How to Market a Rental Property
To market a rental property, price it against nearby listings, shoot bright daylight photos of every room, and write a description that leads with the rent, move-in date and pet policy. Then post one listing through a free landlord app that syndicates it to the major rental sites. Describe the property, never the person you want living there. Marketing is the first public step in how to become a landlord.
By LandlordTested editorial teamLast reviewed
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Price it right before you post
Good photos won’t fix a rent that’s $200 too high. Before you write a word, look at current listings for similar homes within a mile or two: same bedrooms and bathrooms, similar size, parking, laundry and pet policy. Price at or slightly below the middle of that range if you want applications in the first week.
The math favors filling fast. On a $1,650 rental, every empty day costs about $55. Two extra weeks empty cost more than a $50-a-month discount over a full year.
Photos that get showings
Listing photos do most of the selling. A phone camera is fine if you follow a few rules:
- Shoot in daylight with every light on and blinds open.
- Hold the phone horizontal and at chest height. Avoid extreme wide-angle settings that bend the walls.
- Clean and clear first. Remove clutter, cords, toiletries and anything personal.
- Photograph every room, plus the kitchen and bathrooms from two angles, the front and back of the house, parking, laundry and storage.
- Lead with the best shot, usually the main living area or the front of the house.
- Don’t show people, and if a current tenant still lives there, get their permission and photograph around their belongings.
- Show what’s real. A photo that hides a stained carpet only moves the disappointment to the showing.
Write the listing description
Renters scroll fast. Put the facts they filter on first, then the details that make the place stand out.
Start with:
- Rent, deposit and any required fees
- Bedrooms, bathrooms and square footage
- Move-in date and lease length
- Pet policy
- Which utilities are included
- Parking and laundry
Then add what’s specific to this home: a fenced yard, a new kitchen, a short walk to a train station, central air.
Close with how to apply and your general criteria, stated objectively. “Income of 3 times the rent, verifiable rental history, no evictions in the past 3 years” is clear and applies to everyone.
An example opening: “$1,650/month, 3 bed, 1.5 bath, 1,250 sq ft, available November 1. 12-month lease. Washer and dryer in unit, off-street parking for two cars. Tenant pays gas and electric; water and trash included. Cats allowed with deposit; no dogs (assistance animals welcome).”
Fair Housing rules for rental ads
The federal Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to publish any rental ad that indicates a preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status or disability. This rule covers advertising even for small landlords who are exempt from other parts of the Act, such as owners of an owner-occupied building with four or fewer units. Many states and cities add protected classes like source of income, age, marital status, sexual orientation and gender identity.
The safe approach is to describe the property, not the tenant.
| Avoid | Write instead |
|---|---|
| “No kids” or “adults only” | “Second-floor two-bedroom” |
| “Perfect for young professionals” | “10 minutes to downtown” |
| “Ideal for a single person” | “Studio, 450 sq ft” |
| “Christian household” or “near St. Mary’s, perfect for families” | Remove it, or “Two blocks from Main Street” |
| “No wheelchairs” or “must be able to climb stairs” | “Third-floor walk-up, no elevator” |
| “English speakers only” | Remove it |
| “No Section 8” (where source-of-income laws apply) | Remove it |
State rules can add requirements. Colorado’s HB25-1090, effective January 1, 2026, requires landlords to advertise a single total monthly price that includes mandatory fees.
Syndication: one listing, many sites
Syndication means you write one listing and a landlord app pushes it to many rental sites. It saves hours and keeps your rent and details consistent everywhere.
Several free or low-cost tools do it:
- TurboTenant’s free plan includes listing syndication, online applications and screening.
- Avail’s free Unlimited plan lists on 19 sites.
- Hemlane’s free Starter plan lists on Apartments.com, Zillow and 7 more sites.
- RentRedi includes syndication in its subscription.
Sites that aren’t fed by syndication, such as Facebook Marketplace and neighborhood groups, need a manual post. A yard sign still works in walkable neighborhoods. If the property is near a hospital, base or university, ask about its housing listings.
When to start marketing
If a current tenant is leaving, start marketing as soon as you have a firm move-out date, often 30 to 45 days ahead. Check that your lease lets you show the unit while it’s occupied, and give the entry notice your state requires; it ranges from none in statute in some states to 2 days or more in others. Coordinate showings with the tenant and keep them to set windows.
Listing early shortens the gap between tenants, but set a realistic move-in date. A new tenant who signs for the 1st when the unit needs two weeks of paint and repairs starts the tenancy on a bad note.
Handle inquiries and showings
- Answer within hours, not days. Renters contact several listings at once.
- Ask everyone the same pre-screening questions, like move-in date, number of occupants and pets, and keep notes. Treating inquiries differently is how many Fair Housing complaints start.
- Group showings into one or two windows to save your evenings.
- Consider self-showing with a smart lock or lockbox for vacant units, paired with ID verification.
- Stay safe. Show vacant properties in daylight, tell someone where you’ll be, and don’t share lockbox codes before verifying identity.
Watch for rental scams
Scammers copy real listings, change the contact details, and collect deposits for homes they don’t own. Protect your applicants and your reputation:
- Say in your listing that you’ll never ask for a deposit before a showing and a signed lease.
- Take payments only through your rental software or another traceable method.
- Search your own photos or address on listing sites occasionally to spot copies.
When the listing isn’t working
After a week or two, look at where people drop off:
- Views but few inquiries: the rent or the first photo is the problem.
- Inquiries but few showings: the description may be hiding something, or your response time is slow.
- Showings but no applications: the house itself, its condition, or your criteria don’t match the market.
A small rent cut early is almost always cheaper than another empty month.
Questions landlords ask
The questions we get most, each answered in a paragraph.
Where should I advertise my rental property?
Start with the big rental sites, where most renters search, such as Zillow, Apartments.com and Realtor.com. A landlord app with syndication can post one listing to many of them; Avail's free plan lists on 19 sites. Add Facebook Marketplace, a yard sign and, near a hospital or university, its housing office. Keep the same rent, criteria and details everywhere you post.
Can I say no pets in a rental ad?
Yes, pet policies are allowed. But assistance animals, including service animals and emotional support animals, aren't pets under the Fair Housing Act, and you generally must consider requests for them as a reasonable accommodation. A simple way to write it is "No pets (assistance animals welcome)." That avoids discouraging tenants with disabilities from applying.
What words are not allowed in rental listings?
Any wording that signals a preference based on a protected class. Under federal law that's race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status and disability, and states and cities add others. Phrases like "no kids," "adults only," "perfect for a single professional," "Christian home" or "English speakers only" are problems. Describe the property and the terms, not the kind of person you want.
How many photos should a rental listing have?
Enough to show every room, the kitchen and bathrooms from more than one angle, the outside of the building, parking, laundry and any yard. For a typical house that's often 20 to 30 photos. Lead with the best-lit main living space or the front of the house, since the first photo decides whether people click.
Can I advertise no Section 8 in my listing?
Not where source-of-income laws apply. Many states and cities ban refusing tenants because they pay with a housing voucher, and advertising "No Section 8" can be a violation on its own. California, New York, New Jersey, Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts, Colorado and Illinois are among the states with such laws. Check your state and city before you write screening language into an ad.