How do you collect lot rent online?

The workflow below covers what to set up, what to watch, and where operators lose money.

What do you need before you start?

Before you send a single resident a login link, gather three things: a payment processor account, a compliant ACH authorization form, and a copy of your state's mobile home lot rent statute.

A payment processor is the company that moves money from a resident's bank account or card to yours. Confirm they support ACH debits for consumer rent payments before you sign anything. Processor fees vary and are not standardized; ask each vendor for their per-transaction ACH fee, their card processing rate, their monthly platform fee, and whether they charge for returned items. Get those numbers in writing before you commit.

An ACH authorization form is the written document a resident signs to allow you to pull funds from their bank account on a recurring basis. Under NACHA Operating Rules, that authorization must be in writing, signed or similarly authenticated by the resident, and written in language that is clear and readily understandable. You must keep the signed form for two years after the resident revokes it.

Your state statute matters because mobile home lot rent rules vary state by state, and the variation is material. Florida, California, and Maryland each have specific statutes; operators in other states should search their state's mobile home or manufactured housing act for sections covering payment methods, late fees, and grace periods. Those three topics are where state law most commonly overrides what a lease or portal default would otherwise allow.

What is the step-by-step workflow?

1. Open a processor account and confirm ACH and card support for consumer rent payments.
2. Draft an ACH authorization form that meets NACHA Operating Rules: written, signed or similarly authenticated, and clear and readily understandable. Have it reviewed by someone familiar with NACHA requirements before you use it.
3. Pull your lease and your state's mobile home lot rent statute. Confirm your portal's due date, grace period, and late-fee settings match both. In Maryland, under the mobile home law cited by Maryland People's Law Library, a late fee cannot exceed the greater of 5% of rent or $5.00, and it cannot be charged until rent is five days past due.
4. Set up your portal with at least two payment methods: ACH and card. Keep a paper check option active. Under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (15 U.S.C. § 1693 et seq., implemented by CFPB Regulation E), you cannot require recurring ACH as a condition of tenancy.
5. Send each resident a written transition notice. Explain what the portal is, what it costs them if anything, and that paper payment remains available. Give residents enough time to enroll before the next due date; two to three weeks is a practical minimum.
6. Collect a signed ACH authorization form from every resident who chooses ACH. File it immediately. Do not originate a single ACH pull without it.
7. Run a test payment on your own account before going live with residents.
8. Go live. Monitor your return rate in the processor dashboard from day one.

What should be on your enrollment checklist?

• Processor account open and tested, with per-transaction and return fees confirmed in writing
• ACH authorization form reviewed against NACHA Operating Rules
• State lot rent statute reviewed and portal settings confirmed to match
• Late-fee grace period in portal matches lease and state law exactly
• Paper check option confirmed active
• Convenience fee, if any, disclosed in writing before the resident pays; CFPB Regulation E requires that any fee be clearly authorized and disclosed
• Signed ACH authorization form on file for every ACH-enrolled resident
• Authorization forms stored with a two-year post-revocation retention schedule
• Return-rate monitoring enabled in processor dashboard
• Transition notice sent to all residents with adequate lead time before the first online due date

What does a first month look like in practice?

Hypothetical example: a 60-lot community in Florida moves to online payments in March. The owner sets the portal due date to the first of the month with a grace period that matches her lease exactly; she does not rely on any state-mandated window because Florida's grace-period rules should be confirmed in the lease and under Florida Statutes Ch. 723 before any portal setting is applied. She keeps the check option active because under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (15 U.S.C. § 1693 et seq., implemented by CFPB Regulation E), she cannot require electronic payment as the sole method. She also notes that Florida's proposed SB 1550, if enacted, would explicitly require parks to accept checks and prohibit requiring electronic payment as the sole method; she treats that as a reason to keep paper payment available regardless of whether the bill passes.

Forty residents enroll in ACH and sign authorization forms. Fifteen pay by card. Five continue mailing checks. In the first 60 days, two ACH payments return because of closed accounts. NACHA Operating Rules cap overall ACH debit returns at 15.0% of originated debits on a rolling 60-day basis, and unauthorized returns at 0.5%. The owner contacts those two residents, updates their bank information, and re-runs the payments with fresh authorization. She also confirms with her processor whether the returns were administrative, which fall under the separate 3.0% NACHA threshold for administrative returns.

What mistakes cost money?

The most common mistake is configuring the portal's grace period or late-fee amount without checking state law. If your portal charges a late fee before your state allows it, you are collecting money you are not entitled to, and a resident complaint can trigger a regulatory review.

Skipping the written ACH authorization is the second mistake. If a resident disputes a pull and you have no signed form, your processor will side with the resident and charge you a return fee. Under NACHA Operating Rules, the authorization is your only defense.

Telling residents they must pay online is a third mistake. That statement alone can violate the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (15 U.S.C. § 1693 et seq.). In Florida, proposed SB 1550 would make this explicit if enacted; do not wait for it to pass to get your policy right.

Ignoring your return rate is costly in a different way. NACHA Operating Rules cap unauthorized ACH debit returns at 0.5% and overall debit returns at 15.0% of originated debits on a rolling 60-day basis. Exceeding those thresholds can trigger corrective-action requirements from your processor or cause them to drop you.

What should you measure?

Track four numbers every month.

First, the online adoption rate: residents paying online divided by total residents. Your processor's dashboard is the source.

Second, your ACH return rate: returned ACH transactions divided by total ACH transactions originated in the same 60-day window. Compare it against the NACHA thresholds of 0.5% for unauthorized returns and 3.0% for administrative returns, per NACHA Operating Rules.

Third, on-time payment rate: payments received on or before the due date divided by total payments due. According to Multifamily Dive and Rentec Direct 2025 data, online payers are reported to be 23% less likely to pay late than paper payers, so this number should improve as adoption rises.

Fourth, paper check volume: the count of checks received each month. A rising count after launch means your transition notice did not reach everyone, or some residents need a different approach.

What should you do next?

1. Pull your current lease and your state's manufactured housing or mobile home act today. Look specifically for the sections on payment methods, grace periods, and late fees.
2. Contact two or three payment processors and ask for their per-transaction ACH fee, card rate, monthly platform fee, and returned-item fee in writing.
3. Draft or obtain an ACH authorization form and confirm it meets NACHA Operating Rules before you use it.
4. Set up your portal in test mode and run a payment on your own account to confirm the due date, grace period, and late-fee settings match your lease and state law.
5. Send residents a written transition notice at least two to three weeks before the first online due date, confirming that checks remain accepted and disclosing any convenience fee.
6. Collect signed authorization forms from every ACH-enrolling resident and file them with a two-year post-revocation retention note.
7. Check your ACH return rate at 30 days and again at 60 days against the NACHA thresholds in NACHA Operating Rules.