Tenant Placement Services: Cost and When to Use One

What a tenant placement service includes

A placement-only service handles the leasing part of property management and stops there. A typical package:

1. Rent pricing based on nearby comparable listings.
2. Marketing, including photos and a listing syndicated to the major rental sites.
3. Showings, in person or with a self-showing lockbox.
4. Applications and screening, including credit, criminal and eviction reports, income verification and landlord references.
5. Lease preparation and signing, usually on the company’s state-specific lease.
6. Collecting the deposit and first month’s rent.
7. A move-in inspection, ideally with dated photos.

After move-in, you take over rent collection, maintenance and everything else. Some companies offer optional add-ons like rent collection software or repair coordination.

What tenant placement costs

Option	Typical cost	What you get
Local property manager, leasing only	50-100% of one month’s rent	Full leasing service, local showings and knowledge
Hemlane tenant placement	From $695	Placement through an online service; Hemlane’s Starter plan also lists on Apartments.com, Zillow and 7 more sites
TurboTenant Autopilot, placement only	One-time $1,500	TurboTenant’s team handles placement
Real estate agent	Varies; ask	Depends on the agent
Do it yourself with a free app	$0 subscription; applicants usually pay $30-$55 for screening	You do the showings and decisions

The percentage model scales with rent and the flat fees don’t. On a $1,650 rental, a fee of 50-100% of one month’s rent is $825 to $1,650. On a $2,400 rental, it’s $1,200 to $2,400, and a $1,500 flat fee starts to look cheaper than a local manager charging 75% ($1,800).

The DIY route costs time, not money. TurboTenant’s free plan and Avail’s free Unlimited plan both syndicate listings, take applications and run screening; applicants pay for their own reports ($55 on TurboTenant’s free plan, $55 for Avail’s bundle).

When a placement service is worth it

• You live far from the property. Showing a house four hours away is expensive in time and gas.
• It’s your first tenant. A good placement shows you how screening, leases and move-in inspections should work.
• The market is slow. A manager with a waiting list of applicants can fill a unit faster.
• Your time is short. A few weeks of inquiries and showings during a busy stretch at work can cost more than the fee.

When to do it yourself

• You live within a short drive.
• You own a few units and turn them over regularly, so you’ve built a process.
• You’re comfortable with written screening criteria, FCRA consent and adverse action notices, and Fair Housing rules.
• Your rent is high enough that a percentage fee feels steep for a few weeks of work.

Placement, full management or DIY: one year on one house

Take a $1,650 house with one new tenant this year:

Approach	Cost this year	What you still do
Full management at 10% plus a 75% leasing fee	$1,980 + $1,237.50 = $3,217.50	Approve big repairs and read statements
Local placement at 50-100% of one month’s rent	$825 to $1,650	Rent collection, repairs and tenant contact after move-in
Flat-fee placement (Hemlane from $695, TurboTenant $1,500)	$695 to $1,500	Same as above
Free landlord app	$0 subscription; applicants usually pay for screening	Everything, including showings

In a year without a turnover, the gap widens. Full management still costs $1,980 at 10%, while placement costs nothing until the next vacancy.

You’re still responsible for the screening

Hiring a placement service doesn’t move your Fair Housing responsibilities onto someone else. If the company you hire turns away applicants on a protected basis, or uses a blanket criminal-record ban, a complaint can name you as the owner as well as the company. The same goes for the Fair Credit Reporting Act: applicants still need to give written consent before reports are pulled, and anyone denied because of a report needs an adverse action notice.

Ask the company to show you its written criteria and a sample adverse action notice before you sign. If it can’t produce either, find another one.

Questions to ask before you hire one

• What are your screening criteria? Get them in writing. They should apply to every applicant equally, follow the Fair Housing Act, and avoid blanket bans on applicants with criminal records. HUD withdrew its 2016 guidance on records in 2025, but a blanket ban can still draw a Fair Housing Act claim, and many states and cities limit how you use records. In states and cities with source-of-income laws, they can’t exclude voucher holders.
• Who decides? Do you approve the final applicant, or does the company?
• Whose lease? Ask to read it. It should be written for your state.
• Where does the deposit go? It should land in your account or a trust account as your state requires.
• Is there a guarantee? What happens if the tenant breaks the lease or is evicted in the first months?
• Are showings in person? And who answers applicants’ questions?
• When is the fee due? Ideally only when a tenant signs and pays.
• Is the listing exclusive? Some contracts require that you not list the property yourself for a set period.

Handing off after move-in

Once the tenant moves in, collect everything you need to manage on your own:

• The signed lease and any addenda
• The move-in inspection checklist and dated photos
• The tenant’s application and screening consent, stored securely
• The tenant’s renters insurance declarations page, if your lease requires it
• All keys, codes and garage remotes

Set up rent collection the same week, so the first payment arrives through the system you’ll use for the rest of the lease.

Check the deposit too. Confirm where the placement company deposited it, that the amount stays within your state’s limit, and that you have the paperwork your state requires, such as a receipt or a notice of where the deposit is held. Deposit rules and return deadlines vary widely by state, and as the owner you’re the one a tenant will pursue at move-out if they aren’t followed.