Washington bounced rent checks: handling fee, 12 percent interest, $40 costs
Washington's rule for a dishonored check is RCW 62A.3-515. The payee may collect a reasonable handling fee. If the check stays unpaid 15 days after a notice of dishonor, the drawer owes 12 percent yearly interest and collection costs up to $40, and a court can add attorneys' fees and the lesser of three times the check or $300.
Which fees does RCW 62A.3-515 allow?
Subsection (a) opens with a short grant: when a check is dishonored by nonacceptance or nonpayment, the payee may collect "a reasonable handling fee for each instrument." It gives no dollar figure. That is different from states that publish a schedule, and it means the handling fee you charge should be one you can explain as reasonable, ideally written into the lease.
A second layer applies only if the check is not paid within fifteen days after notice of dishonor is sent as RCW 62A.3-520 provides. It goes to the drawer's last known address. If the instrument does not provide for interest or collection costs and attorneys' fees, the drawer is liable for interest at 12 percent per year from the date of dishonor, and for collection costs that cannot exceed forty dollars or the face amount of the check, whichever is less.
What can a court add?
If the payee sues on the check after the notice and the 15 days, the court "shall award" reasonable attorneys' fees, and three times the face amount of the check or three hundred dollars, whichever is less, as part of the damages. The "whichever is less" wording matters: for any check over $100, the multiple is the larger number, so the $300 figure is the cap.
The section does not apply to an instrument dishonored by reason of a justifiable stop payment order. A tenant who stops payment because of a real dispute about the rent is outside it.
Example a made-up owner in Spokane receives a $1,600 rent check that is dishonored. The owner mails a notice of dishonor and the tenant does not pay within 15 days. Interest at 12 percent a year on $1,600 is $192 a year, or about $15.78 for 30 days. Collection costs are capped at $40, the lesser of $40 and $1,600. If the owner sues and wins, the three-times figure is $4,800, but the statute caps it at $300 because $300 is less.
Can the tenant settle after you file?
Yes. Subsection (b)(1) lets the defendant, after the action starts but before the hearing, tender the face amount, a reasonable handling fee, accrued interest, collection costs equal to the face amount of the check up to forty dollars, and the incurred court costs, service costs and statutory attorneys' fees as satisfaction of the claim. Subsection (b)(2) adds that nothing stops a small claims action under chapter 12.40 RCW.
How should a Washington owner set this up?
- Put a handling fee for returned payments in the lease, with a dollar amount, so "reasonable" is already answered.
- Send the notice of dishonor in the form RCW 62A.3-520 asks for, and keep proof of mailing.
- Count 15 days from the notice and write the end date on the tenant's ledger.
- Accept a replacement payment only in a form that clears, such as a bank transfer or cashier's check, and say so in the notice.
- Keep rent late fees and returned payment fees as two separate lines. A late fee has its own rules in Washington and elsewhere.
How DoorKeeping fits in Washington
When a tenant's payment fails, the return lands in your bank feed and DoorKeeping can line it up against the rent charge it was meant to pay. You approve each fee or notice with one tap. Rent stays in your bank, and 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
- Does Washington cap the handling fee on a bounced rent check?
- RCW 62A.3-515(a) allows "a reasonable handling fee for each instrument" and sets no dollar amount.
- What interest rate applies to a dishonored check in Washington?
- Twelve percent per year from the date of dishonor, if the check stays unpaid 15 days after a notice of dishonor and the instrument has no interest terms of its own.
- What is the most a Washington court can add as damages on a bounced check?
- Three times the face amount of the check or $300, whichever is less, plus reasonable attorneys' fees, under RCW 62A.3-515(a).