Refuses to cash a rent check or money order for over 30 days

Sometimes, landlords don’t cash checks in order to pressure you into paying you rent in cash. Or they do this to place even more burden on you as a tenant by causing you to keep money in your bank account for longer periods of time.

In CA there aren’t any rules around this but to be safer the next time you pay your rent, you can pay using a cashier’s check. If you need to pay cash, you have the right to ask for and receive a receipt of payment from your landlord.

CA Civil Code Section 1499 states that if a tenant asks for a receipt, landlords are required to provide a signed and dated receipt unless the tenant has provided a check with no funds in the last few months.

If you are covered under the TPO (Am I covered under the Oakland Tenant Protection Ordinance?), your landlord is obligated to cash your check or money order within 30 days of receiving it unless they have provided you with a receipt. You can write a letter describing this as a form of harassment.