Property management apps can cut down your to-do list and make the whole process of managing rentals much easier.
If you’re a landlord or property manager looking to save time and stay more organized, consider using one or more of the apps below to help manage tenants and properties.
This article will break down which property management apps work best for each rental business task, what features they have, how much they cost, and more.
Best Apps for Landlords—Our Top Picks
|
Free Landlord Software
|
On-Demand Property Management Software
|
Rental Property Financial Solution
|
|
Primary Rating:
4.4
|
Primary Rating:
4.5
|
Primary Rating:
4.2
|
|
Unlimited Plan: Free. Unlimited Plus: $7/unit/mo.
|
14-day free trial. All plans have a $28/mo. base fee. Basic: Additional $2/unit/mo. Essential: Additional $12/unit/mo. Complete: Additional $32/unit/mo.*
|
Free, no fees.
|
Best Apps for Landlords to Handle Property Management Needs
1. Avail (Independent Landlords)
- Available: Sign up here
Avail was designed specifically for DIY landlords. It helps landlords every step of the way, from advertising rental properties and screening tenants, to facilitating online rent payments and helping current tenants submit maintenance requests.
In the beginning of the process, Avail lists rental units on multiple popular listings sites and gives prospective tenants the option to schedule showings.
Avail allows you to ask pre-screening questions during the listing process before moving on to a more comprehensive tenant screening process. Landlords have access to TransUnion credit reports and background checks.
Once it’s time to onboard tenants, they can electronically sign the state-specific lease agreements you customized with Avail.
Current residents use this software to make online rent payments, pay the security deposit, and tackle any other fees. They can also submit maintenance requests, and receive status updates, through Avail. The software also tracks any maintenance expenses for you.
Other features include rent analysis reports that help you set competitive rates in your area; a rental property calculator that helps you determine if a property is worth investing in; and property accounting software.
Avail’s comprehensiveness makes it one of the best free property management software solutions. You can visit Avail to learn more or sign up today.
- Avail offers free landlord software that allows you to syndicate listings on rental property sites, conduct credit and criminal screenings, execute state-specific leases, process online rent payments and perform maintenance tracking.*
- Premium version offers next-day rent payments, waived ACH fees, custom applications and leases, custom lease cloning for reuse, and creating a property website.*
- Tenants pay application fees, screening fees and payment fees ($2.50 per bank transfer w/Unlimited Plan).*
- Free plan with useful features
- Tenant screening
- Listing syndication with dozens of sites
- State-specific lease creation
- Online rent payments
- Next-day rent payments only come with Premium
- No chat features within the app, must rely on email for communicating with tenants
Related: How to Become a Landlord [24 Steps to Earn Rental Income]
2. Hemlane (Comprehensive, End-to-End Property Management Solution)
- Available: Sign up here
Hemlane saves landlords a substantial amount of time through a number of critical landlord tasks.
This property management software lists your rental property on 30 of the top rental property websites and connects interested renters with local real estate agents for showings. Hemlane also handles tenant screening with thorough background and credit checks.
Once real estate investors have onboarded their ideal tenants, they can use Hemlane for online rent collection; it allows tenants to pay through ACH, credit, or debit cards. The landlord can choose to have payments sent directly into one or more bank accounts.
The property management software tracks income and expenses, saving you time during tax season. It also manages maintenance requests and connects you to locals for your annual inspections.
Visit Hemlane to learn more about the different tiers and sign up.
- Hemlane offers property management services in three packages using per unit pricing with no unit minimum.
- The service offers leasing tools to find qualified tenants, local support to connect you with agents, repair coordination with 24/7 US-based support for tenant requests and management tools for property management.
- Free 14-day trial to start. Afterward, pricing starts at $30/month, allowing landlords to structure their management of 1-100 units flexibly.
- Clear and transparent pricing, no nickel and diming
- Access to nationwide local leasing agent partner network
- Listing syndication with dozens of sites
- Tenant screening
- 24/7 repair coordination
- Not designed for landlords seeking full-service property management
- Not suitable for short-term/vacation rentals
- Not meant for portfolios over 100 units
Related: Best Multifamily Property Management Apps + Software
3. Baselane (Best Real Estate Investor Banking Solution)
- Available: Sign up here
Baselane is a comprehensive real estate finance platform for running a rental property business. It also offers a bank account, which comes with an unlimited 1% cash-back debit card.
This platform categorizes all of your expenses to help with your rental property accounting. It also has tools that show your year-to-date (YTD) expenses, YTD revenue, and more.
Baselane also is among the best rent collection apps and software for landlords. Residents can pay online with bank transfers, debit cards, or credit cards and they have the option to set up recurring payments. Payments are sent directly to your bank accounts.
Additionally, Baselane partners with Lendency to provide flexible real estate loans for single and multi-family, five-plus units, portfolio loans, and more. And it offers landlord insurance covering dwelling and liability, loss of rent, and other situations through partner Obie.
Baselane will soon be adding other useful features, such as an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered mortgage and insurance marketplace, tenant screening, as well as Baselane Messenger, which will allow chatting and file exchanges with tenants.
- Baselane is a complete rental property financial management system.
- The bank account for landlords has no fees and offers high yields on all balances (4.19% APY as of 8/25/2024), unlimited 1% cash back on debit card spend, and up to 5% cash back on home improvement spending.* Other features include check writing, same-day ACH payments, and up to $2.5 million in FDIC insurance.
- Baselane also offers bookkeeping, rent collection, analytics, and more.
- Special Offer ($150 bonus): Earn a $150 bonus after completing four steps with your Baselane Banking account. (1) Make a deposit of greater than $500 into a Baselane banking account within 30 days. (2) Maintain that average balance for 60 days. (3) Make more than $1,500 worth of mortgage payments within 90 days. (4) Collect more than $1,500 of rent via Baselane into Baselane Banking within 90 days.
- Free high-yield bank account
- Free online rent collection
- Same-day ACH payments
- Check writing
- Generous cash back on qualified debit card spend
- Up to $2.5 million in FDIC insurance
- 50 states lease creation and e-sign
- Provides Zillow-sourced market values automatically
- No tenant screening services
- No rental property listing capabilities
Related: Best Banks for Real Estate Investors + Landlords
4. Buildium (Best Property Management Software for Large Landlords)
- Available: Sign up here
Buildium’s property management software grows with you, so it will keep working hard for you whether you rent out to one person or boast thousands of tenants.
When you want to buy more properties, Buildium shares leads in your target area. You can mix up the types of rental properties you own, from single-family homes to commercial properties and more.
This software will advertise your property (including giving you a free website), schedule showings, and conduct tenant screening with criminal, credit, and eviction reports.
Once you’ve chosen your tenants, Buildium offers automated online rent collection. It lets tenants make rent payments via Automated Clearing House (ACH), debit cards, and credit cards. They can even pay by cash at 20,000 locations thanks to Buildium’s partnership with PayNearMe.
The rental property management software lets you quickly analyze your financials and it will file and track your Form 1099s.
Buildium also helps with maintenance requests, customizing lease agreements, property inspections, tenant communications, and more. Check out all of the software’s features and sign up at Buildium.
- Buildium offers a scalable property management software used by 20,000+ property management companies
- The end-to-end property management system allows you to manage leasing, maintenance requests, payment collections, vendors and more
- Use the service to pay rent online, conduct tenant screenings, purchase renters insurance and schedule showings with prospective tenants
- Buildium provides a financial overview of your properties in an intuitive dashboard
Related: Best Video Intercom Systems for Apartments
5. SmartMove by TransUnion (Best for Screening Tenants)
- Available: Sign up here
SmartMove is a TransUnion service that specializes in tenant screening. So if you’re overwhelmed by the idea of a full-featured property management platform and just want to do tenant background checks, MySmartMove could be worth a look.
It lets you access prospective tenants’ credit, criminal, eviction, and income reports quickly and easily. You can also choose which reports you get with MySmartMove’s tiered screening bundles.
For instance, if you’re only looking for a basic credit report and criminal records check, you might opt for the SmartCheck Basic bundle, which costs $24.99 per screening. Those looking for more in-depth screening could purchase SmartCheck Plus ($39.99 per screening) or Premium ($41.99 per screening). The higher-tier packages include full credit reports, info on rental history, past evictions and more.
- SmartMove is a tenant screening solution designed for independent landlords with 1-10 properties.
- The service provides a legal and convenient portal for independent landlords to perform tenant background checks.
- Backed by TransUnion, the tenant screening process can be completed in a matter of minutes for $40
- Provides tenant scoring system (ResidentScore™)
- Pulls tenant credit, eviction and background reports in minutes
- Landlord can choose to pay fee or pass it along to prospective tenant(s)
- Only uses TransUnion credit information
Related: How to Open a Security Deposit Account
6. TurboTenant (Best Free Property Management Software With Á La Carte Options)
- Available: Sign up here
TurboTenant is an excellent free property management software platform for landlords who want an affordable way to manage rental property.
Depending on what you need, you can pay more for extra features or stick to the basics. This software can help with advertising, tenant screening, leases, rent payments, renter management, and more.
Landlords can post a rental unit for free on dozens of the most popular listing websites, all from one spot. Interested tenants are invited to apply online and are automatically pre-screened.
The full screening includes credit reports (which won’t affect credit scores), background checks, and eviction reports. Chosen tenants can e-sign your customized, state-specific lease agreement that TurboTenant helps you create for $39.
Tenants will appreciate the ability to pay online through a credit card, debit card, or bank transfer. They can set up automatic payments or receive reminders.
TurboTenant can also help with expense tracking, document management, maintenance requests, tenant communications, rent estimate reports, and more.
The software’s free tier works with an unlimited amount of properties. It offers most services for free, but it costs extra to create state-specific lease agreements (and lease addendums), e-signatures, and access the Landlord Forms Pack. Applicants cover their own screening costs. A premium tier includes everything, covers tenant screening, and lets you connect an unlimited number of bank accounts. Learn about both tiers at TurboTenant.
- TurboTenant provides tools for landlords that cover every stage of the rental cycle, from listing rental properties to signing lease agreements to collecting rent
- List on sites including Apartment List and Realtor.com, then track leads' rental application status, and even send messages to potential clients, within your account.
- When you're screening tenants, you can receive a free, easy-to-read criminal history, credit report, and eviction history report from TransUnion within minutes.
- Free online rent collection, including both one-time and recurring charges, via credit card, debit card, or Direct Deposit
- Special offer: Get 75% off your first two months of your TurboTenant subscription now through Feb. 1, 2024
Related: How to Open a Rent Escrow Account for Security Deposits
7. Stessa (Comprehensive Tool to Manage Property and Review Performance)
- Available: Sign up here
Stessa is free property management software designed by and for real estate investors. Whether your rental property is a single-family home, short-term vacation rental, or a multifamily unit, Stessa could provide the property management help you need.
This all-in-one software has a wide variety of capabilities, mostly focused on the financial side of being a landlord or property manager.
On the tenant side, Stessa allows you to set up online rent payments, including recurring payments, ensuring that you’re always paid, and paid on time.
Meanwhile, Stessa benefits from its partnership with Roofstock by offering numerous features for real estate investors.
For instance, Stessa has performance dashboards at the portfolio and property levels. Users can monitor important financial metrics in real time, such as income and cash flow, net operating income, total portfolio value, occupancy, and more. They can also automate income and expense tracking through accounts.
Real estate balance sheet updates for assets and liabilities are automatically updated. All of one’s documents are stored securely and organized in the cloud.
When it’s time to do taxes, landlords can export tax-ready financials and use free resources from the Stessa Tax Center. In fact, Stessa users get an exclusive TurboTax discount. The property management software also can integrate with AppFolio (more on this software later) so users can automatically import income and expense transactions.
While Stessa is a free service, it also offers optional premium services for a fee, including market research and rent analysis. Learn more or sign up at Stessa.
- Stessa makes rental property finances simple by providing your portfolio's performance through an informative dashboards and reporting.
- Create financial statements, perform bookkeeping tasks and manage your money through an FDIC-insured account that offers a competitive 3.12% APY* for free users or 5.08% APY for Pro users (as of 10/30/2023) and has no maintenance fees or other hidden fees.
- Account holders can earn 1.1% cash back on debit card purchases.*
- Use Stessa to collect rent on autopilot.
- You can even use Stessa's parent company, Roofstock, to buy and sell investment real estate.
Related: New Jersey Security Deposit Laws [What Landlords Need to Know]
8. DocuSign (Digital Signatures)
- Available: Sign up here
DocuSign is the most popular electronic signature app, with millions of documents signed daily worldwide. All documents are encrypted, and the audit trail shows who has signed.
Through DocuSign, tenants can sign their lease online from a computer or mobile device with a legally-binding electronic signature.
The process is simple. After signing up for a free account, renters can create a digital signature using a stylus or a finger. Alternatively, they can select a font.
They upload the lease, drag and drop the signature, and then email the lease to the rental property management company or landlord.
To make it even easier for tenants, property managers and landlords can upload and send leases. Both parties get a digital copy of the completed agreement they can view at any time.
You can automate reminders for expiration dates to make lease tracking easier for upcoming renewals. DocuSign is an excellent option for signing other important documents, like rental applications and tenant inspections.
Property managers can create and save lease agreement templates to reuse with each new tenant.
Plans start at $10 per month if paid annually.
- Easily send, sign and manage all your contracts in one place.
- Generate agreements, verify identity, review and negotiate, send and sign agreements, automate your workflows and store and manage your contracts in one place.
Related: 6 Best Ways to Collect Rent Online
9. Thumbtack (Finding Contractor or Handyman)
- Available: Sign up here
Thumbtack makes it easy to find contractors in your area who can do handyman work, painting projects, landscaping, renovations, and more.
Browse profiles, contact professionals, and book jobs for free from the app. The free cost estimates show you prices for the type of work you need to be done.
You can read reviews of contractors you’re considering hiring to ensure you get the best person for the job. If you like a worker, you can skip the platform next time and hire them directly.
Thumbtack is available in all 50 states.
- Thumbtack is a local service professionals database you can use to find contractors for home projects.
- You can search by zip code to find contractors near you and see their ratings and review from other customers.
- Get free cost estimates for jobs ranging from home maintenance, yard work, weddings, moving and more.
Related: Rental Property Accounting + Bookkeeping 101
10. Landlord Studio (Keep Track of Rent Payments and Expenses)
- Available: Sign up here
Landlord Studio is a property management app built to track income and expenses. Rental property investors using Landlord Studio report claiming an additional $500 per property annually for missed deductions.
There is no need to staple together receipts and manually enter the information into spreadsheets anymore. Landlord Studio lets you scan your receipts and then toss them.
Expenses are accurately categorized and used to generate reports that make tax time a breeze. If you connect a bank account, you can automatically import expenses and track rent payments.
It also offers features for other tenant management tasks to share listings, accept rental applications, screen tenants (renting history, credit, and background checks), collect rent (including automated rent reminders), and more.
It will store all your important documents, such as current and past lease agreements, inspection reports, tenant communications, and insurance policies.
Landlord Studio offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card information required. Plans start at $12 per month and increase depending on the number of units and features needed.
- Landlord Studio allows landlords to track income and expenses, making tax time easier and simpler
- Use Landlord Studio to create financial reports and collect rent online
- Landlord Studio offers rental listing capabilities, managing rental applications and pre-screening questions to save you time on finding good tenants
- The service offers tenant screening with credit, renting history and background checks
Related: Best Rental Listing Sites
11. Zillow Rental Manager (Finding Tenants)
- Available: Sign up here
Zillow Rental Manager is an excellent place to advertise your properties. This rental listing site gets over 30 million monthly visitors, which makes it easier to quickly find tenants and fill vacancies.
Zillow will automatically publish rental ads on their partner sites, Trulia and HotPads. The Rest Zestimate tool can help you set rent prices.
Messaging features are built in to quickly respond to leads, manage applications, and screen tenants, all the online platform.
The application and screening tool is completely free for landlords and property managers. Applicants pay $35 to use the tool for 30 days. It takes care of background and credit checks.
Zillow also lets you collect online payments for rent, security deposits, utilities, and more. Tenants can set up autopay so you know when you’ll get paid each month.
You can post listings directly to Zillow Rental Manager for free. For a flat fee of $29.99, you can upgrade to a premium listing for 90 days to get more exposure.
- Zillow Rental Manager puts landlords in touch with 36 million unique monthly visitors
- Zillow postings can also appear on Trulia and Hotpads
- Service includes tenant screener, online lease building templates, and more.
- Prospective tenants pay $35 for 30 days of unlimited applications and screening.
- Access to Zillow, Trulia, and Hotpads
- Rental pricing tools
- Tenant screening
- Backround and credit checks
- Only syndicates to Zillow, Trulia, and Hotpads
- Not a full-featured property management tool
Related: Best Websites to Advertise Rental Properties
What Can Apps for Landlords and Property Managers Do?
Using the right property management apps can save landlords and property managers a substantial amount of time.
Some of the tasks these apps can handle include (but aren’t limited to):
- Listing properties
- Managing applications
- Background and credit checks
- Collecting rent online
- Tracking income and expenses
- Maintenance tracking and reports
- Lease creation and e-signing
- Landlord and renter insurance
- Bookkeeping and accounting (balance sheets, income statements, cash flow reports, etc.)
- Tenant management and communications
These apps can completely automate tasks for managing properties. Even better, most rental property management software apps are affordable or even free.
Should Landlords Use a Property Management App?
Landlords can significantly benefit from using a property management app. These apps can save landlords time, energy, and money.
Additionally, rental management software apps can simplify your tenants’ lives, making them happier and more likely to keep renting from you.
Choosing the best app will depend on the tech tools you need to manage rentals. Small portfolios might get by with basic features, while landlords and property managers with more rentals may need additional features.
Any good property management software app usually has a free version or trial to test things out. If you opt for the paid version, check for any setup fees or hidden charges before signing up.
The mobile apps listed in the section above are some of the most popular property management apps. Carefully look at each service to find the best fit for your portfolio.
Related:
