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Austin Spaeth Oct 3, 2026 Move-in / Move-out

New Tenant Welcome Letter: What to Include (+ Template)

A new tenant welcome letter is the written move-in instructions a landlord gives at the start of a tenancy. Send it at or just before move-in. It should confirm the move-in date and rent details, explain how and where to pay, set the deadline for returning the move-in condition report, explain how to request repairs, list the keys and access devices handed over, cover utilities and renters insurance, and lay out the house rules and emergency contacts. Done right, it starts the tenancy with expectations in writing instead of assumptions.

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Is a Landlord Required to Provide Hot Water?

Oct 2, 2026

Hot water is one of the few things almost every state agrees a landlord must provide, and unlike heat it is required all year, not just a heating season. This guide covers where hot water is required, the minimum-temperature rules codes set, why no hot water is treated as an urgent repair, and the dated records that keep a dead water heater from turning into rent withholding or a habitability claim.

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Move-Out Letter to a Tenant: What to Send and When

Oct 1, 2026

When a tenant gives notice, the move-out letter you send back is the quiet document that decides your deposit disposition. It fixes the move-out date, the condition standard, the key handoff, and the return clock in writing. This guide covers what to include, the timing that matters, and a template you can copy.

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Is a Landlord Liable if a Tenant Gets Hurt? (2026)

Sep 30, 2026

A tenant falls on a broken stair, a guest trips on a loose handrail, and a few weeks later a demand letter names you. Whether you pay usually turns on one question: did you know about the hazard and fail to fix it in a reasonable time? This guide explains the negligence standard courts apply, where injuries actually create landlord liability, and the maintenance record that keeps a tenant's accident from becoming your six-figure problem.

Move-in and move-out records

Photos, condition notes, deposit packets, signed PDFs — the records that decide every deposit dispute.

Open the move-in / move-out hub →
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New Tenant Welcome Letter: What to Include (+ Template)

Oct 3, 2026

The letter you hand a new tenant with the keys is the quiet document that sets the tone and the paper trail for the whole tenancy. It fixes rent details, the move-in condition deadline, how repairs get reported, and the house rules in writing. This guide covers what to include, the timing that matters, and a template you can copy.

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Move-Out Letter to a Tenant: What to Send and When

Oct 1, 2026

When a tenant gives notice, the move-out letter you send back is the quiet document that decides your deposit disposition. It fixes the move-out date, the condition standard, the key handoff, and the return clock in writing. This guide covers what to include, the timing that matters, and a template you can copy.

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What to Do When a Tenant Dies: A Landlord's Guide (2026)

Sep 26, 2026

When a tenant dies, a landlord faces a set of questions with real financial and legal traps: the lease doesn't automatically end, the security deposit and rent still have to be accounted for, and the belongings inside belong to the estate, not to you. This guide walks the whole sequence, from the first days after the death to releasing the unit, with a documentation approach that protects you from disputes with heirs, executors, and the estate.

Repairs, vendors, and receipts

Tracking a repair from tenant request to completion — and keeping the receipts where you can find them.

Open the maintenance hub →
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Is a Landlord Required to Provide Hot Water?

Oct 2, 2026

Hot water is one of the few things almost every state agrees a landlord must provide, and unlike heat it is required all year, not just a heating season. This guide covers where hot water is required, the minimum-temperature rules codes set, why no hot water is treated as an urgent repair, and the dated records that keep a dead water heater from turning into rent withholding or a habitability claim.

Photo via Unsplash

Is a Landlord Liable if a Tenant Gets Hurt? (2026)

Sep 30, 2026

A tenant falls on a broken stair, a guest trips on a loose handrail, and a few weeks later a demand letter names you. Whether you pay usually turns on one question: did you know about the hazard and fail to fix it in a reasonable time? This guide explains the negligence standard courts apply, where injuries actually create landlord liability, and the maintenance record that keeps a tenant's accident from becoming your six-figure problem.

Photo via Unsplash

Is a Landlord Required to Provide Heat?

Sep 27, 2026

Heat is one of the few things almost every state agrees a landlord must provide. This guide covers where heat is required, the minimum-temperature rules cities set, why no heat in winter is treated as an emergency rather than a routine repair, and the dated records that keep a cold-weather breakdown from turning into rent withholding or a habitability claim.

Lease violations and documentation

How to keep a paper trail that holds up when the third complaint becomes a court date.

Open the lease violations hub →
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Is a Landlord Liable for a Tenant's Dog Bite? (2026)

Sep 28, 2026

A tenant's dog bites someone and the injured party's lawyer names you, the landlord, in the claim. Whether you pay usually comes down to one question: did you know the dog was dangerous and fail to act? This guide explains the knowledge standard courts apply, the moves that quietly put you on the hook, and the documentation that keeps a tenant's dog from becoming your six-figure problem.

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Constructive Eviction: A Landlord's Guide (2026)

Sep 24, 2026

Constructive eviction is a tenant's claim that your failure to fix a serious problem forced them out, canceling the lease and sometimes exposing you to damages. It only works under narrow conditions, and every one of them turns on your repair records. This guide covers what counts, what a tenant must prove, and how a documented response timeline defeats a bad claim.

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Military Clause in a Lease: SCRA Rules for Landlords

Sep 23, 2026

An active-duty tenant with the right orders can legally end a lease early, and a landlord who charges a penalty for it can end up on the wrong side of a federal law. This guide explains the SCRA, the difference between it and a lease's military clause, the exact notice and documentation a tenant must provide, and how to handle the move-out and deposit so you stay compliant and still protect yourself.

Property documentation, generally

Why every part of property management — not just leases — needs a paper trail.

Open the documentation hub →
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New Tenant Welcome Letter: What to Include (+ Template)

Oct 3, 2026

The letter you hand a new tenant with the keys is the quiet document that sets the tone and the paper trail for the whole tenancy. It fixes rent details, the move-in condition deadline, how repairs get reported, and the house rules in writing. This guide covers what to include, the timing that matters, and a template you can copy.

Photo via Unsplash

Is a Landlord Required to Provide Hot Water?

Oct 2, 2026

Hot water is one of the few things almost every state agrees a landlord must provide, and unlike heat it is required all year, not just a heating season. This guide covers where hot water is required, the minimum-temperature rules codes set, why no hot water is treated as an urgent repair, and the dated records that keep a dead water heater from turning into rent withholding or a habitability claim.

Photo via Unsplash

Move-Out Letter to a Tenant: What to Send and When

Oct 1, 2026

When a tenant gives notice, the move-out letter you send back is the quiet document that decides your deposit disposition. It fixes the move-out date, the condition standard, the key handoff, and the return clock in writing. This guide covers what to include, the timing that matters, and a template you can copy.

State-by-state landlord guides

Statute-cited landlord and property manager guides for the jurisdictions where the rules actually live.

Open the state guides hub →
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The California Landlord & Property Manager Guide (2026)

Aug 25, 2026

Everything a California landlord or property manager needs in one place: the AB 12 one-month security deposit cap and 21-day return clock under Civ. Code § 1950.5, the AB 2801 photo-documentation mandate that phased in through 2025, the AB 1482 Tenant Protection Act rent cap (5% plus local CPI, capped at 10%) and just-cause framework at Civ. Code §§ 1947.12 and 1946.2 as tightened by SB 567, the unlawful detainer process with the AB 2347 10-day answer window effective January 1, 2025, the Civ. Code § 789.3 self-help penalty of actual damages plus $100 per day, the 24-hour entry rule at § 1954, source-of-income protection that requires most landlords to consider Section 8, the Costa-Hawkins limits on local rent control after Prop 33 failed in 2024, the FAIR Plan wildfire-insurance reality after the January 2025 Los Angeles fires, and city-by-city short-term-rental rules for Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, and Santa Monica.

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The Texas Landlord & Property Manager Guide (2026)

Aug 23, 2026

Everything a Texas landlord or property manager needs in one place: the Property Code Chapter 92 residential tenancy framework, the 30-day deposit refund clock under § 92.103 with the forwarding-address precondition at § 92.107 and the bad-faith penalty of $100 plus three times the amount wrongfully withheld plus attorney's fees at § 92.109, the § 92.019 late fee safe harbor (12 percent for four-or-fewer-unit structures, 10 percent for larger), the SB 38 eviction overhaul that takes effect January 1, 2026 and bars tenant counterclaims while adding a summary-disposition path, the § 24.005 three-day notice to vacate, the Justice of the Peace forcible-detainer procedure under Rule 510, the § 92.0081 lockout and § 92.008 utility-interruption damages (one month's rent plus $1,000 plus actual damages, court costs, and attorney's fees), the § 92.331 retaliation window, the Local Government Code § 214.902 rent-control preemption and § 250.007 Section 8 preemption, the § 92.0135 flood disclosure, the 20 percent non-homestead appraisal cap, and the city-by-city short-term rental rules for Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Fort Worth.

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The Maryland Landlord & Property Manager Guide (2026)

Jun 1, 2026

Everything a Maryland landlord or property manager needs in one place: Real Property Article Title 8, the Renters' Rights and Stabilization Act's one-month deposit cap (RP § 8-203), the 45-day return and 3× damages penalty, mandatory deposit interest, the 10-day notice and District Court summary-ejectment process (RP §§ 8-401, 8-402, 8-402.1), the right of redemption, the 60-day month-to-month notice, source-of-income protection under the HOME Act, county rent stabilization (Montgomery, Prince George's, Takoma Park), STR rules by city, coastal/flood insurance, and the Maryland traps (the rental-license-to-file rule, the $43 surcharge you can't pass through, the 6-month retaliation presumption).

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