6 Types Of Records You Need To Keep For Your Rental Property
If you're a landlord, property manager and/or a property owner, making sure you’re keeping the right records is essential for filing accurate tax returns, avoiding legal issues with tenants/owners/property managers, and providing evidence if you’re audited by the tax authorities.
But how do you know which records you should be keeping? That’s where this checklist comes in handy - we’ve broken it down by types of record too, to make things easier.
Have a read through these 6 types of records you should be keeping for your rental property:
1) Property Records
You’ll need to keep records which relate to the property (or properties) you own or manage:
- Invoices and receipts for maintenance
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Photos of maintenance work or tenant damage
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Property ownership deeds and mortgage information
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Tax records
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Move-in and move-out inspection paperwork for each tenancy
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Service requests for repair work (and details of how the jobs were handled)
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Insurance policies and documents
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Property photos
2) Tenant Files
These are records which relate to your tenants, and it’s important to keep them in case of a dispute (e.g. your tenant damages a property or doesn’t pay rent)
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Signed lease/rental agreement (plus records of any changes, e.g. rent increase notices)
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Tenant screening reports and applications, plus approvals and denials
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Records relating to security deposits, security deposit refunds and any deductions (these should be an itemized list)
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Move-in and move-out inspection paperwork
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Rent payment records
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Pet policy agreement
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Service/maintenance requests (and how they were resolved)
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Property maintenance notices
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Records of any lease violations, legal notices, evidence of follow-up action, eviction paperwork
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All emails and other correspondence with the tenant
3) Owner Files
Both the owner of a property and the property manager (or property management agency) will need to keep personal records:
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Owner-manager agreements and contracts
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Records of payments using the owner’s funds
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Service requests for maintenance (and how they were resolved)
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Payment of property management fees
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Emails and other correspondence between owners and property managers
4) Contractor Files
You’ll also need to keep records of any dealings with vendors/contractors which relate to your property:
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Vendor/contractor screening files
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Contracts and bids
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Invoices and receipts
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Service requests (and records of how they were handled)
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Contractor insurance information
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Payment records
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Emails and other correspondence
5) Financial Transactions
These are the most important types of records when it comes to taxes! You’ll need to make sure these are accurate and up to date in case of a tax audit:
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Bank statements
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Invoices and receipts
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Security deposit refunds and deductions
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Owner ledgers, tenant ledgers, personal funds ledger
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Purchase orders
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Bank deposit slips
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Credit card information
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Copies of Checks
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Check registers
6) Other Business Documents
If you’re running a property management agency or hiring employees to help you with your property, you’ll need to keep files relating to your business:
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Licenses or permits
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Rental registration forms
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Inspection reports
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Safety certifications
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Tax returns & supporting documents
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Legal documents
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Records for employees (plus payroll)
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Insurance documents
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Records of any audits
Sounds like a lot of paperwork, right? Not necessarily!
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How many of the records in this list have you been keeping? Did any come as a surprise to you? Let us know in the comments below.
