Self-managing landlord answers
Straight, plain-English answers to the questions landlords who manage their own units actually ask — collecting rent, deposits, leases, screening, repairs, taxes, and ending a tenancy. Written to be genuinely useful, and honest about where the rules depend on where you live.
Getting paid
Pick one traceable method and stick to it — ACH or bank transfer and online portals beat cash or checks because every payment is dated and recorded. Put the due date, accepted methods, and any grace period in the lease, automate the reminder, and keep a per-unit ledger so you always know who has paid. DoorOps does the last part for you: a read-only bank feed matches each deposit to the right unit automatically, so the ledger is never a spreadsheet you have to maintain.
Charge a late fee only if it is written into the lease, is reasonable, and stays within your state's cap — then apply it the same way every time. Send a written reminder the day after the grace period ends and keep a record of every notice. Consistency protects you: selectively enforcing late fees is what gets landlords into fair-housing and small-claims trouble. Late-fee limits vary by state, so check yours.
Be careful. In some states, accepting partial rent after you have served a nonpayment notice can reset or pause an eviction, because you have arguably agreed to a new arrangement. If you do accept it, put the balance owed and the deadline in writing and keep the record. Understand your state's rule before you deposit the money — this is one where the details genuinely matter.
Deposits
Many states cap the deposit at one to two months' rent, and some require you to hold it in a separate account or pay interest on it. Check your state's specific limit before you set an amount. Whatever you collect, document the unit's condition at move-in with dated photos and a signed checklist — that record is what makes deductions defensible later.
Most states set a hard deadline after move-out — commonly 14 to 30 days — and require an itemized list of any deductions with receipts. Miss the deadline or skip the itemization and you can forfeit your right to withhold anything, and in some states owe the tenant a penalty. Normal wear and tear is not deductible; actual damage beyond that is. Deadlines and rules vary by state.
The lease
At minimum: the parties' names, the rent amount and due date, the term, deposit terms, the late-fee policy, who handles which maintenance, your entry-notice policy, and the house rules. It also needs the disclosures your jurisdiction requires — federal lead-paint disclosure for any home built before 1978, plus state-specific addenda. Start from a lease written for your state rather than a generic template.
Between fixed-term leases you can generally raise rent with proper written notice, but some cities and states have rent control or set minimum notice periods, and you can never raise rent to retaliate or discriminate. Give more written notice than the minimum when you can, apply increases consistently, and put the new amount in writing. What is allowed varies a lot by jurisdiction — confirm your local rule first.
Screening
Write down your criteria — income relative to rent, credit threshold, rental history, verifiable references — and apply the exact same standard to every applicant. Get written consent before running a credit or background check, and keep a record of how each applicant measured against the criteria. Fair-housing law applies to small landlords too, so a documented, identical process is your best protection.
Steer entirely clear of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, and disability — the seven federal protected classes — plus any additional classes your state or city protects, which can include age, source of income, marital status, or sexual orientation. Do not ask about children, where someone is from, or a disability. Keep every question tied to objective, consistently-applied rental criteria.
Upkeep
Under the implied warranty of habitability, you must keep the unit livable — working heat, hot and cold water, safe plumbing and electrical, a sound structure, and no serious health hazards. Respond to repair requests promptly and in writing, and keep a dated log of what was reported and when you fixed it. Exactly what counts as the landlord's responsibility versus the tenant's varies by state and by what the lease says.
Most states require reasonable advance notice — 24 hours is the common standard — for non-emergency entry like inspections or repairs, and let you enter without notice only for a genuine emergency such as a burst pipe. Put your entry policy in the lease, give notice in writing, and enter at reasonable hours. Following the same policy every time keeps a routine visit from becoming a dispute.
Money & taxes
Common Schedule E deductions include mortgage interest, property tax, insurance, repairs and maintenance, management and software costs, utilities you pay, travel to the property, and depreciation of the building. Keep every receipt and categorize expenses as they happen rather than reconstructing them in April. This is general information, not tax advice — confirm your situation with a CPA. DoorOps sorts each transaction into Schedule-E categories with a confidence score, and asks you by text about the ones it is unsure of.
Run the rentals through a separate bank account, save every lease and receipt, and track income and expenses by property and unit so you can see each door's real performance. Reconcile monthly so nothing is missing at tax time, and keep digital, dated records instead of a shoebox. Good records are also what protect you in a deposit dispute or an audit.
If you paid an unincorporated contractor $600 or more for services during the year, you generally issue a 1099-NEC, so collect a W-9 before you pay anyone the first time — chasing tax IDs in January is miserable. Thresholds and forms can change year to year, so confirm the current rules with your accountant. Keeping contractor payments categorized all year makes this a five-minute job instead of a weekend.
Moving on
Give the written notice your lease and state require — often 30 to 60 days — in the correct form, and keep proof of how you delivered it. Never change the locks, shut off utilities, or remove a tenant's belongings yourself; that is illegal self-help eviction in every state and can leave you owing the tenant damages. If it is nonpayment or a lease breach, you have to go through the formal court eviction process. This is not legal advice — for a contested eviction, talk to a local attorney.
The signal is when the back office starts costing you — evenings lost to receipts and rent-chasing, or a vacancy that lingers because you cannot reply to inquiries fast enough. A property manager typically charges 8 to 10 percent of rent to take it over. Software like DoorOps handles the same repetitive work — renter replies, rent tracking, transaction categorizing, utility-bill reading — so you keep control and the margin without hiring anyone.
DoorOps answers renters, tracks every rent payment, and keeps each transaction sorted into Schedule-E categories all year — so the work behind these answers stops eating your evenings.
14 days free · no card required