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The LeaseRooster blog
What we are learning about running rentals, plus product news from the LeaseRooster team.
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101 posts-
Printable tenant screening checklist: one page per applicant
A one-page screening sheet you fill in for every applicant: the criteria at the top, a line for each check, and a decision box that names the reason. Plus the wording that keeps the sheet on the right side of fair housing law and the FCRA. Screening -
California Civil Code 1950.5 in plain English
The California security deposit statute, read one subdivision at a time: what counts as security, what a landlord can deduct, the photo rules added in 2025, the 21-day deadline, the receipts that go with the itemized statement, and what bad faith costs. Laws and rules -
California's AB 12 security deposit cap, explained
Since July 1, 2024, most California landlords can hold one month's rent as a deposit, furnished or not. Here is how the cap is worded, who qualifies for the two-month small-landlord exception, the service member carve-out, and the charges that quietly count toward the limit. Laws and rules -
LA RSO vs AB 1482: which one applies to my unit?
In the City of Los Angeles a rental falls into one of three buckets: the Rent Stabilization Ordinance at 3%, the statewide AB 1482 cap at 8.7%, or no cap at all. The building date and the property type decide which, and the city's Just Cause Ordinance reaches nearly everything the RSO does not. Laws and rules -
Oakland rent control for small landlords: the 2026-27 rules
Oakland's Rent Adjustment Program allows a 2.3% increase on covered units from August 1, 2026, and attaches paperwork to every notice: the RAP Notice, a business tax certificate, and a current rent registration. Which buildings are covered, how banking changed in 2026, and what happens to the units outside the program. Laws and rules -
Rent increase notice periods in California: 30 days or 90
Civil Code § 827 sets two notice periods for a rent increase on a month-to-month tenancy. Which one applies depends on the size of the increase over twelve months, and the delivery method adds days of its own. A date-by-date example and the local rules that sit on top. Laws and rules -
How to calculate a legal rent increase in California
A five-step walkthrough: decide which cap governs the unit, find the right base rent, pull the right CPI figure for the right date, apply the formula, and check the notice period. With the 2026-27 figures and a worked example that catches the most common mistake. Laws and rules -
Is my property exempt from AB 1482?
The six exemptions in the rent cap statute, the two that small landlords actually use, the sentence that has to be in the lease for the single-family exemption to count, and the traps that quietly put an "exempt" house back under the cap. Laws and rules -
San Jose rent control for small landlords: what the ARO covers
San Jose's Apartment Rent Ordinance reaches about 38,000 older apartments and caps them at one 5% increase a year. Duplexes, houses, condos, and newer buildings fall outside it, and most of those land under the state cap instead. Who is covered, what the city expects every year, and what to check first. Laws and rules -
How to raise the rent without losing a good tenant
A rent increase is an arithmetic problem before it is a conversation. Work out what one month of vacancy actually costs you, compare it to what the increase brings in, and the right number usually picks itself. Money -
Does a landlord have to give rent receipts?
In some states, yes, with the contents spelled out in the statute. In others there is no rent receipt rule at all, only a general right to demand a receipt for any payment. Either way, the reason to issue them is the same. Laws and rules -
Where a security deposit is supposed to sit while you hold it
Several states tell you exactly where deposit money has to go, who it belongs to, and what you must tell the tenant about the account. Commingling it with operating cash is a paperwork failure that can cost the whole deposit. Money