Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in New Jersey

no.

call me if you need a lawyer to explain this to them.

That is an interesting question, especially in modern times. Here is the theory: (1) A contract can provide for a method of payment which then becomes a requirement of that contract. So yes, a contract can state that personal checks will not be accepted, etc. Failure to pay in the contracted way becomes a breach of the contract. (2) A landlord can impose reasonable changes in a lease when it is renewed. Whether such a change is reasonable may be something that a judge has to decide. For example, if the premises consisted of multiple units where a large number of tenants did not have access to the Internet or have credit accounts, such a change might be unreasonable. (3) Once the rent is overdue, it becomes a debt and, the lawful currency of the United States is "legal tender for all debts, public and private". The penalty for refusing to accept payment of a debt in cash is extinguishment of the debt. That is the legal force that makes people accept paper currency - it extinguishes the debt whether or not accepted. So, you may be taking a chance by refusing to pay as the landlord wants but you have some recourse. The practical question is how much are you willing to pay for feeding the passive-aggressive side of your nature?

See also: http://info.corbettlaw.net/lawguru.htm