What are the Most Landlord Friendly States?

Each state has its own set of laws and regulations when it comes to residential rental properties, which can make their landlord-tenant laws lean towards tenant or landlord friendly states. 

In our series dedicated to state landlord-tenant laws, we’ve frequently encountered landlords wondering what makes a state landlord-friendly and which states are favorable for landlords or tenants.

To help provide insight into these questions, we’ll talk about what makes a state landlord friendly and which are some of the top states that are considered to be relatively landlord friendly.

What makes a state landlord friendly?

Defining what qualifies a state as landlord friendly or not depends on who you ask. Typically, when divided between “tenant” or “landlord” friendly, the concept tends to suggest the state’s laws favor one party over another with legal rules and regulations. 

However, colloquially amongst landlords, landlord friendly states are those that create balance between landlords and tenants (i.e., laws that protect both renters and landlords). 

The factors often taken into account when determining whether or not a state is generally favorable towards landlords are: 

• Property taxes
• Evictions
• Rent control
• Lease laws
• Security deposits
• Property access notices
• Repair regulations

The most important factors will depend on yourself as a landlord and what your primary concerns are. For example, a landlord looking to minimize turnover costs would look to sates that provide clear eviction regulations and lease laws. If you’re looking to ensure the quality of your home is carefully maintained, you’ll want to seek out states that leverage property access notices and clearly define repair regulations and security deposit rules.

Another factor to consider is what country and city/town within the state you’re considering. Sometimes cities are more like separate entities from the state, a prime example being New York City and New York State.

What are the top landlord friendly states?

So, what are the best landlord friendly states? According to recommendations, the following 15 states can be great to invest in:

• Alabama
• Arizona
• Colorado
• Florida
• Georgia
• Indiana
• Illinois

“Yes, Illinois is a landlord-friendly state. With established rules around security deposits and a large tenant market, landlords and real estate investors have ranked Illinois as a top landlord-friendly market.”

RentRedi, Illinois Landlord Tenant Laws

• Kentucky
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Nevada

“In Nevada, the landlord and tenant obligations are comprehensive. It provides guidelines for rental lease agreements (at or over 12 months in length), obligations for both the landlord and tenant, and detailed remedies for scenarios such as eviction or failure to comply with a rental agreement. For these reasons, Nevada is a landlord-friendly state.”

RentRedi, Nevada Landlord Tenant Laws

• Ohio
• Pennsylvania

“RentRedi places Pennsylvania as a landlord-friendly state due to rules that allow for landlords to have more control over the landlord-tenant interactions. Two examples being that a landlord is not required to give notification to enter a premise and that a landlord is only required to provide a 15-day notification to a tenant to leave a property if a lease is one year or less in length.”

RentRedi, Pennsylvania Landlord Tenant Laws

• South Carolina
• Texas

If you’re considering buying rental property in another state and are curious about its landlord-tenant laws, try connecting with landlords who manage properties in that state first. They can provide firsthand stories, like in this BiggerPockets forum, about the ease or pain points of renting in certain states.

However, regardless of where you choose to rent, as long as you fully understand the landlord-tenant laws of the state, have a strong lease, have budgeted rental reserves, screen tenants thoroughly, and use property management software like RentRedi to keep your business running smoothly, you will be able to manage your properties in any state.