TORRANCE DAILY BREEZE: Senate OKs bill to prohibit online-only rent paying

The state Senate on Tuesday approved a bill by South Bay Sen. Ted Lieu that would prohibit landlords from requiring tenants to pay their rent online.

Lieu's Senate Bill 1055 would allow tenants to continue paying rent with checks and money orders. The measure now heads to the Assembly for consideration.

"A growing number of landlords are no longer accepting checks or money orders from tenants," Lieu said. "Instead, they have begun to change rental agreements to require tenants - including the elderly, disabled and poor - to pay their rent online."

Lieu said the issue was brought to his attention late last year, when a property management group notified residents of a 300-unit apartment complex in Los Angeles that rent would only be accepted through online payments.

Current laws do not specify how rent can be paid, Lieu said.

- Art Marroquin