rent and Security Deposit
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1693a – Definitions
3
California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 827