What types of records should be kept on tenants?
Whether for a single rental property, multi-family properties, or multiple properties, landlords need to keep a variety of records for all applicants, current tenants, and past tenants.
Tenant Records
Maintaining complete, detailed, and current tenant records is essential to document the individual’s tenancy, the landlord’s compliance with legal obligations, and important to prove a defense against a tenant’s claim of discrimination or to show cause in a landlord’s court action for tenant eviction.
All documentation related to filling a vacancy including rental inquiries, property showings, applications (withdrawn, rejected, and accepted), tenant screenings, selection, and tenancy records should be retained according to the appropriate retention period. Records should be kept that show calendar periods when vacant properties were available and when vacancies were filled.
As a good business practice, any form of landlord-tenant interaction should be documented in writing to provide a paper trail of discussions, agreements or events between the landlord and tenant.
Rental Unit Records
Records detailing income and expenses including repairs, maintenance, and upgrades should be maintained for each separate unit if a rental property. This information will be used for financial analysis and tax purposes.
Rent Roll
A rent roll records the date rent was received, the amount paid, the check number or other specifics of payment, and the name of the account holder. The typical rent roll lists the address with building/unit number, type of unit and square footage, tenant name, move-in and move-out dates, lease term and expiration date, security deposit amount, rent amount, other income such as parking fees, other charges (such as late fees), amounts paid, and balance due.
A landlord is expected to have a receipt and deposit system for all collected rents. The system should be able to trace all deposits and track what happened to rents received.
Maintenance Log
A landlord should keep good records for all maintenance and repairs to the property. A maintenance/repair log should record when the work was done, who did the work, what materials were used/purchased, and the manner of payment. The landlord should document tenant requests for maintenance and keep all correspondence regarding maintenance and repair work.
A record of tenant maintenance requests and timely resolution can reduce the amount of legal costs in the event of accidents to tenants or their guests on rental property. Good maintenance records also help prove landlord compliance with habitability laws and property inspections.