New York Bounced Rent Check Fee Cap 2025: Landlords Can Charge the Greater of $20 or Actual Cost
by Platuni | 06 Oct, 2026 | 5 mins read
Platuni
06 October, 2026
5 mins read
1. What the fee cap actually limits
A landlord can charge whichever is greater: the landlord's actual documented costs or fees from the dishonored check, or $20.
[Cite: Real Property Law 238-a(2-a), as added by Chapter 431 of the Laws of 2025]
That's a floor-and-ceiling structure in one: $20 functions as a guaranteed minimum a landlord can charge without separately documenting costs, while actual costs above $20 are also recoverable if the landlord can show them.
2. Why the lease-disclosure requirement comes first
The fee can only be charged if the dishonored check charge was included in the original lease agreement.
[Cite: Real Property Law 238-a(2-a), as added by Chapter 431 of the Laws of 2025]
A landlord who wants to charge this fee needs the lease provision in place before the tenancy starts; trying to add a bounced-check fee to an existing lease mid-tenancy, without a lease amendment both parties agree to, doesn't satisfy this requirement.
3. What a landlord has to show when charging above $20
If a landlord charges more than the $20 baseline, the tenant can request evidence substantiating that the amount charged matches the landlord's actual costs or fees incurred.
[Cite: Real Property Law 238-a(2-a), as added by Chapter 431 of the Laws of 2025]
A landlord charging, say, $35 for a dishonored check needs documentation ready, such as a bank-fee statement, to support that figure if the tenant asks; charging above $20 without being able to produce that evidence leaves the charge vulnerable to challenge.
4. Why this fee is a separate provision from the existing late-fee cap
This dishonored-check fee was added as a new subsection, 2-a, within Real Property Law 238-a, the same section that already addresses late payment fees generally, but it's a distinct provision covering a specific scenario, a check that fails to clear.
[Cite: Real Property Law 238-a(2-a), as added by Chapter 431 of the Laws of 2025]
A landlord shouldn't assume the existing late-fee cap and this bounced-check fee cap are interchangeable; they're housed in the same statute section but address different conduct, and the sources reviewed for this article don't resolve whether both could apply to a single missed payment that was both late and paid by a check that bounced.
5. Why the General Obligations Law amendment reinforces the same cap
Beyond the Real Property Law change, the bill also amended General Obligations Law 5-328(3) to specify dishonored-check fee limits for rent payments specifically.
[Cite: General Obligations Law 5-328(3), as amended by Chapter 431 of the Laws of 2025]
That parallel amendment closes a gap where the dishonored-check cap might otherwise have applied inconsistently depending on which statute governed a particular situation; both provisions now point to the same $20-or-actual-cost structure for rent payments.
6. Who is excluded from this protection
The statute specifically excludes cooperative housing shareholders from this provision, though it extends to tenants and subtenants of those shareholders.
[Cite: Real Property Law 238-a(2-a), as added by Chapter 431 of the Laws of 2025]
A landlord renting out a cooperative apartment to a subtenant still has to follow this fee cap for that subtenant relationship; it's only the shareholder's own direct relationship with the cooperative that falls outside this specific protection.
7. Why the "immediately" effective date matters for enforcement timing
The law took effect immediately upon the October 16, 2025 signing, applying to actions commenced on or after that date.
[Cite: Chapter 431 of the Laws of 2025]
A landlord who charged an excessive bounced-check fee before October 16, 2025 isn't retroactively in violation for that earlier charge, but any dishonored-check fee assessed on or after that date is already subject to the new cap.
8. Why documentation practices matter even for charges at or below $20
Although the statute only requires substantiating evidence when a landlord charges above $20, keeping records of actual processing costs protects a landlord who later wants to charge more than that baseline for a particularly costly dishonored check.
[Cite: Real Property Law 238-a(2-a), as added by Chapter 431 of the Laws of 2025]
A landlord with no cost records on hand is effectively capped at $20 in practice, since charging more without being able to produce evidence on request creates compliance risk even though the $20 figure itself requires no justification.
9. Why lease templates need a specific update
A lease that's silent on dishonored-check fees doesn't allow a landlord to charge one at all under this statute, regardless of the $20-or-actual-cost cap; the disclosure requirement is a separate precondition from the amount limit.
[Cite: Real Property Law 238-a(2-a), as added by Chapter 431 of the Laws of 2025]
A landlord using an older lease template that doesn't mention this fee needs to update that template before the provision can lawfully be charged on new leases going forward.
10. Why this interacts with, but doesn't replace, standard rent-collection practices
This cap addresses the fee charged when a check bounces; it doesn't change the underlying rent obligation itself, which the tenant still owes regardless of the check's failure.
[Cite: Real Property Law 238-a(2-a), as added by Chapter 431 of the Laws of 2025]
A landlord dealing with a bounced check still needs to pursue the unpaid rent through normal channels; this statute only limits what can be charged as a separate fee for the dishonored payment itself.
11. What property managers should do now
The practical starting point is checking every active lease for whether a dishonored-check fee clause exists at all, since the fee can't be charged without it, and updating lease templates going forward to include a compliant clause if the landlord intends to charge this fee.
For any dishonored-check fee charged above $20, having actual cost documentation ready before the tenant asks, rather than scrambling to produce it after a request, keeps the charge defensible under the statute's substantiation requirement.
Frequently asked questions
What is New York's current cap on dishonored rent check fees?
The greater of $20 or the landlord's actual documented costs, as of October 16, 2025.
Can a landlord charge this fee without it being in the lease?
No. The fee can only be charged if it was included in the original lease agreement.
What can a tenant do if charged more than $20?
Request evidence from the landlord substantiating that the amount matches their actual costs or fees incurred.
Does this fee cap apply to cooperative shareholders?
No, cooperative shareholders themselves are excluded, though their tenants and subtenants remain covered.
Is this the same as New York's late-fee cap?
No. This is a separate provision addressing dishonored-check fees specifically, housed in the same statute section as the late-fee rules but covering different conduct.
When did this cap take effect?
October 16, 2025, immediately upon signing, applying to charges on or after that date.
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