Massachusetts bounced rent checks: a bilingual demand, 30 days, then $100 to $500
Massachusetts handles a dishonored check through G.L. c. 93, section 40A. The payee sends a written demand by regular mail and certified mail, in English and Spanish. If the maker has not paid 30 days later, the maker owes the check plus damages set by the court at no less than $100 and no more than $500.
What does section 40A require?
The section applies to anyone who makes, draws, utters or delivers a check, draft or order on a bank that refuses it because the maker has no account or has insufficient funds on deposit. The payee must make a written demand, delivered by regular mail and also by certified mail with return receipt requested. If the maker does not pay the amount within thirty days following that demand, the maker is liable for the face amount and for additional damages.
Those damages are decided by the court, but "in no event" less than one hundred dollars or more than five hundred dollars. The statute adds that this is on top of any criminal penalties allowed by law.
Why does the demand form matter so much?
Section 40A prints the notice. It must follow the statute's form and be printed in at least ten point type in both English and Spanish. The form is headed "Demand for payment of dishonored check", warns that the maker may be sued 30 days after the date of the notice, and lists the check amount, date and payee, plus the reason: no account or insufficient funds. It states that a judgment would include the face amount plus liquidated damages of not less than $100 nor more than $500.
If the demand is missing the Spanish text, or is sent by one mail method only, the statute's conditions have not been met on their face. That is the main place an owner's claim can go wrong.
Example a made-up owner in Worcester has a $2,000 rent check returned for insufficient funds. The owner sends the statutory demand in both languages by regular and certified mail on October 5. Thirty days pass with no payment. In court the owner can seek $2,000, plus damages the judge sets between $100 and $500, so the most the statute adds is $500.
Does section 40A set a processing fee?
As printed, it does not. The section sets liability and a damages range, not a bank-style service charge. So an owner who wants to add a returned payment fee in Massachusetts should not point to section 40A as the source. Whether a lease fee is allowed is a question for your lease terms and the state's residential landlord rules, which this post does not cover.
What habits protect a Massachusetts claim?
- Prepare the demand from a template that already has both language versions and the right type size.
- Send it both ways on the same day and keep the certified mail receipt.
- Calendar the 30th day from the date of the demand.
- Keep the bank's return notice, which shows the reason.
- Do not treat this as a rent collection tool. It is a claim on the check. The unpaid month is a separate matter.
How DoorKeeping fits in Massachusetts
Your bank feed shows the returned item and DoorKeeping ties it to the rent charge it was meant to pay. Sending a demand is a legal step, so it waits for your one-tap approval. Rent and payments stay in your own bank accounts. These are general bad check statutes. Most do not name rent, so a tenant's rent check is covered only to the extent the text reaches it. This is general information, not legal advice. Check your lease and your own state's landlord-tenant act, and ask your own attorney before you demand money.
Sources
Questions
- How long must a Massachusetts payee wait after a bounced check demand?
- Thirty days following the written demand, under G.L. c. 93, section 40A.
- How much extra can a Massachusetts court award on a bounced check?
- Additional damages of no less than $100 and no more than $500, on top of the face amount.
- Does the Massachusetts demand notice have to be in Spanish too?
- Yes. The statute requires the form to be printed in at least ten point type in both English and Spanish.