Virginia rental owners can offer online portals, ACH, cards, and other convenient ways to pay, but current law now sets a clear floor for covered residential tenancies. A compliant rent collection system has to account for the payment methods a landlord must accept, the receipts a landlord must provide, and the limits on payment processing fees.
Those statutory rules are narrower than the broader systems, documentation, and enforcement practices involved in rent collection for landlords. They are also different from the separate question of whether a landlord should voluntarily accept cash.
For Virginia owners, the practical issue is simple: the lease, resident instructions, payment portal, and accounting process should all follow the same current rule.
Key Takeaways
- For tenancies covered by the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, landlords must accept periodic rent and security deposits by check and money order.
- When rent is paid in cash or by money order, the landlord must provide a written receipt.
- A landlord cannot charge a collection or processing fee for rent, a security deposit, or another fee unless the resident has an alternative payment method without an additional fee.
- For credit card, debit card, or electronic payments, a landlord-required processing fee cannot exceed the landlord's actual out-of-pocket expense charged by the third-party processor.
- A separate provision says certain landlords with four or fewer rental dwelling units are not required to accept debit or credit cards.
- Cash is not one of the payment methods the statute expressly requires a landlord to accept. Cash policy remains a separate operational decision.
In This Guide
- What Virginia Law Requires Now
- Checks and Money Orders Are Required Options
- Fee-Free Option and Processing Fee Cap
- Cash Is a Separate Policy Question
- What About Debit and Credit Cards?
- Practical Compliance Checklist
What Virginia Law Requires Now
Virginia changed its rental payment rules in 2026 through HB 1005 and SB 313. The current version of Virginia Code § 55.1-1204 now addresses required payment methods, receipts, fee-free payment alternatives, and limits on processing charges.
The Virginia Division of Legislative Services also identifies the payment-method and processing-fee provisions in its 2026 summary of changes to Virginia law. These rules are part of the broader 2026 Virginia landlord-tenant law changes affecting rental owners.
The rule is statewide for residential tenancies covered by the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. Virginia Code § 55.1-1201 states that the VRLTA applies in all jurisdictions in the Commonwealth to covered single-family and multifamily dwelling units, subject to the exclusions listed in that section.
Checks and Money Orders Are Required Options
Section 55.1-1204(J)(1) says a landlord shall accept periodic rent and any security deposit by check and money order. That language matters for owners who prefer to make an electronic portal the only way residents can pay. A portal can remain the easiest or most convenient option, but a covered landlord's policy still has to accommodate the methods the statute requires.
The statute also says the landlord shall provide a written receipt whenever a resident pays rent in cash or by money order. The current language does not make the receipt depend on the resident asking for one.
Money orders can create real operating problems even though the statute requires acceptance. PMI James River has encountered money-order fraud concerns, bank-processing problems, and reversals in property-management operations. The practical response under the current rule is stronger handling and documentation rather than a blanket no-money-order policy for covered tenancies.
For manual payments, PMI James River's operating practice is to date-stamp the payment on the day it is received and retain a copy of the check or money order before deposit. Those controls are not presented as statutory requirements. They are a practical way to preserve evidence of what was received and when.
Owners can still use technology to reduce routine payment friction. A well-run online rent collection system can automate reminders, preserve payment records, and give residents convenient electronic options while the owner maintains the additional methods required by law.
Fee-Free Option and Processing Fee Cap
The processing-fee rule has two separate parts.
- A fee-free alternative must be available. A landlord cannot charge a collection or processing fee for rent, a security deposit, or another fee unless the resident has an alternative method of payment that does not carry an additional fee.
- The processing fee is capped. When the resident pays by credit card, debit card, or electronic payment, the processing fee cannot exceed the landlord's actual out-of-pocket expense charged by the third party that processes the payment.
Key point: Virginia's rule is not simply a disclosure requirement. A fee-free payment option must exist, and a landlord-required processing fee cannot be used to add a markup above the actual third-party processing expense.
This distinction matters when a payment platform allows an owner or manager to set a convenience charge. The fact that software can add a fee does not establish that the fee complies with Virginia law. The owner should know what the processor actually charges, who is charging the resident, and whether the resident has a payment method that does not add another fee.
A landlord's internal administrative time is also different from the third-party processor's out-of-pocket charge. The statute ties the processing-fee ceiling to the expense charged to the landlord by the third party that processes the payment. Owners should therefore avoid treating a payment surcharge as a general administrative revenue line.
Cash Is a Separate Policy Question
The 2026 payment-method rule does not say that a landlord must accept cash. It expressly names checks and money orders as required methods. Cash appears in the receipt rule: when rent is paid in cash, the landlord must provide a written receipt.
That distinction preserves a separate operational question. An owner may need to decide whether accepting physical cash fits the property's security, deposit, recordkeeping, and proof-of-payment procedures. This article does not try to answer that broader policy question because it is different from the statutory payment-method requirement.
The safest reading for this article is therefore narrow: cash is not one of the methods expressly mandated by § 55.1-1204(J)(1), but if a landlord accepts a cash rent payment, a written receipt is required.
What About Debit and Credit Cards?
A separate provision in § 55.1-1204(J)(2) addresses certain small landlords. It says a landlord who owns four or fewer rental dwelling units, or who holds up to a 10 percent interest in four or fewer rental dwelling units, is not required to accept periodic rent or a security deposit by debit or credit card.
That provision should not be confused with the 2026 requirement to accept checks and money orders. It also does not change the processing-fee rule when a landlord does offer card or electronic payment.
For owners using a portal, the practical review should focus on the actual payment setup. The lease, portal configuration, resident instructions, and fee schedule should agree on which methods are available and what each method costs.
Practical Compliance Checklist
A rental owner's payment policy can usually be checked without making the system complicated. The important point is to review the entire workflow instead of looking only at the lease clause.
- Confirm that covered residents can pay periodic rent and security deposits by check and money order.
- Make sure a written receipt is issued whenever rent is paid in cash or by money order.
- Confirm that at least one payment method is available without an additional collection or processing fee.
- Compare any landlord-required electronic processing fee with the actual third-party processing expense charged to the landlord.
- Remove any markup that pushes the processing fee above that actual third-party expense.
- Check portal settings instead of assuming the software's default fee structure is legally correct.
- Keep manual-payment records clear, including the date received and a copy or other reliable record of the instrument before deposit.
- Make sure leasing, resident communication, and accounting staff are using the same payment instructions.
- Recheck the fee setup when payment vendors or processing contracts change.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Virginia landlord require residents to pay rent only through an online portal?
For a tenancy covered by the VRLTA, a portal-only policy would be a problem if it prevented the resident from paying by check or money order. Section 55.1-1204(J)(1) expressly requires landlords to accept those methods.
Does Virginia law require a landlord to accept a personal check?
The statute uses the word "check" and does not, in the payment-method sentence, limit that term to a cashier's check or certified check. An owner considering a narrower check policy should review the current statutory language and obtain Virginia legal guidance before assuming an ordinary check may be excluded.
Can a Virginia landlord charge an ACH or electronic payment fee?
A landlord may not charge a collection or processing fee unless a payment method without an additional fee is also available. For an electronic payment, the landlord-required processing fee also cannot exceed the actual out-of-pocket expense charged to the landlord by the third-party processor.
Can a Virginia landlord charge more than the processor charges?
Not under the processing-fee language in § 55.1-1204(J)(1). The resident cannot be required to pay a processing fee that exceeds the landlord's actual out-of-pocket expense charged by the third-party processor.
Does a Virginia landlord have to accept cash rent?
The statute does not list cash among the mandatory payment methods in § 55.1-1204(J)(1). It does require a written receipt whenever rent is paid in cash.
Are these rules different in Richmond, Henrico, Chesterfield, or Hanover?
The VRLTA is a Virginia law that applies statewide to covered residential tenancies. Section 55.1-1201 states that the Act applies in all jurisdictions in the Commonwealth, subject to its listed exclusions. The payment-method rule is therefore not a Richmond-only requirement.
Build the Payment Process Around the Current Rule
Virginia's payment rules do not prevent landlords from using modern rent-collection technology. They set minimum requirements around access and fees. Covered landlords need to accept checks and money orders, issue the required receipts, preserve a fee-free payment option, and keep landlord-required processing charges within the actual third-party processing cost.
That structure can coexist with an efficient online system. Clear payment instructions and consistent records reduce disputes, make ledgers easier to understand, and help owners enforce the lease from a better documented position.
PMI James River incorporates payment collection into a broader management process for Richmond-area rental owners. Owners who want the collection workflow handled consistently can review our rent collection services.
Published: August 27, 2026
