If you’re a landlord, there’s no need to use paper and pen to manage your rental properties. In fact, there are many apps that can make your life easier when it comes to renting out properties and collecting rent from tenants. Here are some of the best rental property apps for landlords looking to simplify rental property management.
Why Use an App for Your Rental Property?
There are many reasons why you should use an app or property management software for your rental property. For one thing, it can make your life easier by streamlining the process of collecting rent from tenants and managing your properties. You can also use these rental property apps to create professional-looking listings for each of your properties, which will help attract more potential renters. And, you can even report tenant payments to credit bureaus, so your tenant is even more incentivized to pay on time! So let’s dive into some of the best rental property apps that can help streamline some of the crucial property management services that are a must for landlords.
Things to Look for in a Rental Property App
Before you go off and download the first landlord app you find, make sure it matches your needs and your budget. If the app hits all of these below points, there’s a good chance it’s worth using!
Affordability
The first thing you want to look for in a rental property app is affordability since the last thing you need to worry about is your budget. If the app has a free version that offers most of what you need, then go for it! But if not, make sure there are affordable plans available so that you won’t have to pay too much out of pocket.
Ease of Use
The next thing you want to look for in a landlord app is the ease of use. If the app is too complicated or has confusing features, then it’s not going to be helpful and may even cause more problems than it solves! Talk with other landlords who use apps like this or read reviews to see what people think about them.
Data Security
The last thing you want is for someone to hack into your landlord app and steal all of your data. This can be a major problem if it happens, but luckily there are ways to keep this from happening. You should always look for an app that uses SSL encryption and two-factor authentication as these features will help keep your data safe.
Integrations
Apps are great, but they’re only as good as the data in them. If your rental property app doesn’t sync with other programs and services then it will be hard to get all of the information you need in order to manage your properties effectively. You should look for landlord apps that integrate with other systems like accounting or bookkeeping software so you can easily share information between them.
Does the Job
The last thing you want is an app that doesn’t do what it’s supposed to. If the landlord app you’re using can’t do everything you need it to then it won’t be very useful at all. You should always look for apps that offer features like tenant screening and background checks as well as rent collection, lease management, and property maintenance in one place, so you solve all your problems with one rental property app, not multiple.
8 Best Rental Property Apps for Landlords
Now you know where to start on your search for the ultimate rental property app. But, here are some of our favorites to get you going!
- Best Overall: RentRedi
- Best for Listing Properties: Avail
- Best for Tenant Screening: RentBerry
- Best for Lease Agreements: Avail
- Best for Collecting Rent: PayRent
- Best for Finding Contractors: Thumbtack
- Best for Accounting: QuickBooks
- Best for Taxes: DoorLoop
1. Best Overall Property Management App: RentRedi
RentRedi is a great choice for landlords and property owners who want to streamline the rental process. This app lets you create listings, manage your rental properties, and accept payments all from one place!
| Pros | Cons |
| 👍 Affordable pricing for DIY landlords 👍 Listing integration with top rental websites 👍 Automatic late fee sending 👍 Unlimited units and tenants | 👎 No free trial 👎 No automatic data integration with QuickBooks |
💸 Pricing: $19.95/month or $9/month if paid annually
2. Best App for Listing Properties: Avail
Avail, which was recently acquired by Realtor.com, has become one of the best listing and screening apps around. Avail is a great app for landlords who want to list their properties on the market. You can create professional-looking listings that include photos and descriptions of your rental units all from avail, and then, automatically get your listing posted across 12 top rental sites, for free!
| Pros | Cons |
| 👍 Completely free to access full suite of features 👍 Syndicates your listing to the most popular sites like Zillow, Trulia, Zumper, and Hotpads 👍 Great, cost-effective tenant screening features as well | 👎 Does not offer mobile applications 👎 Higher ACH, debit/credit, and tenant screening fees than RentRedi |
💸 Pricing: $0/unit for most landlords, $5/unit/month for premium features
Best App for Tenant Screening: RentBerry
RentBerry is a great app for landlords who want to screen prospective tenants before they move into their properties. You can create custom, online tenant applications that include questions about the applicant’s credit score and employment history. RentBerry offers exhaustive credit and background reports for tenant screening with their easy, tenant-paid packages. These reports can allow you to see rental history, evictions, civil records, criminal history, and more within minutes of an application being completed. And the best part? The screening fee is paid by the applicant, not the landlord!
| Pros | Cons |
| 👍 Extensive background reports that cover credit, criminal, and eviction history 👍 Free for landlords 👍 Screening only costs $39.99 for tenants, far cheaper than many other extensive background checks | 👎 Not as widely used as apps like Avail and RentRedi 👎 Property management app lacks features more established products offer |
💸 Pricing: Free for Landlords!
4. Best App for Lease Agreements: Avail
With lawyer-approved lease agreements from Avail, you’re one step closer to finalizing an application with your dream tenant. It’s easy to draft the terms of your lease and send it to your tenant for review before you sign it, which means no more back-and-forth between you and your applicant (or your lawyer!). Each state-specific rental lease agreement includes disclosures needed to keep compliance with your state.
| Pros | Cons |
| 👍 Lawyer-approved, state-specific leases make creating a lease easy 👍 E-sign within Avail for even more seamless tenant selection 👍 Localized tips for rent prices, late fees, and more. | 👎 May not work as smoothly with things like master leases or more complicated documents |
💸 Pricing: $0/unit for most landlords, $5/unit/month for premium features
5. Best App for Collecting Rent: PayRent
As stated in the name PayRent allows you to digitally collect rent payments from tenants across multiple rental properties. You can accept credit cards or bank transfers, so you’re not waiting for mailbox money And, it’s free for landlords! You pay nothing for this service! This is a perfect app for landlords who have their management dialed in but are still collecting rent checks the old-fashioned way.
| Pros | Cons |
| 👍 Offers multiple different pricing plans based on your needs 👍 Automatic late fees and rent collection enforcement 👍 Option to get paid instantly (instead of waiting 4-5 days) | 👎 Pretty standard credit card and bank transfer fees 👎 Useful mainly for landlords who ONLY need a way to collect digital rent (not manage an entire portfolio) |
💸 Pricing: $0/month for less than 10 units, $19/month for 10+ units, $49/month for 25+ units
6. Best App for Finding Contractors: Thumbtack
Thumbtack is an online marketplace that connects anyone with contractors. You can find the best contractor for your job, send requests and get bids from multiple providers, and communicate directly with them through the app. Thumbtack has been used by homeowners for years to help find a handyman or contractor in their area. This is very useful for out-of-state rental property investors who don’t have a big contractor network already!
| Pros | Cons |
| 👍 Free to use when searching for contractors 👍 Can read reviews from past jobs performed 👍 Quickly get quotes for jobs | 👎 No background checks on contractors 👎 Pricier than many locally-known contractors 👎 Difficult to find contractors for BIG jobs or large commercial real estate |
💸 Pricing: Free!
7. Best App for Accounting: QuickBooks
As the most popular accounting software in the market, QuickBooks is either your favorite or least favorite accounting software around. QuickBooks helps you manage your finances and bookkeeping with ease, so you can focus on running your rental portfolio, and less on scrolling through spreadsheets. It’s incredibly useful for bookkeeping and year-end tax exporting, but it has a learning curve that many landlords may need to take time to play with.
| Pros | Cons |
| 👍 Industry-accepted software for accounting and bookkeeping 👍 Integrates with most major property management software 👍 Can make year-end tax preparation painless | 👎 Steep learning curve 👎 Pricing is a tad expensive for rookie landlords |
💸 Pricing: Ranges from $30/month to $200/month, depending on the size of your organization.
8. Best App for Taxes: DoorLoop
If you still want to do bookkeeping and prepare for taxes but don’t like QuickBooks, DoorLoop may be your next best bet! DoorLoop was specifically designed for landlords, so they put real estate investors just like you at their central focus. DoorLoop is a platform that helps you manage all of a rental’s finances. It’s a simple and intuitive app that allows you to track all of your expenses, deductions, and credits. It even syncs with QuickBooks, so your accountant never needs to second guess when planning for tax season!
| Pros | Cons |
| 👍 Powerful reporting software that allows you to see your portfolio’s health at a glance 👍 Unlimited access, so you won’t be charged more if you have a bigger team 👍 Integration with QuickBooks with “one-click sync” 👍 Automatic bank sync so you aren’t manually adding transactions | 👎 Pricey, especially for landlords with just one unit |
💸 Pricing: Starts at $59/month if paid monthly, $49/month if paid annually. Price stays the same until you surpass 20 units!
There are Plenty of Apps for Landlords
As a landlord, it’s important that you have the right apps to make your life easier. If you don’t know where to start, we recommend using one of the above apps. It will save you time and money while helping you keep track of expenses and income. And, as you grow your business, it’ll make things easier for you trying to scale, so you don’t have to keep track of receipts, maintenance requests, or rent rolls!
FAQs About Rental Property Apps
Still wondering which app is worth trying out? These commonly asked investment property app FAQs can help!
What Apps Do Landlords Use?
The best apps for landlords are ones that help you manage your properties and keep track of income and expenses. You’ll want to find an app that allows you to collect rent, maintenance requests, and other tenant payments. Apps like RentRedi, Avail, or PayRent work well!
Which App is Best for Rental Properties?
The app that’s best for you will depend on your needs. For example, if you self-manage your property and need help collecting rent payments, sending leases, and running background checks, then RentRedi or Avail might be right for you.
What Background Check Do Most Landlords Use?
Most landlords use a tenant screening service like RentBerry, RentRedi, or Avail. These services offer background checks, criminal record reports, and eviction records. Often, these background checks come at the applicant’s expense, not the landlord’s!
