Committee advances bill banning landlord fees to accept cash, check or money order

The Senate Industry and Business Committee on Friday advanced House Bill 16-10, a measure that would bar landlords from charging tenants a fee to accept rent paid by cash, check or money order.

Representative Jonathan Warrie, R‑District 22, introduced the bill and said it grew out of a case in western North Dakota where a lease provision said “we do not accept cash for payment of rent” and charged a $20 fee to accept a check even if it was on time. “We talked to some people that do some advocacy work for people of modest means that are renters. Felt this was a predatory practice. So I put this bill in,” Warrie said.

The bill does not change rules about debit‑ or credit‑card processing fees, Warrie told the committee. “Our understanding was that it is still allowed to charge a processing fee because the merchant does incur some charges from a third party payment company. So we didn't touch that with this piece of it. So you still can charge a processing fee to accept rent. It just must be disclosed,” he said.

Committee members asked whether the problem applied to all payment methods and whether landlords could still pass along disclosed processing costs. Several senators said the fee practice seemed unfair. The committee voted 5‑0 for a due‑pass recommendation; Senator Klein moved the motion and Senator Angott seconded it.

The bill was carried from the committee by Senator Klein for floor consideration.

If enacted, the bill would add a statutory prohibition on charging tenants a fee for accepting cash, a check, or a money order. The committee recorded no formal opposition during the hearing; no implementation timeline or effective date was discussed in committee testimony.