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The LeaseRooster blog
What we are learning about running rentals, plus product news from the LeaseRooster team.
Posts
101 posts-
Rental property spreadsheet: the columns worth tracking
Which tabs a rental property spreadsheet needs, the columns on each one, the formatting habits that keep it usable for years, and the signs that it is time to move the whole thing into software. Money -
How to keep a tenant ledger, with a filled-in sample
A tenant ledger is the running record of one tenancy: every charge, every payment, and the balance after each. How to set one up, a three-month sample with a prorated first month and a bounced check, and the habits that keep it trustworthy. Money -
Quarterly rental inspection checklist (printable)
A printable walk-through for the inspection you do every three months while a tenant lives in the unit: the notice to send first, a room-by-room list built for 30 minutes, and what to do with what you find. Laws and rules -
Returning a deposit to a California tenant you can't reach
The tenant moved out and stopped answering. What California's deposit statute says about where the statement goes, how the refund goes back when rent was paid electronically, what to do with roommates you cannot find, and what happens to a check nobody cashes. Laws and rules -
Move-out photos that show wear vs damage, room by room
A shot list for move-out photos that let a stranger tell ordinary wear from damage: what to capture in the kitchen, bathroom, bedrooms, living areas, and outside, and how California's before-and-after photo rule shapes the order you work in. Laws and rules -
California rental application: what you can and can't ask
The questions a California rental application can ask, the ones it can't, and the rules that catch landlords who copied a form from another state: immigration status, Section 8 and other sources of income, co-applicant income, and the screening fee cap. Laws and rules -
The pre-move-out inspection in California, step by step
California requires landlords to offer an initial inspection before a tenant moves out. The written notice and what it must say, the two-week window, the 48-hour notice, the itemized list you leave behind, and what you can still deduct afterward. Laws and rules -
Belongings a tenant left behind in California: what to do
California's abandoned property procedure, Civil Code 1980 to 1991: the written notice and its 15 and 18 day deadlines, storage and what you can charge for it, the $700 line between keeping and selling, and how a public sale works. Laws and rules -
California move-out statement: template and worked example
What a California itemized deposit statement has to contain, the documents that go with it, and a filled-in example for a two-bedroom unit, line by line, from the deposit received to the refund. Laws and rules -
Which California cities require interest on security deposits?
California state law does not require interest on a security deposit, but several cities do. San Francisco, Los Angeles (for rent-stabilized units), Berkeley, and Pasadena each set a rate every year and a date it is due. Here is who is covered, the current rates, and where each city publishes the next one. Money -
How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in California?
The California answer in dollars: one month's rent for most landlords, two for some small owners, with first month's rent and a capped screening fee on top. Worked examples at real rents, the charges that eat into the cap, and what the big cities add. Laws and rules -
Pet deposits and pet rent in California: what is legal
In California a pet deposit is part of the security deposit and has to fit under the AB 12 cap, a one-time pet fee cannot be nonrefundable, and assistance animals carry no pet charges at all. Here is how to price a pet under those rules, plus the written pet policy rule coming in 2027. Money