Your first year as a landlord is when you learn the house. Every system has an age, every appliance a model number, and every room a condition on the day the tenant moves in. Write all of it down in the first month, follow a seasonal calendar, set aside money before you need it, and year two is mostly routine.
Before the tenant moves in: the baseline
Walk the property with a notebook and a phone. For each item, record what it is, how old it is and what shape it’s in:
- Safety first. Test every smoke and carbon monoxide alarm, and note the install date printed on the back. Test the GFCI outlets in the kitchen, baths and outside. Rekey or change the locks.
- The big systems. The furnace or heat pump, the air conditioner and the water heater: their ages are on the label or in the serial number. Change the furnace filter and write down its size.
- Water. Find and tag the main shutoff and the valve under every sink and toilet. Look for drips, stains and soft spots under sinks and around the tub.
- Appliances. Photograph each model label. The guide to estimating appliance repair costs shows how to use the age when something breaks.
- Every room. Wide photos, then close-ups of anything worn: a chipped counter, a carpet stain, a scuffed door.
Then do the move-in inspection with the tenant, room by room, and both sign the report. It is the document that decides the deposit a year or five years from now.
The first-year calendar
Here is a year for a single-family rental whose tenant moves in on Sunday, November 1, 2026. Adjust for your climate and your systems.
| Month | Tasks |
|---|---|
| Nov 2026 | Move-in inspection. Show the tenant the water shutoff and breaker panel. New furnace filter. |
| Dec 2026 | Winter prep: disconnect hoses, cover outside faucets, confirm the heat works in every room. |
| Feb 2027 | Filter change. Ask about drafts, ice on the roof edge or any stains on ceilings. |
| Apr 2027 | Spring: clean gutters, walk the roof line and the foundation, service the air conditioner. |
| May 2027 | Routine inspection, with notice: under sinks, caulk, alarms, filters. |
| Jul 2027 | Filter change. Check for pests, and trim plants away from the siding. |
| Sep 2027 | Clean the dryer vent. Service the furnace before the cold. |
| Oct 2027 | Gutters again. A walk-through before the renewal offer goes out. |
Put each task on a repeating calendar event, and let the tenant know which months you’ll be asking to come by. Filters that the tenant can reach easily can be their job under the lease; buy them in a box of six and leave them on site.
A one-page welcome sheet
Hand the tenant one page on move-in day, and tape a copy inside a kitchen cabinet:
- how to report a repair, and what counts as an emergency;
- your number for emergencies, and a backup if you’re away;
- where the water shutoff, the breaker panel and the gas valve are;
- the filter size and the months it gets changed;
- trash and recycling days, and anything the house needs, like a sump pump to keep plugged in.
Tenants who know where the shutoff is turn a flooded kitchen into a wet floor. It is the cheapest maintenance you will ever do.
A repair budget that doesn’t depend on luck
Budget from the value and age of the house, not from the rent. One common rule of thumb sets aside about 1% of the property’s value a year; older roofs, furnaces and water heaters push it higher.
The house is worth $300,000. At 1%, that is $3,000 a year, or $250 a month, set aside in the rental’s own account whether anything breaks or not.
Rent is $1,650. Put $250 in the repairs line of the NOI calculator with your taxes and insurance, and you see what the property really earns before the mortgage.
Keep the repair reserve separate from the reserve for big replacements, like a roof or a furnace, which you plan by their age. A 14-year-old furnace is a line in next year’s plan, not a surprise.
Routine inspections, done by the rules
Most states require notice before a landlord enters for a non-emergency reason, and a routine inspection is exactly that. Delaware asks for 48 hours and entry only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m.; California presumes 24 hours’ written notice is reasonable; in Texas the Property Code is silent, so the lease governs. The landlord entry notice by state table has every state, and the glossary entry on the right of entry covers emergencies.
Keep inspections short and specific: say what you will check, check it, and leave. Once or twice a year is plenty for a good tenant.
Who fixes what
The landlord keeps the home fit to live in. That is the warranty of habitability: heat, water, working plumbing and electricity, a sound structure, no serious hazards. The landlord also pays for normal wear and tear, like faded paint or carpet worn along a hallway.
The tenant pays for damage beyond that: a hole in a wall, a burn in the counter, a broken window from a ball game. The lease can hand small, low-risk jobs to the tenant, such as light bulbs, and it should say plainly who handles what.
Records that pay for themselves
Every repair gets a line in the log: date, what broke, who fixed it, what it cost, and the invoice filed. At move-out, those records do two jobs. They support any deduction from the security deposit, and they help you meet your state’s deadline. California, for example, gives a landlord 21 days after the tenant leaves to return the deposit with an itemized statement, and asks for receipts for deductions over $125. The security deposit limits by state table has every state’s deadline.
Keep the paper trail on the money side too: a rent receipt for every payment made in cash or by money order, and one folder per month for invoices. By the end of the first year, you’ll know what the house costs to run, which is the number every later decision starts from.
Questions people ask
How often should a landlord inspect a rental?
Once or twice a year is common for a routine inspection, plus a walk-through at move-in and move-out. Give the notice your state and lease require, say what you will check, and keep it short. Inspecting much more often can interfere with the tenant’s right to quiet enjoyment.
How much should a new landlord budget for maintenance?
A common starting point is about 1% of the property’s value a year, more for an older home or aging systems. On a $300,000 house that is $3,000 a year, or $250 a month. Track what you actually spend for a year, then adjust.
Who pays for repairs in a rental?
The landlord pays for repairs from normal wear and tear and for anything needed to keep the home fit to live in. The tenant pays for damage they, their household or guests cause beyond normal wear and tear. The lease can assign small tasks, like changing light bulbs, to the tenant.
Written by LoomLease editors. Published September 30, 2026. Plain English, not legal, tax or financial advice: your lease, your state’s law and a professional who knows your situation decide what applies.