Do landlords have to give rent receipts? A state-by-state guide, with sources

Some states require a landlord to give a written receipt for rent, usually when the tenant pays in cash. Many leave it to the lease and common sense. This guide lists only the states where we read the official statute ourselves, shows the citation and link for each, and says plainly which states we have not covered yet.

Rules vary by state and city, and they change. This page is general information, not legal advice. Do not rely on it alone. Read the statute linked for your state, check your city and county, and ask an attorney or a local housing agency if the answer matters.

How to read this page

Each state entry below has the section number, a link to the official text, a short summary that stays close to what the page says, and the date we checked it (October 25, 2026). A summary is not the law. Statutes often have definitions, exceptions and amendments that a sentence cannot carry, and a lease or a local ordinance may add more. We have left out any state where we could not read the official text ourselves, rather than repeat what other websites say.

"Rent receipt" in these statutes usually means a written acknowledgment that rent was received. It is not the same thing as a rent invoice, and a lease is not a receipt.

States we verified

Three states so far. All three were read on the state legislature's own website.

New York

Citation: N.Y. Real Property Law § 235-e (Duty to provide a written receipt)
Official text: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/RPP/235-E

• For residential premises, when rent is paid in cash or in a form other than the tenant's personal check, the landlord or the landlord's agent must give the tenant a written receipt. The section lists what the receipt shows: the date, the amount, the premises and the period covered, and the signature and title of the person receiving the payment.
• For rent paid by the tenant's personal check, the tenant can ask in writing for a receipt, and the landlord must then provide one. Unless the tenant says otherwise, the request applies for the whole tenancy.
• The section sets timing: immediately when the rent is handed over in person, and within fifteen days when it is sent indirectly. It also requires landlords to keep records of cash rent receipts for at least three years.

The page shows its most recent revision as December 31, 2021. Last checked October 25, 2026.

Washington

Citation: RCW 59.18.063 (Landlord: Written receipts for payments made by tenant)
Official text: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=59.18.063

• A landlord may refuse cash. If the landlord accepts a payment in cash, the landlord must provide a receipt for it.
• On a tenant's request, the landlord must provide a written receipt for payments made in a form other than cash.
• The same section says landlords must accept a personal check, cashier's check or money order for rent, with an exception for tenants whose personal checks were returned recently, and must allow rent to be mailed unless an accessible on-site payment location is provided. The section does not say what a receipt must contain.

The section history lists amendments in 1997, 2011, 2020 and 2022. Last checked October 25, 2026.

Minnesota

Citation: Minn. Stat. § 504B.118 (Receipt for rent paid in cash)
Official text: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/504B.118

• A landlord who receives rent or other payments from a tenant in cash must provide a written receipt.
• The receipt is due immediately upon receipt if the payment is made in person, or within three business days if the cash payment is not made in person.

The page says the section has been affected by law enacted during the 2026 Regular Session (2026 c 81 s 2). We did not compare the old and new text, so read the current version on the Revisor's page. Last checked October 25, 2026.

Not covered yet

We make no claim about the following, and nothing here should be read as saying they have or do not have a rule: California, Texas, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, Connecticut and every other state and territory not listed above, and the District of Columbia. Cities and counties can add their own rules, and we have not looked at any.

We tried to read California Civil Code section 1947.3 and the Texas Property Code on their official sites when preparing this page, and could not get a readable copy of either, so we are not summarizing them. We will add a state only after reading its official text, and we will update the date when we check again.

What a good rent receipt shows

Whatever your state requires, a receipt does its job when anyone can read it a year later and understand it. Put these on every one:

• The date you received the money, not the date you wrote the receipt, if they differ.
• The amount received, and the amount still owed, if any, so a part payment is not mistaken for a full one.
• The rent period it covers, for example "November 1 to November 30, 2026". This is the line that settles most disputes.
• The property address and the unit, and the tenant's name.
• How it was paid: cash, check with its number, money order, transfer.
• Who received it: a name and signature. New York's statute lists the receiving person's signature and title among the items for the receipts it covers.

The rent receipt maker has fields for all of these, including late fees and the remaining balance. If you collect rent every month, the rent receipt book template prints three to a page.

Handling cash rent

Cash is where the statutes above focus, and for a good reason: it leaves no bank record. If you accept cash, write the receipt at the moment you take the money, hand the tenant the original and keep a copy. In Washington's statute a landlord may refuse cash, and the other statutes assume the landlord accepted it, so check the rule and your lease before you decide to accept cash at all. Do not leave cash receipts for later: New York's section sets an immediate receipt for in-person payments, and Minnesota's does the same for in-person cash.

If you pay or collect through a bank, a payment app or a property manager's portal, the system's confirmation is a record but may not show the rent period. Adding a receipt that does costs you a minute and may save you an argument.

Records and copies

A receipt book with duplicates, a folder of PDFs or a spreadsheet all work, as long as you can find the receipt for any month. Name files with the unit and month, for example "unit-2b-2026-11". New York says landlords must keep records of cash rent receipts for at least three years; for any other state, ask the statute or a local attorney how long records must be kept. Receipts also back up your tax records for the property, so an accountant may want them for longer than any receipt rule requires.

Security deposits have their own rules, often stricter than rent. A deposit receipt should say the amount, the date and what the money is for; see the security deposit receipt page, and read your state's deposit statute separately. This guide does not cover deposits.