How to Rent Out Your House: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide (Including Condos and Rooms)

This is how to rent out houses you own, in the order the work actually happens: deciding who manages it, checking with your lender, insurer and HOA, learning the local rules, setting the rent, getting the place ready, finding and choosing a tenant, signing the lease, and running it afterwards. If you searched how to rent out my home because you are moving, inheriting a house or buying a second one, every step applies. The sections near the end cover what changes for a condo and for renting rooms.

It is written for US owners renting out one home or a few. It is general information, not legal or tax advice, and where a rule comes from a government source, the source is named.

How to rent out houses: the steps at a glance

1. Decide who manages it: you, a property manager, or a leasing agent for the first tenant only.
2. Check your mortgage, insurance, HOA and taxes.
3. Check your city and state rules.
4. Set the rent from comparables.
5. Make the home rent-ready and record its condition.
6. Take photos and write the listing.
7. Publish the listing where renters look.
8. Answer inquiries the same day, with the same information each time.
9. Run showings.
10. Take applications and choose a tenant against written criteria.
11. Sign a lease written for your state and collect the deposit.
12. Move the tenant in with a documented walkthrough.
13. Run it: rent, repairs, records and renewals.

Step 1: Manage it yourself or hire a property manager

A full-service property manager takes the calls, showings, rent collection, repairs and notices, and charges for it: usually a monthly fee plus fees for placing a tenant and renewing a lease. If you interview managers, ask each for the complete fee schedule in writing, including any markup on repairs and what it costs to end the agreement.

Managing it yourself makes sense when you live nearby, can answer messages within a day, have repair people you trust, and will enforce the lease you sign. A manager makes more sense when you live far away or would rather not be the person a tenant calls at night. A middle option: a leasing agent places the tenant for a one-time fee, and you manage the home after move-in.

Step 2: Check your mortgage, insurance, HOA and taxes

Mortgage

Read your loan documents for an occupancy clause. A loan made for a home you live in can require you to occupy it for a period after closing. Call your lender, say you plan to rent the home out, and get the answer in writing.

Insurance

A homeowner policy is written for a home you live in. Tell your insurer you are renting it out and ask about a landlord (dwelling) policy: what it covers for the building, your liability, and lost rent if the home becomes unlivable after a covered loss. Decide whether your lease will require the tenant to carry renters insurance, which protects their belongings, not yours.

HOA

If the home is in an HOA, read the covenants and rules before anything else. Some associations restrict or cap rentals, set a minimum lease length, or require you to register tenants. More on this under condos below.

Taxes

The IRS explains how rental income is taxed in Publication 527, Residential Rental Property (IRS, checked September 2026). A few points from it worth knowing before you start:

• Advance rent counts as rental income in the year you receive it.
• A security deposit you plan to return is not income when you receive it; any part you keep because the tenant broke the lease is.
• Ordinary expenses such as advertising, insurance, mortgage interest, property taxes, utilities you pay and repairs can be deducted; improvements are recovered through depreciation instead.
• Rental income and expenses are reported on Schedule E (Form 1040).
• The publication also covers renting part of a home and how to divide expenses.

Keep repairs and improvements separate in your records from the first receipt, and talk to a tax professional if the home was your residence. Ask your county assessor whether your homestead exemption ends when you move out.

Step 3: Check your city and state rules

Landlord rules are mostly set by states, counties and cities, so the answers differ by address. Look each of these up on official state and city websites before you list:

• Rental registration or license. Some cities require one, and some inspect the home before the first tenant moves in. Search your city's site for "rental registration".
• Habitability. State law sets the minimum condition of a rental: heat, water, working plumbing and electrical, locks, and more. Your state attorney general or housing agency often publishes a landlord-tenant guide.
• Security deposits. Many states cap the amount, set a deadline for returning it and say what you may deduct.
• Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. State and local codes say where they must be.
• Rent regulation and eviction rules. Some states and cities limit rent increases or require a stated reason to end a lease.
• Lead paint. For housing built before 1978, the EPA says landlords must disclose known lead-based paint and hazards, give the renter the pamphlet "Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home", include a Lead Warning Statement in the lease, and keep signed disclosures for three years (EPA, Real Estate Disclosure, checked September 2026).
• Fair housing. The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination because of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status and disability (HUD, Housing Discrimination Under the Fair Housing Act, checked September 2026). HUD also says it is against the law to tell someone a home is unavailable when it is, or to advertise to preferred groups only. State and local laws can protect more characteristics, so check yours.

Step 4: Set the rent from comparables

The rent is what renters in your area will pay for a home like yours, not what your costs add up to. Build a short comparison from homes currently listed and recently rented near you:

Aim for at least five comparables within your neighborhood, then adjust for what yours has or lacks: a garage, in-unit laundry, a yard, updated kitchen, pets allowed. Homes that sat on the market for a long time were probably priced too high; weight the ones that rented quickly.

Then check your own numbers: mortgage, taxes, insurance, HOA dues, a repair reserve and gaps between tenants. If market rent does not cover them, better to know now.

Step 5: Make it rent-ready

Work through the house as a tenant will on the first day:

• Safety: alarms tested, locks rekeyed or changed, handrails firm, no exposed wiring, windows that open and lock.
• Systems: furnace and air conditioning serviced, water heater checked, no leaks under sinks.
• Everything works: appliances, faucets, toilets, outlets, light fixtures, blinds, garage door.
• Clean and patch: a deep clean inside appliances and cabinets; fill holes and touch up paint in a color you can match later.
• Outside: yard tidy, gutters clear, house number visible.
• Empty it: remove personal items and list anything that stays.

When it is ready, take dated photos and a walkthrough video of every room, including inside appliances. That record becomes the baseline for the move-in inspection and the deposit.

Step 6: Take photos and write the listing

Photograph in daylight with the lights on, horizontally, from the corner of each room at chest height. Lead with the outside of the house, then the living area, kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms, outdoor space, parking and laundry. The photo order checklist has the full sequence.

Put the facts renters filter on in the first lines. A template:

"3 bed, 2 bath house in [neighborhood], [rent] a month, available [date]. [Size]. Fenced yard, garage, washer and dryer in the unit. [Lease length] lease. Deposit [amount]. Tenant pays [utilities]; owner pays [utilities]. Pets: [policy]. No smoking. Requirements: income of [your multiple] times the rent, and references from previous landlords, applied to every applicant. Book a showing or apply at [link]."

Describe the home, never the tenant you imagine. "Two bedrooms and a fenced yard" is a fact; "perfect for a young couple" states a preference about who may live there, which fair housing rules on advertising prohibit.

Step 7: Publish the listing where renters look

Post it on the rental listing sites renters near you use, give it a page of your own you can send to anyone, put a sign in the yard, and tell neighbors and local employers. How to find tenants for a rental property goes through each channel.

The FTC describes scammers who copy a real listing's photos and description, swap in their own contact details and repost it (FTC, Rental Listing Scams, checked September 2026). Search your address after you list, report copies, and say in your listing that you never ask for money before a showing.

Step 8: Answer inquiries the same day

Renters message several homes at once. Write one standard reply that confirms the home is available, repeats the rent, date, deposit, pets policy and requirements, and offers showing times or a booking link. Rental inquiry reply templates has versions for each situation.

Keep a log of every inquiry: name, contact, date, where they saw the listing and what happened next. Give everyone the same information; consistency is both fair and your record if anyone asks later.

Step 9: Run showings

Choose a format: individual showings, a short open house where several people come in the same window, or back-to-back slots on one or two days. Confirm each showing the day before and ask for a reply. People who do not confirm often do not come; the no-show script covers what to send. How to schedule rental showings without texting covers booking slots instead of trading messages.

For safety, get each visitor's full name and phone number first, tell someone where you are, and show in daylight. Bring a one-page sheet with the facts and how to apply.

Step 10: Take applications and choose a tenant

Write your criteria before you list and apply them to every applicant, in the order applications arrive. Typical criteria: income relative to the rent, rental history, landlord references, and, if you use them, credit and background results. Check your state and city rules first; some limit how criminal history or credit can be used.

You can use the free rental application form template or take applications online. Whether you may charge an application fee, and how much, depends on your state; renting without an application fee covers the trade-off and one state's rule.

Screening

If you run credit or background checks, a tenant screening company does it, and you get the applicant's written permission first. The FTC's guidance for landlords says that if you reject an applicant, or require something extra such as a co-signer or a higher deposit, based on a report, you must give them an adverse action notice that includes the screening company's contact details and their right to a free copy and to dispute it (FTC, Using Consumer Reports: What Landlords Need to Know, checked September 2026).

A report does not replace your own checking: call the previous landlord as well as the current one, confirm employment, and match the ID to the application. Then tell every applicant the outcome.

Step 11: Sign a lease written for your state

Use a lease built for your state's law, from a state association's forms, a reputable legal forms provider or an attorney. A lease from another state can include terms yours does not allow. Check it covers:

• Everyone on the lease and every occupant
• Term, rent, due date, how to pay and any late fee your state allows
• The deposit and how it will be returned
• Utilities, repairs, pets, smoking and parking
• Notice before you enter, renewal and how either side ends the lease
• Required disclosures, such as lead paint for older homes

Collect the deposit and first month's rent in a traceable form, and wait until the funds have cleared before you hand over keys. Some states set rules for where a deposit is held; follow yours.

Step 12: Move the tenant in

Walk through the house together with a room-by-room condition checklist, note every existing mark, and both sign it. Take dated photos, record meter readings, count the keys you hand over and confirm the utility transfer. Give the tenant one page with how to pay rent, how to report a repair and who to call in an emergency.

Step 13: Run it

• Rent: one payment method, a due date and a written late policy.
• Repairs: say how fast you respond to urgent and routine requests, then do it.
• Entry: give the notice your state requires.
• Records and reserve: keep every receipt, and set money aside for repairs and gaps between tenants.
• Renewal: decide well before the lease ends, and give notice within your state's deadlines.

How to rent out a condo

Renting out a condo follows the same steps, with the association in the middle. Before you list, read the declaration, bylaws and rules for rental restrictions, caps on rented units, minimum lease terms, registration forms and move-in fees. Give your tenant the rules and get a signed acknowledgment, because a fine for their violation is usually billed to you.

The association's master policy covers part of the building and your own condo policy the rest; ask your insurer what a rented unit needs. HOA dues and special assessments stay yours, so include them in your numbers.

How to rent out rooms in your house

Renting rooms while you live there is a different arrangement. Decide:

• One lease or one per room. Separate agreements keep one tenant's rent and behavior separate from another's.
• What is shared and included: kitchen, bathrooms, laundry, parking, utilities, internet, furniture.
• House rules in writing: guests, quiet hours, cleaning, food storage.
• A lock on each bedroom door.

Check whether your city limits the number of unrelated occupants or requires registration for room rentals, and tell your insurer. For taxes, Publication 527 covers renting part of your property and how to divide expenses between the rented part and your own.

How to rent out your house for the first time: mistakes to avoid

• Listing before checking with your lender, insurer or HOA.
• Setting the rent from hope instead of comparables.
• Vague criteria, applied differently to different people.
• Handing over keys before the funds clear.
• No move-in record, so every deposit deduction becomes a dispute.
• A lease written for another state.
• Describing the tenant you want instead of the home.

Where Loftfolio fits

Loftfolio gives you a rentals website at yourname.loftfolio.com with a page for every property and an application form on each. Renters book their own showings, with email confirmations and a reminder the day before, and every application made on your site becomes one record with a status, notes and a message thread. You can ask an applicant for photo ID, proof of income or a reference, and they upload it to their application. Applicants never pay a fee.

What it does not do: screening, credit or background checks, leases, rent collection or maintenance. And only applications made on your own site become records; when someone asks through a listing site, reply with your listing's link so they apply there. It starts at $39 a month.

→ See how Loftfolio works for landlords