Chicago Landlord

Regrettably almost everyone has bounced a check. When dealing with tenants and getting your rent I recommend setting a few ground rules and sticking to them. First, your lease should state any bounced check fee that you may charge. I recommend $25, though I have seen higher fees. Your fee should not be outrageous. If rent is $1000 a month you cannot charge a bounce check fee of $500. That really is un-enforceable. However, if you charge a late fee, and the bouncing of the check happens after the late fee is due, you can charge a late fee plus the bouncing fee. One of my tenants bounced recently and ended up paying $50 in fees.
It is very important that you enforce any fees in your lease agreement and that you enforce them in a regular and equal manner with all your tenants. If you do agree to waive a fee make sure that it is clear that this is a onetime exemption and will not be repeated for any reason. If your tenant is covering a bounced rent check you must get the rent in cash or a money order. Do not take another check. The company I worked for had a rule that after you bounced two checks you would never be able to pay with a check again. It always had to be guaranteed funds after that. Unfortunately some people have a pattern of always bouncing checks. Make sure you have rules and limits and that they are written in the lease agreement.