NYC Landlords Should Not Control the Rent Paper Trail

Sign this petition to tell Mayor Mamdani and New York lawmakers: tenants deserve the right to a verifiable electronic record of their rent payments.
Landlords should not control the paper trail that can determine whether a New Yorker keeps or loses their home.

New York law protects tenants from being forced to pay rent electronically. But that protection should not prevent tenants from having the right to choose a secure electronic rent payment method.

The current system leaves a dangerous gap.

When landlords can legally refuse electronic payments, they can retain enormous control over the records used to establish whether rent was received.

At best, a missing payment may be the result of poor accounting on the landlord's part.

At worst, this creates a loophole that can be exploited to falsely initiate nonpayment and eviction proceedings against tenants.

That risk is particularly concerning in historically Black and Brown neighborhoods like Central Harlem and other communities experiencing rapid gentrification and displacement.

New York should require every residential landlord to offer tenants at least one voluntary electronic rent-payment option that creates an independent, timestamped record of payment.

Tenants who want to pay by check or money order should remain free to do so. But a landlord should not be able to refuse electronic rent payments entirely and then take a tenant to Housing Court claiming a rent check was never received.

Why I Started This Petition

For the past three years I have been in and out of Housing Court with my landlord in Central Harlem over disputes that my rent checks were not received in the mail. Other black tenants in my building have experienced the same issue and have signed a petition demanding the landlord accept electronic rent payment options.

My landlord refuses to accept or provide his tenants with an electronic rent-payment option.

That means tenants have had to rely on physical checks and the landlord’s own accounting of whether those payments were received.

And I know firsthand why that is dangerous.

In at least one instance, I have evidence that rent checks my landlord claimed were not received were actually deposited by the landlord while eviction proceedings against me were being pursued.

Think about the power imbalance that creates.

A tenant says: “I paid my rent.”

A landlord says: “We never received it in the mail.”

Housing Court: "We cannot make the landlord accept electronic rent payments."

And the tenant can end up in Housing Court fighting an eviction based on the landlord's misrepresentations.

No landlord should have unilateral control over the paper trail that can determine whether someone loses their home.

What We Are Asking For

We are calling on Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the New York City Council, and New York State lawmakers to support legislation requiring residential landlords to provide tenants with at least one voluntary electronic rent-payment option.

The system should provide tenants with a verifiable record showing:

• The amount paid
• The date and time payment was submitted
• Confirmation that payment was received
• The rental period covered
• A transaction or confirmation number
• An accessible history of previous payments

Traditional payment methods should remain available for tenants who prefer or need them.

The choice should belong to the tenant.

Take the Paper Trail Out of the Landlord’s Hands.

This is not about eliminating checks.

It is about eliminating ambiguity.

If a tenant did not pay, the record should show it.

If a landlord received the rent, the record should show that too.

A New Yorker’s ability to remain in their home should never come down to a landlord saying:

“We never received your check.”

SIGN THIS PETITION.
Tell Mayor Mamdani and New York lawmakers:

Give tenants the right to a verifiable electronic rent payment option.