Is is illegal for a rental property to deposit a check a day before rent and your bank post dated the check?

Question

I always do my rent check through my online bill pay. The bank sent the check out a day before the rent is do and they postdated the check for the due date. The apartment complex deposited my check the day they received the check and told me they have to deposit all checks that they receive that day even if it is early. I got an overdraft charge but my bank reversed it. I would just like to know if it is illegal for the apartment complex to do this.

Answer 1

The apartment complex has done nothing wrong. A check is valid when it is presented to the bank for payment. It sounds like your issue is with the bank. They issued the check contrary to your instructions. If the apartment complex is charging you a returned check fee you probably should pay it, get a receipt and present to the bank for reimbursement.

Answer 2

It is not illegal to post date a check. What is illegal is to write a check when you know there are insufficient funds in the account. Banks are not obligated to withhold the funds with a post dated check. The responsibility is up the recipient to not cash the check until the date on the check. If I write you a check dated December 15 but you cash it today [December 02] the bank may very well release the funds and I may end up with insufficient funds for other expenses. The check could also bounce or create penalties if my account goes into over draft status. Bottom line: In most areas, it is legal to post date a check. it is the responsibility of the person to whom the check is made out to, to make sure it is not cashed before the date on the check, not the bank's. I'm glad you asked this question. I was not aware that this could happen.

Answer 3

No it is not illegal. Lots of people pay their rent early & the landlord does not just hold on to those checks. A check can be cashed the minute someone receives it. Most banks do not even look at the date. There is law in many states the requires the property manager to deposit checks with in x # of days from the day they receive it.



Here in Oregon we are legally required to deposit checks with in 3 days of receipt.



EDIT: NO! A check IS NOT a contract in any way shape or form. The date written is NOT legally binding.



By that morons argument, I could sue the grocery store every time they did not cash my check on the day I gave it to them. They always take about a week to deposit it. I could be rich!

Answer 4

I'm not aware of any law stating that it is illegal to present a postdated check early. However, a check payment is a contract, so the payee is responsible to present payment on the agreed date. Theoretically, you could sue the apartment complex for your damages because they deposited the check earlier than the check's date. However, since your bank reverse the charges (and caused the postdated check problem), there are not much damages you could sue for.



It is a common accounting practice to not hold checks. Like cash-handling, many businesses have strict policies about immediately depositing all funds to reduce the liability of an employee losing or stealing revenue. Since your apartment complex's policy is to not hold postdated check, they could have refused your postdated check which may have caused your payment to be late.

Answer 5

No it's not. The check is good the moment it is received from the bank.



It is however, quite illegal to post date a check.

Answer 6

No laws against post dating a check. No laws against cashing the check. There are laws against writing a check when you know there aren't the funds in your account to cover it. So, technically, you were breaking the law.

Answer 7

A check can be deposited any time after you receive it.