3+ Best software for landlords (Ranked & Reviewed)

The best software for landlords refers to specialised software designed to assist landlords in managing their rental properties more efficiently and effectively. This type of software provides a range of tools and features that streamline various property management tasks, including tenant management, rent collection, lease tracking, online rent payments, handling maintenance requests, accounting, and reporting.

Landlord property management software typically offers a centralised platform where landlords can access and organise crucial property-related information, automate repetitive tasks, and improve communication with tenants, contractors, and property managers all in one place. It eliminates the need for manual paperwork & large file cabinets, simplifying day-to-day operations and saving landlords time and effort.

Best Overall
Buildium

Buildium

  • Operates in 46+ Countries
  • overlooks 1 million+ Properties
  • Robust analytics and accounting features
Free Trial
Best for reporting

Rentec Direct

  • Advanced reporting features
  • Email & SMS messaging from platform
  • Online reports
2 Week Free Trial
Best for new Landlords
Avail

Avail

  • Free option available
  • Simplified dashboard
  • Great for first-time landlords
Try Avail Now

Managing rental properties can be a complex and time-consuming task for landlords, especially those with small property portfolios. Fortunately, technology has come to the rescue with software solutions specifically designed to streamline property management tasks & processes. 

Utilising the right software can significantly simplify tasks, enhance efficiency, and improve overall tenant management and retention. 

In this article, we will explore some of the best software options available for landlords with small, medium & large property portfolios, and discuss their key features and benefits.

Landlords

Credit: Active Financial Planners

What is the best software for landlords?

After extensive research and reviews, we’ve complied in this article a list of some of the best software for landlords and property managers to use, to ensure that they are getting the best use of time when working on their business. Here are our thoughts:

Table of Contents

1. Buildium

Best for: Landlords with residential properties and property managers with mixed portfolios

Known for its easy-to-use interface and intuitive navigation, Buildium is a popular property management software that caters to landlords, property managers, and homeowner associations alike.

Originally developed by property managers, Buildium offers a comprehensive set of features and tools to streamline property management processes and enhance operational efficiency. 

Buildium residential portfolio page

Key Features:

Buildium landlord property software key features
  • Property and Tenant Management: Buildium offers a comprehensive platform to manage property details, track leases, store tenant information, and facilitate efficient communication between landlords and tenants.

  • Rent Collection and Financial Management: With Buildium, landlords can easily collect rent online, automate payment reminders, track rental income and expenses, generate financial reports, and streamline their accounting processes.

  • Maintenance and Work Order Management: Buildium simplifies maintenance management by allowing tenants to submit maintenance requests online, tracking the status of repairs, assigning tasks to contractors, and facilitating communication throughout the process.

  • Accounting and Bookkeeping: Buildium provides robust accounting functionalities, including accounts payable and receivable, general ledger, budgeting, bank reconciliation, and document management, making financial tracking and reporting more efficient and accurate.

  • Leasing and Applicant Screening: Buildium offers tools to create and customize lease agreements, conduct tenant screenings with background checks, verify credit history and rental references, streamlining the leasing process and ensuring reliable tenant selection.

  • Reporting and Analytics: Buildium provides a variety of reports and analytics, including financial statements, occupancy rates, rental income analysis, and performance metrics, enabling landlords to make data-driven decisions and gain insights into their property portfolio’s performance.

User Experience:

property software buildium main dashboard

Credit: Buildium

Supporting Landlords in over 46 countries, with 1 million+ rental properties already under it’s belt, Buildium has created it’s design with the user experience in mind. Providing the landlords and rental property managers with a smooth and efficient experience. Here are some aspects of the user experience in Buildium:

  1. Interface: Thanks to its straight-forward UI, Landlords and property managers can rapidly access crucial features and data, such as the dashboard’s overview.

  2. Usefulness: Buildium is made to be simple to use and accommodating to users with different degrees of technical skill. The software’s simple workflows make it simple to complete activities including managing properties, tenants, contracts, and finances.

  3. Mobile Access: In addition to a PC version, Buildium also provides a mobile app. The mobile app increases flexibility and convenience by allowing users to manage properties, connect with tenants, and access vital information regardless of where you are.

  4. Customer assistance: Customer Service is offered by Buildium via phone, email, and an online knowledge portal. When problems arise or users have inquiries about efficiently using the product, they can request support. (this may be limited dependant on the plan you choose).

  5. Training and Resources: Buildium offers comprehensive training resources, including help documentation, video tutorials, webinars, and online courses. These resources assist users in getting started with the software, mastering its features, and maximising its potential. – The quality and work that goes into this certainly help Buildium stand out from the rest.

Pros/Cons

Pros:

  • Offers tutorials and courses on how to use Buildium
  • Loads of different features to take advantage of depending on your needs
  • 14 day free trial, to trial out the software before buying
  • Extensive reporting options
  • User-Friendly interface
  • Has a Tenant portal, allowing tenants to log-in and communicate with property managers, make online payments, and make maintenance requests

Cons:

  • Loads of features, so can be overwhelming for someone that has never used a property software before
  • Limited customisation – Buildium is intended to be an all-in-one platform that has everything in one place, so doesn’t offer many customisable options
  • Customer support – While Buildium offers phone support for their higher plans, it has been reported by some users that their ticketed support times could do with improvements
  • Pricing – Buildium offers different pricing plans for landlords of all kinds, whether you have a small, medium or large portfolio. However, the higher plans can be slightly more expensive than other software available
pricing structure of buildium property software
pricing plans buildium

Pricing:

Essential: $52 Per Month – Includes advanced features, like Tenant screening, Ticket support, standard reporting. if you would like to have screen tenants sign leases through the Essential plan, you can do so, but it will be an additional cost of $5 per signature.

Growth: $166 Per Month – Offers enhanced tenant screening services, credit risk management, the leading property management software companies enhanced reporting an analytics, 5 free bank accounts linked (then $99 per additional account), unlimited eSignatures & live phone support.

Premium: $479 Per Month – includes all of the “Growth” features, plus additional benefits such as a dedicated Growth Consultant for new client leads, Priority support & Buildium rewards.

Try Buildium’s Free trial here.

Buildium Free Trial

2. Rentec Direct

Best for: Landlords and property managers of varying portfolio sizes who require advanced functionalities and customer support.

Rentec Direct is a rental property management software designed to simplify the property management industry. Allowing landlords and property managers to easily carry out time-consuming tasks like rent collection, financial management, tenant screening, maintenance tracking, and more.

Rentec Direct’s aim is to provide a user-friendly experience, screening tenants with its intuitive interface, customisation options, mobile accessibility, and comprehensive customer support – something we think they have achieved.

The software caters to landlords and property managers of varying portfolio sizes, offering tools to streamline property operations, enhance tenant management, and rent collection and improve overall efficiency of entire leasing process.

Rentec Direct property software key features

Key Features:

Rentec direct key feature of software
  1. Rent Collection and Financial Management
  2. Tenant Screening
  3. Maintenance and Work Order requests
  4. Robust Accounting and Reporting
  5. Online owner and tenant Portals
  6. Credit reporting
  7. Insurance protection
  8. eSignatures
Rentec Direct UN User interface dashboard

User Experience:

Credit: Rentec Direct 

  1. Interface: Rentec Direct features a clean and organised interface, with a well-structured layout and easily accessible menus. The dashboard provides a snapshot of key property information and tasks, allowing users to navigate to essential features and data quickly.

  2. Ease of Use: Rentec Direct is designed to be user-friendly. On the main dashboard, you will find key stats such as: Occupancy rate, income and expense tracking, as well as any key notices, such as notification of whether a tenant is late on payments, or an issue has come up at a property.

  3. Mobile Accessibility: Amongst the other benefits, Rentec Direct also offers mobile access through its responsive web interface, enabling users to manage their properties and access key information on smartphones and tablets. This allows for flexibility and convenience, especially when working on the go. Great for property managers & Estate agents, as well as landlords themselves.

  4. Customer Support: Rentec Direct provides customer support through various channels, including phone, email, and a help desk system. The support team is known for being responsive and helpful, as well as knowledgable in their area, as RenTec employ a lot of experienced property managers

  5. Updates and Enhancements: Rentec Direct regularly updates its software with new features and enhancements based on feedback and industry trends, ensuring that real estate investors and property manager can benefit from the latest tools and improvements, further enhancing their overall experience.
Rentec Direct Plans

Pros/Cons

Pros:

  • Customisable Reports: The software provides extensive reporting capabilities, allowing landlords to generate custom reports and gain insights into & keep track of property performance, financials, and tenant data.

  • Online Portals: Convenient online portals for both landlords and tenants, facilitating seamless communication, online rent payments, maintenance requests, and document sharing.

  • Third-Party Integrations: Rentec Direct integrates with various third-party platforms, such as accounting software and online payment gateways, enhancing functionality and streamlining processes.
  • Free tutorial videos on how to use platform

  • Email and SMS contact: RenTec Direct allows you to send both emails and SMS straight from the platform itself

  • Transaction-sync: You can download and sync your finances straight from Rentec Direct, to your bank account

Cons:

  • Limited Mobile App: Rentec Direct’s mobile app has fewer features compared to its web-based platform, limiting some functionalities while on the go.

  • Pricing Structure: Great for starting off, but can quickly become expensive as your portfolio grows

  • Maintenance Management Limitations: Rentec Direct’s maintenance management features lack certain advanced functionalities, such as automated scheduling or tracking of maintenance history.

Pricing:

Rentec Direct Pro pricing plan

Rentec Direct offer two different types of pricing plans, their “Rentec Pro” option for landlords looking to manage their own property portfolio, or “Rentec PM” for Property Managers who will be overlooking the portfolio and lease agreements on the landlords behalf.

Rentec Pro

For the Rentec Pro plan, this can range from just $45 a month for 1 to 10 properties, all the way up to $2,750 a month for 2,500+ properties. This includes complete accounting, income and expense tracking, and reporting, free online rental payments & unlimited tenants and properties.

Rentec PM

Whereas, the Rentec PM plan can range from $55 a month for up to 10 properties, and can go up by as much as $3,000 a month for 2,500 properties.

Now, while $3,000 might seem steep for those just starting in the property world. If you are fortunate enough to own 2,500+ properties, this will likely be a small price to pay, taking into account the time you could save, oppose to if you didn’t use a property management software like Rentec.

Additionally, both options allow you to pay on an annual basis, rather than months, which can save you thousands each year (dependant on the plan you choose).

Try RenTect Direct completely free for 2 weeks here.

Free Trial

3. Avail

Best for: Landlords on a budget (Free option available)

Avil Property management software homepage

If you’re reading this article and still don’t think that you have found the right landlord software, then Avail is certainly not one to overlook.

Avail offers a free property management software option that allows you to utilise the basics of the platform like collect rent payments online, manage maintenance requests, background screening & robust property accounting.

And while you may find that the free option is enough for what you need, Avail does also offer a paid plan that gives you access to more advanced features like customisable leases, FastPay Rent Payments, and allows you to create create property websites.

However, this does come at a higher cost of $7 per unit, which is fine if you only own a few properties. But as your portfolio grows, you may want to consider some of the other options on this list.

feature for landlords on Avail

Key Features:

Avail landlord software key features
  1. Updated dashboard: Avail focuses on providing a user-friendly experience, making it easy for landlords to find their way around the platform without any help

  2. Tenant-Focused Approach: Avail places emphasis on creating a positive experience for tenants as well as landlords. It offers tools for tenant screening, online applications, and rent payments, aiming to streamline the rental process as a whole and improve tenant satisfaction.

  3. Flexible Pricing Options: Avail offers flexible pricing plans, including a free option with limited features and paid plans for additional functionalities. This allows landlords to choose a plan that suits their needs and budget.

  4. Tenant Screening and Leasing Tools: Avail offers tenant screening features, allowing landlords to conduct background checks and credit reports on prospective tenants, as well as features like eSignatures.

  5. Maintenance Management: Avail includes tools for managing maintenance requests and tracking their progress, making it easy to see for anyone managing the portfolio. This also allows landlords, property managers and tenants to communicate about maintenance issues and schedule repairs easily.
Avail property software dashboard

Credit: Avail

User Experience:

  1. Quick Setup and Onboarding: Avail has managed to streamline the setup process completely, allowing landlords to quickly get started with marketing, renting & managing their properties. The onboarding process is designed to be user-friendly, providing step-by-step guidance to help landlords understand the software’s functionalities, even if it’d their first time.

  2. Continuous Updates and Improvements: With over 30 years worth of experience across the Avail team (as said on their website), they are committed to enhancing its software based on user feedback and industry trends. The company regularly releases updates and improvements to the software, ensuring that landlords have access to the latest features, bug fixes, and performance enhancements.

  3. Transparent Pricing: Avail’s transparent pricing plans clearly outlines the features and costs associated with each plan. This allows landlords to choose a plan that aligns with their specific needs and budget without any hidden or surprise charges.

  4. Mobile App: Like many platforms now, Avail also offer their clients an app to use. This can be extremely useful for those that do not always have access to a computer, or if you decide to go on vacation.

Pros/Cons

Pros:

  • Simplified User Experience: Avail offers an interface and streamlined workflows that make it easy for landlords to navigate the software and perform essential tasks without extensive training.

  • Tenant Screening Tools: Avail provides robust tenant screening features, allowing landlords to conduct background checks and credit reports on prospective tenants, in addition to having ready-to-go template questions to ask tenants that apply to your listing, helping to ensure more informed tenant selection decisions.

  • Collaboration Capabilities: Avail allows landlords to invite co-owners, property managers, or team members to collaborate on property management tasks, facilitating seamless teamwork and efficient management.

  • Customisable Lease Templates: Avail provides customisable lease templates, as well as state-specific leases that have been reviewed by lawyers (as advertised on their website) as well as electronic signature, simplifying the leasing process for landlords and tenants, ensuring compliance with legal requirements.

  • Excellent Customer Service:
  • Synchronised listings: Avail allows you to create a listing on the software, then you can choose from a number of other property websites for the listing to be shown on, such as; Zillow, Trulia and more, make your listing very visible & limiting the amount of time your property is vacant.

Cons:

  • Limited Scalability: Avail may be more suitable for landlords with small to medium-sized portfolios and may have limitations in handling large-scale property management needs due to pricing.

  • Reliance on Internet Connectivity: Avail is a cloud-based software, which means it relies on a stable internet connection for access and functionality. If you have unreliable internet connectivity in your area or frequently work in offline environments, this dependency on internet access may pose a challenge. However, in 2023, this is unlikely to be the case.

  • Data Security Concerns: As a cloud-based software, Avail stores your property and tenant data on its servers. While Avail takes security measures to protect your information, concerns about data security and privacy may arise for landlords who prefer to have complete control over their data or who have specific data security requirements.

Pricing:

Free option

Avail’s free plan is without a doubt one of the best property management software options available out for new landlords or people on a budget, providing you with access to all the essential tools to keep track of everything, from online rent payment to tenant screening and lease options.

This option is completely free and has no time limitations, no minimum monthly fee and no minimum number of units. However will restrict you from getting the most out of managing your properties in the most efficient way.

Paid option

Much like the free option, the paid option has no limitations on minimum contract terms or minimum unit value. And it does include many more features than the free version, which for most landlords, will be a natural step after accumulating a few properties.

And for these extra features you will pay $7 per unit. Now, this is a good thing, and a bad thing.
For those landlords with a small portfolio just looking for an income to cover their bills, this is perfect. However, for those wanting to scale your property business, the $7 per property can quickly add up, and may lead you to switching to a more cost-effective option on this list in the long-run.

Get started with Avail now.

Try Avail

Check out our full review on the Monday.com CRM here!

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