Can a landlord charge a credit card fee on rent?
Often yes, but not everywhere. Connecticut, Maine and Massachusetts ban card surcharges, Colorado and New York cap them, and the card networks add their own limits: credit cards only, never more than your cost or the network cap (3 percent for Visa), and 30 days notice to your processor. The safest setup is to take rent by bank transfer for free and treat a card as an optional extra. This guide shows how to check your state, what to disclose, and how to keep a card fee from becoming a problem.
A card fee is a surcharge, and three things limit it
When a tenant pays rent by card, the landlord or its processor pays a fee, usually a percentage of the payment. Passing that cost on to the tenant is called a surcharge. Three layers of rules decide whether you may do it: your state law, the card networks' own rules, and your lease. Break any one and you put your card processing account at risk, and in some states you face a consumer protection claim.
A surcharge is not the same as a discount. Offering a lower price for paying by bank transfer is usually treated differently from adding a fee for paying by card, and Connecticut's consumer protection department says plainly that a business cannot advertise the discounted price and then add a fee when a customer pays another way. If you want to steer tenants away from cards, the cleanest tool is to make the free option the easy one.
Which states ban or cap card surcharges?
Rules change, and many websites repeat old information, so use this table as a map and read the cited source for your state before you act.
| State | What the source says | Where to read it |
|---|---|---|
| Connecticut | Banned. A business may not add a fee because of the payment method a customer uses. A discount for paying cash is allowed, shown as a discount. | Conn. Gen. Stat. § 42-133ff, as amended by Public Act 24-142, § 28, and the Department of Consumer Protection's surcharge page |
| Maine | Banned for credit and debit cards. A discount from the regular price is not a surcharge. Only government payments are excepted. | 9-A M.R.S. § 8-509 (amended in 2021) |
| Massachusetts | Banned. No seller may impose a surcharge on a cardholder who uses a credit card instead of cash, check or similar means. | M.G.L. c. 140D, § 28A |
| Colorado | Allowed since July 1, 2022 on credit cards only, never on cash, checks, debit cards or gift cards. The fee may be up to 2 percent, or up to the processing fee you actually pay, each with its own required notice, and it must be a separate line on the receipt. | C.R.S. § 5-2-212 and the UCCC Administrator's interpretive opinion of June 29, 2022 |
| New York | Allowed on credit cards since February 11, 2024, but no more than the card company charges you, and the total card price must be posted clearly before payment. The law does not cover debit cards. | N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 518 and the Governor's February 2024 announcement |
Other states have their own statutes, and several have changed in recent years (Colorado in 2022, Maine in 2021, New York in 2024, Connecticut in 2024), so many online summaries are out of date. If you collect rent in a state not in the table, search for "[state] credit card surcharge statute" and read the statute on the state legislature's own site, or ask a local attorney.
Colorado deserves a second look. The Administrator of Colorado's Uniform Consumer Credit Code, part of the Attorney General's office, said in a June 29, 2022 interpretive opinion that the statute applies to all consumer leases, including residential leases. That makes rent a surcharge-regulated payment there. Treat the opinion as the regulator's reading, not a court ruling.
What do Visa and Mastercard allow?
Even where a state allows surcharging, the network rules still apply, because they are part of your processing agreement.
- Credit cards only. Visa's rules cover only credit card surcharges, and Mastercard's surcharge page says the fee is not allowed on debit or prepaid cards.
- A hard cap. Visa's published rules (October 2026 edition) set the most a US merchant may add at 3.00 percent, and never more than the merchant's own cap based on its cost. Mastercard's page lists a 4 percent maximum.
- Advance notice. Visa's rules require you to tell your acquirer (your processor) in writing at least 30 days before you announce or start a surcharge.
- Clear disclosure before paying and on the receipt.
Check your own processing agreement for the exact percentage cap and the notice steps, because network rules are updated more often than articles about them.
If you do charge a card fee, do it this way
- Confirm your state allows it, using the statute, not a blog summary.
- Put the fee in the lease or a signed addendum, in plain words, with the exact percentage or the rule for setting it.
- Show the fee, in dollars, on the payment screen before the tenant confirms.
- Charge credit cards only, never debit or prepaid.
- Keep the fee at or below your state's cap, your actual cost and the network cap, and tell your processor in writing at least 30 days before you start.
- Always offer a free way to pay, such as bank transfer.
Example a made-up tenant owes $1,500 rent. The owner's processor charges 2.9 percent, which is $43.50. Under a rule that caps the fee at 2 percent, the most the owner could add is $30.00, so the tenant would pay $1,530.00 by credit card and $1,500.00 by bank transfer. Under a rule that caps it at the owner's actual cost, the most is $43.50, for $1,543.50. In a ban state, the tenant pays $1,500.00 either way and the owner absorbs the $43.50 or does not accept cards.
Remember that a fee set in the lease can still be limited by other rules. Some states restrict what a landlord may charge besides rent or how rent may be paid. Read your state's residential landlord-tenant act alongside the surcharge statute.
The easier path: skip the card fee
Most of the trouble comes from cards being the costly option. Bank transfers cost the tenant nothing and cost the landlord little or nothing, so a rent process built on transfers has no surcharge to disclose, cap or defend. Tenants who prefer a credit card can still be offered one, with the fee shown before they pay, within your state's cap, and left out entirely in the ban states.
How DoorKeeping handles it
Paying rent by bank transfer is free for tenants and owners. Rent and payments stay in your own bank accounts. DoorKeeping never holds your money and sends a payment only when you approve it. The bank transfer is shown first. A tenant who chooses to pay by credit card pays a flat 3 percent card fee, shown in dollars before they pay. Debit and prepaid cards are not accepted for rent, so those tenants are pointed to the free bank transfer. Card payments are not offered in states that ban card surcharges or cap them below 3 percent, such as Connecticut, Maine and Massachusetts. DoorKeeping gives general information, not legal advice, so confirm your state's rule before you set any fee in a lease.
Sources
- Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, What is the Connecticut Surcharge law, read Oct 30, 2026
- Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, Surcharges (credit card surcharge page), read Oct 30, 2026
- Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, A business cannot charge customers extra for using a credit card (2021), read Oct 30, 2026
- Maine Revised Statutes, Title 9-A, section 8-509, read Oct 30, 2026
- Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 140D, Section 28A, read Oct 30, 2026
- Colorado Revised Statutes, section 5-2-212 (public.law copy of the official text), read Oct 30, 2026
- Colorado UCCC Administrator, Interpretive Opinion Letter: Amendment of Surcharge Statute (June 29, 2022), read Oct 30, 2026
- New York Senate, General Business Law section 518, read Oct 30, 2026
- Governor of New York, New law to clarify disclosure of credit card surcharges goes into effect (February 2024), read Oct 30, 2026
- Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Service Rules, October 2026 edition, section 5.5.1, read Oct 30, 2026
- Visa, Regulations and fees for businesses, read Oct 30, 2026
- Mastercard, Merchant surcharge rules, read Oct 30, 2026
Questions
- Can I charge a convenience fee for paying rent online?
- Sometimes. A fee added because the tenant pays by card is usually a surcharge whatever you call it: Connecticut's consumer protection department, for example, says a "processing fee" or "transaction fee" added for cards is a surcharge. The same state bans, caps and disclosure rules apply. Offering a free bank transfer avoids the question.
- Which states do not allow credit card surcharges?
- Connecticut, Maine and Massachusetts ban them, based on their statutes. Colorado allows up to 2 percent or up to your actual processing fee, with set notice wording, and New York allows up to what the card company charges you. Read the statute for any other state before you charge one.
- Can I surcharge a debit card?
- No. Visa's and Mastercard's rules do not allow a surcharge on debit cards (Mastercard also bars prepaid cards), and Colorado excludes debit cards by statute. Only credit cards can carry a surcharge, where the state allows one.
- Can I give a discount for paying by bank transfer instead?
- Often yes. Several state laws, including Connecticut's, say a discount is not a surcharge. But you cannot advertise the discounted rent and then add a fee for other payment methods, so state the rent clearly in the lease.