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Your Landlord Resource Podcast
Your Landlord Resource Podcast
2025 Rental Property Laws Every Landlord Must Know
This week’s episode is packed with everything you need to know about the new 2025 landlord-tenant laws impacting your rental business. Whether you manage one rental or a dozen, staying ahead of legal changes is the best way to protect your property and stay professional.
Even if your rentals aren’t located in the states we discuss, many of these laws are popping up across the country—and they’re often just good business practice anyway.
So, give this one a listen so you can be ahead of the game and familiar with them when your state decides to take action and enact them.
🔗 Links & Resources Mentioned
FREE Download: Prescreening Questions
Stainless Scratch Repair: Scratch B Gone
Re-Key Locks using KwikSet Re-Key Kit
Ep 38: Tenant Buyouts
Ep 44: SB721
Ep 90: SB721 Update
Ep 69: Squatters Part 1
Law Updates for: CA, WA, TX, RI, IL, MA, Wash. DC
Connect with Us:
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👆Click HERE for our FREE Landlord Forms and Doc’s
🤳Text Us: 650-489-4447. We love questions and love letters!
📩Email us at: Stacie@YourLandlordResource.com, Kevin@YourLandlordResource.com
➡️ Review the Podcast on Apple or on Spotify or YouTube
✔️Course Waitlist: From Marketing to Move In, Place Your Ideal Tenant
And I get it. Landlords are having to deal with so many increased costs, insurance being a big one. And here in California, because there are limits on rental increases and security deposits that landlords can collect, they're now looking at fees to recoup their expenses and we're right there with them. Where we can legally and ethically collect fees, we will. Pretty soon here we'll be moving to a utility share program so we can recoup 50% of what we spend a month on water, sewer, and trash. Which for Sacramento alone is just shy of a thousand dollars a month. Now, throw a huge increase in insurance costs, not to mention every trades person and supplier we use has increased our prices exponentially. We live off our rental income and our personal expenses have increased as well. So we have to do what we can, again legally and ethically, to at least keep our personal income the same, or at least at a level where we aren't having to question if real estate investing is worth it for us.
Welcome to Your Landlord Resource podcast. Many moons ago when I started as a landlord, I was as green as it gets. I may have had my real estate license, but I lack confidence and the hands-on experience needed when it came to dealing with tenants, leases, maintenance, and bookkeeping. After many failed attempts, fast forward to today. Kevin and I have doubled our doors and created an organized, professionally operated rental property business. Want to go from overwhelm to confident if you're an ambitious landlord or maybe one in the making. Join us as we provide strategies and teach actionable steps to help you reach your goals and the lifestyle you desire, all while building a streamlined and profitable rental property business. This is Your Landlord Resource Podcast.
Stacie:Well, hello there, landlords. Thank you for tuning into the Your Landlord Resource Podcast. I'm your host, Stacie Casella and I'm here with Kevin Kilroy, who, you all should know by now is my co-host who I also cohabitate with.
Kevin:That's me. All right, glad you all could be here landlords.
Stacie:As you know, we have rentals in California that we own and manage ourselves along with other rentals that we help other landlords manage. In California, I tell you, the landlord tenant laws seem to change by the minute.
Kevin:And also California is not the only state with updates to their laws. Uh, let's see, there's Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Illinois, and Texas for state level laws along with, Washington DC or the District of Columbia. Then there's also big cities like New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, and St. Paul, Minnesota that have created or updated laws on the local level. And there's probably a lot more, but those are the ones that popped up when we did our research. But first, the disclosure. The material contained in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only, and does not constitute legal advice. We are not attorneys and we are not advising you on how to perform any legal aspects of your rental property business. Please do your own research or consult a real estate attorney to advise you of your rights when it comes to landlord tenant laws in your city, county, or state. So we have that out of the way.
Stacie:Yeah. Yeah. And honestly, you guys should know when your locality makes changes. Usually if you're registered as a rental property owner, the city or county will typically notify you. And if not, you're part of a local or state level rental housing association, they should have contacted you. And you know, many times they will hold free webinars to discuss the law and how it impacts landlords. Even in some national level associations like the American Apartment Association, they'll have updates in their newsletter or webinars to discuss all these changes. But it might be a good idea to do a quick internet search and just type your city, county, and state along with the words. What are the new landlord tenant laws for 2025? All right. I wanna repeat something we often express and that is don't disregard listening to these laws just because your rentals are not in one of these states. Many states have similar landlord tenant laws and are considering or already have very similar laws on their books. So learn how to handle them now before you're forced to, because some of these laws are good practice for landlords, even if they're not legally required. And many instances they're in place to cover your butt as much as the tenant.
Kevin:Yeah, that's exactly right., And I also wanna follow that and say there's one law in particular that we are already doing, we are lucky we don't have to make any real adjustments there. All righty then, because we are here in California, let's start there. All right, there is AB 24 93 regarding application screening that came into effect January 1st, 2025. And this one I'm in complete agreement with. It says that landlords can only charge application fees if the unit is available and A) process applicants sequentially using disclosed criteria or B) refund unapproved applicants within seven or 30 days. So here's the deal. Many landlords will advertise a unit way before someone even moves out. They get a new tenant to replace the existing one soon after they have given notice, and then when they go in to turn the unit and get it ready, they find the unit needs a lot of work. But they've already promised the unit to the new tenant on a specific day, and now they have to put off their move in date. And what happens is this tenant was given notice to vacate from their unit, or they've maybe taken a job and are moving to the area and now they don't have anywhere to live for sometimes two to four weeks. Now, is that fair? I mean, in some instances, even for us who do inspections regularly, some repairs and maintenance are just unforeseen. So how do you avoid this? Do not market your property until the existing tenant has moved out and you have had a chance to get in there and evaluate the turnover process. I mean, hopefully it's quick and you can have it done in a week or so. But I will tell you, Stacie and I do not advertise our units, until they are a hundred percent ready. And we do this because in our area, people wanna do showings right away. Here's the thing. The way you present your unit says a lot about how you are as a landlord. We have stressed this before, but when you do showings, please do not show the unit with buckets and ladders and paint cans all over. People cannot see how they can live in that space with clutter all over. And I mean, especially if they're clean people, which is kind of the tenant we all want, right? If you show the unit with dirty carpets and you tell them, oh, we're getting new carpets, they will only see the dirty carpet. So if you wait a week or until after the new carpet is installed and all the work gear is removed, the tenant then will see the unit as the space they're gonna be living in and moving into. When your unit is clean, people are gonna notice that, I mean, at least they do for us. Nearly every prospect that views our units mentions how clean it is. I mean, this cleanliness shows respect for them they deserve a clean home to move into. It shows respect for the property that you care about repairs and maintenance, and it shows respect for your business that you take the time to make sure all is perfect before presenting the product publicly. I mean, it's just smart business practice all the way around.
Stacie:Yeah. I've been doing and saying this for years. The other part of the law is that landlords need to process applications sequentially. And this means applications are handled on a first complete application received first processed, or first come first served. Our policy is if we get an application and all supporting documents that are required, which is the signed application, proof of income, copies of their driver's license and the application fee, when we get all that information, we're good to go to process their application. If we have a prospective applicant that we really like, but they drag their feet and someone else gets their application in first, we still process the first complete application. And most of the time it works out fine. To be honest, that's exactly what happened to us in the two bedroom in Sacramento that we had available recently. We had no one applying for months, and then all in the same day, we got three applications. We started with the first set and they were approved. Even though we felt that the third set was more financially sound, they were already asking for a 10 month lease, which is a pretty big sign that they only plan to live there a year, which is fine, but not preferable. You know, we want tenants who are gonna stay for years, not just 10 months or a year. The second part of that section of the law is that if you do not process someone's application, you must refund their application fee. And you guys, I'm not sure how you handle applications, but I can see how this law came into effect. Because a few years ago, when the rental market was booming and applicants were applying to multiple units because it was so competitive, some landlords, of much larger complexes, could get 20 or 30 or more applications for one unit. Then they'd cherry pick the best applicants, which we can understand, and only run a few applications. After they had their new tenant locked in, they would send adverse action or denial notices to all the others. But they never ran the apps and then they kept their application fees. And many places charge between$35 and$50 to process an application. So do the math. Even at the low end with 20 apps at$35, that's$700 in app fees that likely cost these landlords and property managers about fifty or a hundred dollars total in background fees that they've paid. Once again, those crappy landlords have made more work for us because they're acting exactly like what renters think of us, that we're money hungry and we don't care.
Kevin:Well, I mean, think of the high end of that scenario. I mean, those landlords and property managers are making, what is it,$2,500 if they charge$50 per application and they get 50 applicants.
Stacie:Right. So listen, we're not here to say that when money presents itself to us, we don't think twice about keeping it. We just place tenants in our Sacramento two bedroom unit, like I said, and we got three separate sets of applications, with two applicants in each set. Plus one applied with a guarantor. So we collected around$250 in app fees. Now for some, they might run all the apps and then take the strongest one. And that's okay if you can prove that you selected them because they were financially stronger, or maybe they had very clean credit in their background checks, and maybe the others were less clean. But, you need to be careful running multiple apps if you can't prove the one you selected was chosen without violating HUD or fair housing laws. It seems everybody and their brother are protected these days and you have to be super careful to avoid getting slapped with a discrimination lawsuit. And this is why we run the first complete application package we receive and see where we land. If we can't make it work, we'll deny them and then move on to the next application to process. Which is why when we approved our first set of applicants just recently, we refunded the other applicant's fees. Did we wanna keep that$180? You betcha. Was it wrong and unethical? Yes, it was. Listen, most runners don't have a ton of money, and if they're applying for multiple rentals, that money adds up fast. So I try to treat these applicants like I would want someone to treat my kids when they're applying to rent somewhere.
Kevin:And I think that's a really good point. You know, treat others the way you'd like to be treated if these roles were reversed. I mean, it's always a good way to go. And I have one more thing to say about this. One way that this happens is when people have their applications online for anyone to apply without being pre-screened first, you know, like on Zillow. You can upload your application and people can automatically just complete it and submit their fee. Now we can see how convenient this is, but for us, we would likely get anywhere from 15 to 20 applications, and only two or three of those would even qualify to rent from us. So think about how much work it would be to email all of those people and refund their fees. A couple of ways around this is to have prescreening questions preset in the marketing app you're using. So for us, we use Zillow exclusively. And this is just for marketing, we do not use Zillow's application they offer. But we do get the best results from them and honestly, we don't care to take the time to monitor all the different apps that are out there. We set up saved responses, so with the click of a button, we can send every single inquiry, the pre-screening questions. If you'd like to know what we ask, we do have a free download, which you can get by going to your landlord resource.com/prescreen. We will link that in the show notes as well. But for the most part, we ask if their credit score meets our minimum requirement, if they smoke, if they have pets, and if they have two positive landlord references. I mean, there's a few more in there, but doing this helps us in a couple of ways. One, we weed out all the applicants that don't qualify, and two, we show them that we are a respectable business and we care about who we place in our units.
Stacie:It's amazing how many of those that I respond to and we never hear back from.
Kevin:I know, and it can be a bummer because we get all excited, we have someone interested, and we're all eager to get the unit rented, and then when there's no response, we kind of start to panic a little. We have to remind ourselves that those people aren't just a good fit and would likely be a problem down the road. And one other way of handling prescreening is if you have an automated system for applying, you can require the applicants to sign and agree to your qualifying standards before they apply. This is simply having a one to two page document, listing out everything you need for them to qualify. It should list your minimum credit score accepted and what they would need to be able to add on a guarantor or a co-signer. It would also list the income requirements, your minimum criteria for criminal backgrounds, and your criteria for accepting pets if you choose to do so. And these criteria can differ by rental property too. So maybe let's say your one bedroom duplex, you don't wanna allow pets but in the single family home, you're okay with it. You just simply list out the criteria and have a box for them to sign at the bottom. I mean, once they agree and sign, then they can go ahead and apply. These qualifiers should be available on your website if you have one, emailed to every applicant who inquires, and you also should have a hard copy at the property to hand out during showings. Essentially what we're saying is pre-screening or pre-qualifying is the first step to the application process. Man, we went way longer on that than I thought for this one.
Stacie:Yeah, I think we're gonna have to try to roll through the rest of these. All right, you guys next California Law AB 2 7 4 7. This one is about positive rent reporting to help those who might have a lower credit score build their credit up by way of paying their rent on time. And this only applies to landlords of larger buildings or REITs. So that means California landlords who own or manage residential rental properties that have 16 or more units. Or corporate owners of smaller units. Which are rental properties with a landlord that is a corporation, LLC, or a REIT, even if the property has less than 15 units. So that would be us, because our LLC owns our Sacramento property. So what does this mean? It means that we have to offer rent reporting as an option, typically in the lease agreement or an addendum. And if the tenant opts in, landlords must report both on time and late payments to at least one major credit bureau. And before you get all freaked out, there are apps that you can use where the tenant signs up and pays the fee. As long as that fee doesn't exceed$10 a month. And then the app sends you a notification each month where you say yes or no, the rent was received on time. And if it was not on time, how late it was if you've actually already received it. The amount of time to set this up and maintain is quite minimal, and this was effective April 1st. Now we have a couple of, these companies that do these, this work for you, and we'll link'em in the show notes so you guys can check'em out and see what they're about.
Kevin:Yeah, and I think this is actually a really good way for a tenant who you know, might not have credit history. They're like a recent graduate maybe. And that would be using a guarantor to build a credit.
Stacie:Yeah. Or even someone who was recently divorced. Because a lot of times in those cases, they're credit tanked because of that divorce. There are a lot of reasons why people have less than par credit ratings.
Kevin:Alright, moving on. California Law AB 28 0 1, and this law was effective for California landlords on July 1st, 2025. This requires landlords to take timestamp photos at the start and end of a tenancy. So before the tenant moves in, after they move out, but before any cleaning or repairs. And then post repair and cleaning, and with copies being sent to the tenant. And listen up landlords, this applies to everyone. All California landlords must comply. The only way out of it is if you own no more than two rental properties with a total of four or fewer units. And if are renting to someone in the military. Alright, so why did this law come into effect? Because like the application fees, landlords seem to think they can keep security deposits for any reason. And it's kind of odd here because part of the state's rent control law includes that we have to offer exiting tenants the opportunity for a move out walkthrough within two weeks of their move out date. This is to show the tenants what they potentially could be charged for against their security deposits, be it holes in the wall, torn carpet that is not wear and tear, dented appliances, you know, stuff like that. You have to tell them what is wrong so they have a chance to remedy it. Which most of the time they don't do anyway. And this pre move-out inspection applies to all California landlords and it has for quite a while. If you do not offer it and you try to keep someone security deposit, they can take you to small claims court to have the entire deposit returned, even if there are damages and repairs needed. So this law is just a protection for tenants because so many landlords were keeping security deposits for bogus reasons.
Stacie:Yeah, this was always a thing, but it really got worse when the rent control law was passed that limited landlords on how much they could increase rents. So some landlords who did not keep their rents at market rate and had really low rents got stuck not being able to raise rents for more than five to 10% a year. So let's say your unit was renting for a thousand dollars, market rate was$1,500. The law says now you can't raise rents more than 50 to a hundred dollars a year. So think about how long it's gonna take to get up to market when you're increasing at that rate. The landlords, they became panicked and started giving non-renewal or eviction notices, so they could get a new tenant in there at market rate. And the state passed a law about doing that, and then landlords try to recoup their loss when people moved out and kept security deposits for really stupid reasons. Now we all have to deal with pre-move out inspections and taking photos to prove that we are within our right to retain funds from someone's security deposit.
Kevin:And that was actually okay with us because we pretty much always have been very professional about one, taking photos before someone moves in to cover ourselves. And two, we really don't keep security deposits for unsupported reasons.
Stacie:Right. And we learned to do this because we screwed ourselves early on. We had a tenant who, when they moved in, had perfectly good appliances. Nothing broken, no scratches, no marks. And for the most part, if you know me well enough by now, they were very clean. Now, when I say way back, I mean this was back when cameras on cell phones were not commonplace and we were dependent on small digital cameras. We did not take photos of the unit before someone moved in or moved out. And if you're thinking, well, didn't you take photos for marketing? Yes. But if there were not any big changes to the unit, and we were not doing a lot of improvements back then. Then we just reused photos over and over again, until we had to retake'em due to, to show the new improvements that were made. So anyway, we did not take photos and someone moved in. And I don't remember'em being, you know, super messy or pain or anything like that. But when they went to move out, there was a huge dent in the dishwasher. And not a dent we could use a tool to pull out because it had a big crease in it. But when I told them that they were gonna get charged for the repair of that dent, because I was pissed, they said it was there when I moved in. And that's total bull, that dent was not there before. But I didn't have a time and date stamp photo to prove it, and that part made me feel stupid as heck. So from that lesson learned, we started to take photos before tenants moved in, just in case they came back and tried to pull that it was there when I moved in crap. Now I will say this dent made no difference on the function of the dishwasher, it still worked fine. But you know, it looked crappy you guys.
Kevin:And you didn't replace it back then, did you?
Stacie:No, we left it there and, and then made sure it was noted for future tenants when they did their walkthrough inspections so they wouldn't freak out and say that they didn't do it. I think we got through another few tenants before we actually had to replace it, but boy, that dent was a gut punch every time I went into that unit. Pissed at the old tenant for lying and pissed that I couldn't call'em on it and prove their dishonesty too.
Kevin:Yeah. I mean, the first time that stuff happens, you're shocked, right? And then it turns into, well, that was no fun, what do I need to do to avoid this ever happening again?
Stacie:Yeah, which I guess is why the law was enacted. The state had enough complaints from tenants who had been screwed, that they had to do something about it. And I'll tell you, we have to take so many photos of the units now. I think we have like 30 that we took of that two bed before the tenants moved in recently. And then when they move out photos again with one showing any damages or repairs that they're gonna be charged against their security deposit. And then again, after the repairs are made to prove that we actually did the work. Which why would you take money for something and you wouldn't do the work? We had this guy, uh, the last tenant actually that was in this two bedroom unit whose roommate scratched the crap out of our stainless steel refrigerator, like deep scratches, mostly all over the top freezer door. They had stickers or magnets on there, and when they went to remove them, it left sticky stuff. So instead of using goof off or maybe just good old hot water and soap, they used a knife to scrape it all off. It looked like a kid took a crayon made of razor blaze and colored on it. You know, again, we were pissed, but we had photos to prove that it was not like that when they moved in and we were able to prove it to them. Now, the guy was freaking out and thought I was gonna make him pay for a whole new fridge. But I was able to find something online and we'll link it in the show notes, and it was a solution that you could rub on there, and it had a special scrubber to get rid of all those scratches. The step-by-step instructions it came with were great too, and you guys, you could barely tell where those scratches were. Now, it worked really well, and it took me about an hour to get it done, but I think I charged the guy like 50 bucks off his security deposit, and I told him that if the solution didn't work, he'd have to replace the freezer door. But it all worked out fine. I think next time I would charge for my time, which I didn't do on this one, but it all worked out.
Kevin:Yeah, I just looked it up and the stuff is called Scratch B Gone. We'll link it in the show notes for you guys to check it out.
Stacie:Yeah, good product and it definitely saved the day for that tenant.
Kevin:Okay, so for California, those laws, the application fees, rent reporting, and the security deposit laws were the ones we needed to cover in detail. So the rest of these laws in California or other states, we'll try to get through a little bit quicker. Okay, so that leads us to California SB 611 which was effective April 1st, 2025. Now the law prohibits junk fees. So think fees that landlords charge to deposit a check or send violation notices like for late fees, eviction notices or notices to remedy or quit for lease violations. Those seem a bit extreme, but on the flip side, I understand that property management companies have large staffs and it takes time for them to handle those tasks.
Stacie:Right, but that should be included in what the monthly fee that the owner is paying them though. For self-managing landlords, they are charging for their time to manage something that they shouldn't have to be dealing with. So I do see why landlords are doing this, but again, when you collect rent for someone to live in your property, you know that's the chance you take.
Kevin:And why reserves are not an option. If you want to be compensated for your time every time you take an hour to work on your property, you need to build that into the reserves or make sure you're charging market rents. Just don't nickel and dime the tenant for notice deliveries, inspections, or to deposit their rent check. I mean, those are the things that give landlords a bad name.
Stacie:Yeah, but fees that landlords are charged for electronic deposits are still permissible though.
Kevin:Correct. You can pass along bank fees that you are charged for electronic deposits. It also has a component for military service members and addresses security deposit practices and preventing landlords from charging higher deposits due to the risk of lease termination from deployment. If a higher deposit is charged, landlords must provide a written statement and refund the excess amount within six months, provided the tenant is not behind or withholding rent.
Stacie:All right, so sideline here. Last year in 2024, a law passed here in California that landlords who own more than two rentals with more than four collectively, that they can only charge a security deposit that matches one month's rent. This SB 611 is for those small landlords who own two single family homes or as much as two duplexes who do not have limits on their security deposits. And I get it. Landlords are having to deal with so many increased costs, insurance being a big one. And here in California, because there are limits on rental increases and security deposits that landlords can collect, they're now looking at fees to recoup their expenses and we're right there with them. Where we can legally and ethically collect fees, we will. Pretty soon here we'll be moving to a utility share program so we can recoup 50% of what we spend a month on water, sewer, and trash. Which for Sacramento alone is just shy of a thousand dollars a month. Now, throw a huge increase in insurance costs, not to mention every trades person and supplier we use has increased our prices exponentially. We live off our rental income and our personal expenses have increased as well. So we have to do what we can, again legally and ethically, to at least keep our personal income the same, or at least at a level where we aren't having to question if real estate investing is worth it for us.
Kevin:Yeah, and I think that's okay within reason, right? We are doing it because we need it to operate our personal home and pay for our personal expenses. But to charge fees or keep security deposits just because you are panicking about not making money as you had planned, or maybe because new laws have you realizing you should have kept up on market rents and now you want your money. I mean, that's not okay. It has been proven many times over that rent control hurts the tenants more in the end. I mean, putting huge restrictions on landlords and I'm talking about professional business operators here. There are absolutely money hungry assholes out there, and they are the reason us good guys are having to deal with all of these laws right now. But putting these restrictions across the board has landlords scrambling to find ways to keep their income up where they need it. And fees are just part of the game.
Stacie:All right, so Kevin discussed the junk fees ban. Next one, which I can't believe this isn't actually already a law, is SB 1 0 5 1, which addresses lock change protections. Specifically landlords must change locks within 24 hours, free to the tenant, for abuse victims with documentation as proof, and may not retaliate against them by charging them an enormous fee for that service. I mean, you want your tenants to be safe when living in your unit. If they're in an abusive relationship and one person is forced to move out or removed and put in jail, then the tenant and or tenants, if it's a family situation, those who are left at the unit need to be protected. The worst part of this is the timeline. You have 24 hours to do this once you are given notice. So this is where you can really benefit from having a handyman that you can call in case you're not able to handle it in time. If the change is not made within 24 hours, that tenant can call anyone they want to change those locks and the landlord will have to reimburse them in full within 21 days.
Kevin:And let me tell you that changing locks can be very expensive if you use a locksmith. Now we use Kwikset brand locks, and the ones we use, I think most of them have this function, the ones we use have an EZ rekey function. Where in a matter of three or four minutes and for a cost of around 12 to 15 bucks, you can have that key changed out. We will link the Kwikset rekey kit that we use in the show notes. It's really simple you guys.
Stacie:Yeah, and we love that function so much that when we bought our Smart Locks,, we bought Kwikset smart locks just so we could continue to benefit from changing out locks quickly and easily. So let me finish up on SB 10 51 because there's a little bit more. This law also states that documentation for the proof of abuse has been expanded to include letters from medical care professionals, domestic violence or sexual assault counselors, human trafficking caseworkers, or any other documentation that reasonably verifies the abuse or violence, which includes a signed statement from the tenant. And lastly, this is a big one. SB 10 51 introduces changes to tenant screening. Landlords are prohibited from denying housing based on poor credit caused by abuse. Which means if someone applies and they have really bad credit and they're able to produce proof that they're a victim of abuse, you have to consider them as a tenant. And because it's law and pretty much standard practice in California that landlords process applications in the order that they're received, your hand may be forced to accept that applicant. Now, I will quickly go over how we handle situations like this because, we have always pretty much used the first come first serve process when we run our applications. When we send the application to someone over email, we include a list of everything we will need in place before we can process their application. That means we need the completed application that is signed and authorizing us to do the background check, a copy of their US government issued ID., be it a driver's license, passport, green card, visa, whatever. We need, the last three paycheck stubs or the last two tax returns filed if they're self-employed. We also need the application fees for every applicant over the age of 18. And once we have all that information in front of us, then we will begin processing the application.
Kevin:Beginning in 2026, we'll be having each applicant sign off on our qualifying standards, like I mentioned before, saying they agree and understand what our rules and criteria are before they even apply.
Stacie:Right. So add one more thing to that list that they have to complete. And here's the deal, when you're getting multiple applications from different interested parties and they're not on top of getting you that information, it's up to you when or whether you wanna reach back out to them to request the information. And we did this recently and it worked in our favor. The requirements just dwindled in over a couple days. And to be honest, we were not super impressed with them. So when someone else expressed interest, we told them we work on a first come first serve basis and someone else has expressed interest. We suggest you get us your information as soon as possible to be considered. They did and they beat out the other person.
Kevin:Listen, I know this might sound sneaky, but it really isn't because all of the information is coming in via email, they are timestamped and our butts are covered. Everyone receives the same email, noting all the information needed. I mean, it's up to them to submit it in a timely manner. We have two more California laws, one which is important for us small California landlords. The first one is AB 2347, effective January 1st, 2025, and that extends the time California tenants have to respond to an eviction complaint from five to 10 business days. And this sounds fair in theory. I mean, it gives the tenant more time to get help or work something out, but for us landlords, it means delays. If your tenant isn't paying rent, you're now stuck waiting even longer before you can move forward legally. And for smaller landlords, that delay can really hurt your cash flow. So what can you do? Start the process sooner. Don't wait too long if your tenant falls behind. And consider pre-litigation options like offering cash for keys. Most importantly, have a trusted real estate attorney in your corner, you never want to navigate this stuff alone. And just in case you're interested, we did an episode called Avoid Evictions With Tenant Buyouts That Work, and we did that a couple years ago, I believe it's episode 38. You can find it by going to your landlord resource.com, episode 38, but we'll link that in the show notes for you.
Stacie:Yeah, go check it out and see what options are available before you get to the point of filing that eviction. You know, this law benefits tenants, so small landlords are gonna have to adjust expectations. They're gonna have to invest more time and effort into managing evictions and prepare for longer costlier processes with this AB 2347 in effect.
Kevin:Always more we have to learn, right? Alright, last California one. This is AB 25 79 and it's one we have discussed before and that is the time extension for the deck and balcony law, that was SB 7 21. So previously SB 7 21 said that all inspections and repairs of decks and balconies of rentals that stood higher than six feet tall, had to be inspected and repaired by January 1st, 2025. Now, AB 25 79 gives an extension to January 1st, 2026, and it also lightened up the policy on who could inspect and who could repair. We talked extensively about this law in episode 44, and also did a follow up in episode 90 once we knew about the update. So if you're a California landlord who owns a multi-family residential building with three or more dwelling units and you have no idea what we're talking about, you better check out those episodes because time is ticking on this one. And you guys, if we reference back to a podcast, all you have to do is go to your landlord resource.com/episode and then whatever number we say. Like this update is located at yourlandlordresource.com episode 90. But as always, we always link those in the show notes. Okay, now we're gonna move on to a few other states. California had the most new landlord tenant laws enacted, so we started with them and not to mention we can directly relate to those. So let's move on to Washington State. There's HB 1217, which is a rent control law that was signed May 7th, 2025. Now this law caps rent increases at 7%,, plus inflation, or a max of 10%, including single family homes. And manufactured homes are capped at 5%.
Stacie:Now this law is a bit more restrictive than California because our rent control does not include single family homes unless they're owned by a corporation or a REIT. It also does not apply to condos, newer buildings built within the last 15 years, or owner occupied duplexes where the owner lives in one unit. And our cap is 5% plus inflation and a max of 10%. So where Washington State's cap is a little higher, their rent control applies to all rentals, so it's much more restrictive. Rhode Island had their law, HB 76 47, take effect January 1st, 2025. This law amends the Rhode Island Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, and includes significant changes to lease and fee requirements. So convenience fees. Landlords are prohibited from charging a convenience fee with rent. That's about the payment of rent. So unless they accept other forms of payment, such as a check or cash without a convenience fee. So here we are discussing junk fees again. And they are saying Rhode Island landlords cannot charge tenants a fee to receive the rent unless you offer an alternative way for them to pay without being charged that fee. Fees also must be disclosed in the lease, specifically non-optional ones. It also state landlords must disclose whether utility costs are included in the rent and which are the responsibility of the tenant. Sorry, but duh. If you're not specifically noting in your lease what you cover and what the tenant has to cover by way of utilities, you need to update your lease. This is a surefire way that you have to cover all of the utilities if it's not stated and you're challenged on it. It goes on to say that additionally the lease must include a list of the utility providers that provide services to the rental unit. And this is something we do include, but I'll admit we only started doing this in the last year or so.
Kevin:Yeah, but it was included in their email when you sent over the lease for their review, right?
Stacie:Yes, and it still is. So we now include utility info in the lease and on email. It's an addendum on the lease and on email we have a quote unquote things you need to know section that includes the utility supplier name and contact information so that they can call and connect service, as well as how they would obtain a city parking permit, our requirements for rent's insurance, all those things. Which leads me to the next part of HB 7 6 4 7 for Rhode Island, which says that if a landlord requires a tenant to obtain rental insurance, this requirement must be clearly stated in the lease. The law goes on to state that if a written lease does not exist, requirements of these fees are required to be provided to the tenant in some form of writing. I beg you all please have a lease. You know, EZ Landlord is pretty good at providing state specific leases if you don't have a source. We use'em for Kid Two's Duplex, and where I had to add some clauses in that we use personally, the lease is pretty solid to cover yourself. And I think it's like$45 if you wanna purchase it one time. Or it's$99 if you wanna sign up for a pro account, which includes options for tenant screening, electronic signatures, and the ability to have tenants pay their rent via the app. Either way, it's an inexpensive option to cover yourself. Every section that they offer is able to be edited to add your information if you need to as well. And we did that for kid two. We added certain language that pertained to his property, like restrictions on holes in the walls, and his policy on pets and guests as well. Also because they get snow there, there was a certain de-icing material that he wanted them to use that would not harm the concrete. So that was written in there as well.
Kevin:And yeah, like you said, it's an inexpensive option that if landlords don't have any other source to obtain a state specific lease, 45 bucks is pretty reasonable. So if you're interested in learning more about EZ Landlord, we will link them in the show notes so you can check'em out. Okay, Massachusetts just signed a law and that was effective August 1st, 2025, so very recently enacted, which is a broker fee ban law. And what it says is that tenants only have to pay broker's fees if they directly hire the broker. That landlords cannot pass on broker's costs.
Stacie:You know, this is new to me. I've never heard of doing this before. I mean, I get using a broker but not passing on their astronomical fees onto the tenant.
Kevin:Right? I, I mean, this goes back to what we were saying about transferring stupid fees onto the tenants. And for those of you who might wonder what those fees are for, you know, it's when a landlord hires a broker or a real estate agent to find them a new tenant. This designated person will do showings and negotiate the lease on behalf of the landlord. I mean, this used to be commonplace many, many years ago, but for what we are familiar with now, most landlords will use a property manager to find their tenants if they don't want to deal with it themselves. Now, in some states, you have to be a licensed realtor or broker, to even be a property manager. So this law can be a bit dangerous if your state does not limit passing on fees to tenants. But a broker in this context is a real estate professional who negotiates agreements to sell, exchange, purchase, rent, or lease property for a fee, commission, or other valuable consideration on behalf of others. So while a property manager may also be a broker, they are not necessarily the same thing. In the context of this law, a property manager's role focuses on managing properties, which may also include placing tenants.
Stacie:Okay, so if there's not a law against it, you can pass the fee you pay for a realtor to find and negotiate your lease on behalf of the incoming tenant? I mean, sorry, but I think that's crazy. I mean, in most cases that's thousands of dollars, or at least equivalent to one month's rent. I cannot believe that landlords were passing those fees on to tenants.
Kevin:Yeah, I know. And and then I wonder if you get reimbursed for that fee, if you can still write it off as a business expense.
Stacie:Mm not if you're being honest and you book it into your accounting or bookkeeping program correctly. It should be booked as a debit, and essentially that account would increase each time and expenses added. And then if someone reimburses you for that expense, you're supposed to book that reimbursement or that tenant fee as a credit to the same account, reducing the expense amount. Maybe some landlords just roll that fee in with the rent and they don't credit the expense so that when then they get higher income and then they have to deduct the full expense. Whatever. I like everything clean just in case we ever get audited. Nothing worse than messy books and having to make adjustments after the fact. But you know, whatever, we need to stop talking about this. But yeah, essentially Massachusetts implemented a ban on brokers fees.
Kevin:I mean, it looks like a lot of states are really cracking down on fees. Alright, let's head over to Washington DC. Big updates just came through with changes to the Rental Housing Act. This happened on July 14th, 2025. And here's what landlords need to know. First, once you approve a tenant's application, you have to collect a holding deposit. This lets you take the unit off the market while you finalize the lease and move in details. If they back out, you keep the deposit and start marketing all over again. If they move in, that deposit gets applied to their first month's rent. Second, the notice period for rent increases is now 60 days instead of 30. So that's something to keep in mind when you're planning renewals or adjusting rent. Third, there's something new called a replacement fee. If a tenant wants to assign their lease, sublet, or find someone to take over their lease, the landlords can charge a fee. But it's capped at the current application fee, which is$53 for 2025, so don't go overboard. A few other key points. There are updates to rent stabilization rules. Some units are exempt, like those built after 1975, or ones with federal or local subsidies. It also touches on TOPA, aka Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act, which gives tenants the first shot at buying their unit the property is being sold. Lastly, the city is continuing to tweak eviction rules,, tying them into programs like the Emergency Rental Assistance Program. So expect more emphasis on mediation and payment plans before you can move forward with eviction. It's a lot to unpack, so if you own rentals in Washington DC we have linked the document in the show notes for you to check out.
Stacie:Yeah, I'll try to link what I can for all the states we've talked about today. All right, we're gonna move on to Texas. I have to be honest, researching these landlord tenant laws was a bit confusing, so I'm gonna do my best to summarize what I read. But please, as with all the information we provide on our podcast, we implore you, listen to what we say, but do your own research and speak with your real estate attorney to confirm how these laws affect you. So, with that disclosure, SB 1 3 3 3 goes into effect September 1st, 2025, and applies to squatters. And essentially that says that landlords do not have to go through the court of law to remove the squatter. That they can contact the sheriff's office to force removal of someone who has unlawfully entered and is occupying a dwelling on the property without the owner's consent. It goes on to give several conditions of exceptions, like the property was not open to the public when the person entered the property and is not subject of pending litigation between the owner and this person. The owner or the owner's agent has directed the person to leave the property and the person has not done so. And the person is not a current or former tenant of the owner under an oral or written lease or an immediate family member of the owner. The last thing to note about SP 1333 is that it now amends the penal code to create a Class A misdemeanor offense presenting false, fraudulent, or fictitious documentation conveying real property interest and the first degree felony offense of the fraudulent sale, rental, or lease of residential rental property. So not only do squatters get out, they're now getting arrested and will now have a criminal record on file that pertains to housing.
Kevin:We did a two-part podcast about squatters and what their rights are, and I mean, it was really an eye-opener. So kudos to Texas for addressing the issue and taking strides to help landlords out when it truly is a squatting issue. If you want to listen to the first episode, you can find itat yourlandlordresource.com/69. We will link both episodes in the show notes as well. I will continue with the next law, SB 38, that actually does not go into effect until January 1st, 2026, but there is one section, uh, let's see, 16, which takes effect September 1st, 2025. But it just states that Congress can continue to amend the law. Anyway, this law applies to evictions. It essentially restructures the overall eviction process in Texas. This involves changes to notice periods, court procedures, and other aspects of eviction, potentially making it easier and faster for landlords to regain possession of their property in legitimate eviction cases. Now the two laws are not companion laws, but do have some crossover when it comes to evicting squatters. Alright, Illinois has some new landlord tenant laws to note. The Landlord Retaliation Act. That's public Act 1 0 3 0 8 3 1, and it prohibits Illinois landlords from retaliating against tenants who engage in protected activities. And this is essentially taken from the city of Chicago. But effective January 1st, 2025, the law specifies that landlords cannot terminate a tenancy, refuse to renew a lease, increase rent, or take other adverse actions if a tenant has exercised certain rights. They also passed one about the landlord tenant credit report. Public Act 1 0 3 0 8 4 0, which introduces changes to how tenant credit reports are handled during the rental application process. Effective January 1st, 2025, this law allows prospective tenants to submit reusable credit reports, eliminating the need for multiple credit checks and the associated fees. There are key requirements to this law, like time limits of 30 days, and it must be compliant with state and federal regulations and provided at no cost to the landlord. Illinois has also enacted public Act 1 0 3 0 6 7 1, which modernizes the methods for serving legal process in civil cases. Effective January 1st, 2025, this law permits the use of licensed private detectives for serving process in all counties in Illinois, providing an alternative to the previously required sheriff service in Cook County. Now the hiring party must pay the sheriff a minimum fee for this alternative service method. The law's intention is to streamline the process serving procedure. And like many other states, Illinois has passed public act 1 0 3 0 8 0 9, which addresses tenant payment methods and associated fees. So effective January 1st, 2025 this law requires Illinois landlords who use third party payment portals to also provide tenants with the option to pay by check or cash without incurring a transaction fee. And finally, which I am shocked this was not a law before, but Illinois Public Act 1 0 3 0 7 54 introduces new requirements for landlords and rental managers to ensure transparency regarding flood risks associated with rental properties. This was effective January 1st, 2025, and mandates landlords to disclose in writing, specific flood related information prior to the execution of any lease. Key elements of the disclosure include flooding history in the lower level units, knowledge of previous flooding, like in parking areas, and noting in the lease or in writing if the property falls under a FEMA special hazard flood zone area.
Stacie:Yeah. I'm really surprised that all states do not require you to advise tenants when properties in a flood zone. I mean, and it's really good to tell tenants, especially if you require renter's insurance, because then they can add that onto their policy. Just to note, if you own rentals in Illinois, there are several city-based landlord tenant laws that have come into effect as well.
Kevin:Alright, so that's it for state level landlord tenant laws. And as we've mentioned earlier, there are many more laws coming on the books all the time. So you really wanna make sure you're on the mailing list for your state rental housing association, or take the time to often Google new landlord tenant laws in 2025 with the state you own your rental property in. Because we have been going on a lot longer than we anticipated, as Stacie mentioned, many cities like New York City, San Francisco, St. Paul, Minnesota, and Seattle all have had changes in their local landlord tenant laws. So if you own or plan to own rental properties in these areas, we highly recommend you look into those changes too.
Stacie:And again, landlords, are ways to research new laws that have passed or are on the books for your city, county, or state. It's all public knowledge and likely right there online for you to read about. So be proactive in doing your research. I will tell you there are many laws that have passed in states, we're looking at you, Colorado, that come into effect January 1st, 2026. And when rent control passed in California, the law was retroactive back several months and many, many landlords including us for one unit, were not able to increase rents to market rate. Had we been more proactive, we could have done increases in anticipation of the law passing and been in a much better place financially. So use Google or get on the mailing list for your local rental housing association so you can stay in the know'cause often they have ways that you can help fight against laws before they're passed as well.
Kevin:And let me jump in here real quick and say something. We know this was a long episode and if you're still here, we really do appreciate you sticking with us. And we want to remind you that just because we did not discuss your state or a law that pertained to you, that doesn't mean that these laws will not be enacted by your state at some point. Every single one of these laws came to fruition for a reason. And you know we get it. Many of the states we discuss lean more tenant friendly,. but that certainly does not mean that if you own rentals in a pro landlord state, that you can run things like it's the Wild West. That is a surefire way to get tenants all fired up and start making demands that will lead to laws being changed. So take this advice or not, but run your rental property business professionally. Cover your butt in every way possible. But most importantly, treat your applicants and tenants with respect. Be kind, but be assertive when necessary. Always use state approved forms for notifications. And as we have said over and over again, make sure you document everything.
Stacie:Yeah, I mean, those are all good points, Kev. And in many cases we learned our lesson the hard way. And if we didn't make the mistake, we learned it from someone else who did. Gone are the days where you can trust someone with your gut or a handshake. But anyway, we've reached the end of talking about all the new landlord tenant laws that have at this time passed in 2025. We appreciate you tuning in and listening to what we have to say. So, if you enjoyed this episode, would you do us a favor and leave us a kind review of the podcast?'Cause reviews help others find out that we are here and that we're the real deal. And if you wanna hear more, follow or subscribe to the podcast so each week the episodes are downloaded right to your favorite podcast platform. We would love to stay in contact with you and in the show notes you can find links to all the free downloads we offer, ways to sign up for our free newsletter, and the waiting list for our upcoming course on tenant screening. There's also links to our private Facebook group that's just for landlords and our social media accounts on Instagram and Facebook, as well as YouTube, where we share very informative and detailed tips and tricks for landlords. So go check those out. I think that's about it. Thanks again, and until next time, you've got this landlords.
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