Property Management SOP Templates

Self-managing a few rentals works until the second or third unit, when every tenant event is handled from memory. One applicant gets screened harder than another. A maintenance call is answered by text and never logged. A move-out deposit goes back late because nobody wrote down the deadline. Landlords with one to twenty doors who have not written their procedures down carry all of that risk personally.

This set ships seven one-page SOPs as editable Word documents, each in the same seven-part format: Purpose, Trigger (when this SOP runs), Owner, Step-by-Step, Definition of Done, Records to Keep, and Common Mistakes. The Tenant Screening SOP (335 words) has you publish written criteria with the listing, verify ID and income, call the current and previous landlord, and run credit and background with written authorization. Lease Signing and Move-In covers the signing meeting, deposit handling, and the move-in inspection. Rent Collection and Late Payment sets the grace period, reminder, and notice sequence. Maintenance Request and Vendor Management defines emergency, urgent, and routine tiers and how vendors are selected and paid. Annual Inspection, Move-Out and Security Deposit, and an Eviction Process Guide overview complete the lifecycle. The seven files total about 2,000 words, and a 5-page Start-Here PDF indexes them.

When the set is filled in, every recurring landlord task has a written owner, a trigger, and a definition of done, which is what lets you hand units to a partner, an assistant, or a future property manager without re-explaining. To start: open the Tenant Screening SOP and replace the bracketed criteria with your own income multiple, credit floor, and lookback period. Then open Rent Collection and set your due date, grace period, and late fee so the notice sequence matches your lease. Finally, print Maintenance Request and Vendor Management and list the three vendors you actually call for plumbing, electrical, and HVAC.