Key Takeaways
- Confirm your mortgage terms, HOA rules, and City of Irving requirements before you advertise, because a lease you aren’t allowed to sign costs more than a delayed listing.
- Ask your insurer about a landlord policy, since a homeowners policy is written for an owner-occupied house and may limit coverage once a tenant lives there.
- Texas Property Code Chapter 92 sets smoke alarm and lock requirements, so finish those items before the first showing.
- Date-stamped photos and video of every room give you a record to rely on when you decide about the security deposit.
This first time landlord checklist covers what to settle before a listing goes live. Think of it as a renting out your house checklist for the weeks before the ad.
We’re Keyrenter DFW Midcities, a family-owned property management company serving Irving and the Mid-Cities. One comparison gets its own section below: landlord insurance vs homeowners coverage.
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Permission and Paperwork to Clear First
Read Your Mortgage Terms
Many loans for owner-occupied homes carry an occupancy clause, often a minimum period of living in the house. Ask your lender in writing whether renting is allowed now.
Request Your HOA Documents
Some associations cap rentals, require registration, set minimum lease lengths, or restrict signs. Get the current rules before you pick a listing date.
Call the City of Irving
Texas has no rent control and no statewide registration for long-term rentals, but cities set their own rules. Ask whether any registration or inspection applies to your home.
Keep Short-Term Rules Separately
Irving treats short-term rentals differently, with annual registration, a $200 fee, a local agent who can respond within one hour, and a 7 percent local hotel occupancy tax.
Confirm current terms with the city. This checklist assumes a standard long-term lease.
Landlord Insurance vs Homeowners Coverage
A homeowners policy is written for a house the owner lives in. Once a tenant moves in, an insurer may limit a claim, decline it, or cancel the policy, depending on the wording. A landlord policy, often called a rental dwelling or dwelling fire policy, is built for a rented house.
The two differ in places owners don’t expect:
- Building coverage.
- Tenant belongings.
- Lost rent.
- Liability.
Get the answers in writing, including how the wind and hail deductible works. North Texas storm season puts roofs, fences, and windows at risk every spring.
Safety Items and Repairs to Finish Before Showings
Texas Property Code Chapter 92 sets baseline duties for landlords. Most of them are cheap to handle before a tenant is in the house and awkward to handle after.
Install and Test Smoke Alarms
Chapter 92 requires working alarms in specified areas, including bedrooms and the space outside them. Check the statute for exact placement and test each unit at move-in.
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Check Exterior Door Security
The statute calls for keyed deadbolts, door viewers, pin locks or bars on sliding glass doors, and latches on windows. Rekey the locks after each turnover, which Texas requires within seven days.
Baseline Photo and Condition Record
Texas gives landlords 30 days after move-out to return a deposit or send an itemized list of deductions.
Without a baseline record, any dispute comes down to your word against a tenant’s. We document move-in and move-out walkthroughs with photos and video for the homes we manage.
Self-Manage or Hire a Property Manager in Irving
Self-managing works when you live nearby, can take a repair call on a Sunday, and are willing to learn Chapter 92. It costs you time rather than a management charge.
Hiring a manager makes more sense if you’ve relocated, work long hours at a Las Colinas employer, or own more than one door.
Our model is full-service management on a month-to-month agreement with no long-term contract. Fees are a percentage of monthly collected rent plus a one-time leasing fee, and we quote the specifics in a consultation.
Here is what we handle for owners:
- Multi-point tenant screening.
- 24/7 maintenance intake through the resident portal, with owner approval on non-emergency work.
- Rent collection.
- Owner portal reporting on income, expenses, and repair history.
Bottom Lines
The listing is the last step on this list. Most of the work before it is a few phone calls, a few small repairs, and a folder of documents, and each one answers a question an insurer, an HOA, or a tenant’s lawyer might ask later.
Owners who finish the list before advertising tend to have fewer surprises in month one. If you’d rather hand off some of it.
Keyrenter DFW Midcities can tell you what your Irving home should rent for and whether full-service management fits.
Request your free rental analysis or call 469-414-1000 to schedule a consultation and learn your property’s potential earnings.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Do I Need a License to Rent Out My House in Texas?
Texas doesn’t require a state license or statewide registration for an owner renting out their own home on a long-term lease. Local rules are a separate matter. Cities can set their own requirements, and Irving has a registration program for short-term rentals.
Call the City of Irving to confirm whether anything applies to your property before you list. Landlords who collect rent for other owners’ properties fall under different rules, so this applies to your own home only.
How Long Do I Have to Return a Security Deposit in Texas?
A landlord generally has 30 days after the tenant surrenders the property to return the deposit or send an itemized list of deductions. The tenant typically must provide a written forwarding address for this to apply.
Normal wear and tear can’t be deducted, which is why a baseline photo record matters. This is general information, so have an attorney review your lease and deposit practices if you have questions about a specific situation.
How Far in Advance Should I Start This Checklist?
Start four to six weeks before your target listing date. Lenders, HOAs, and insurers can each take days or weeks to answer, and you can’t price or advertise confidently until they do. Repairs and baseline photos are easier to schedule when you aren’t racing a vacancy.
If your goal is a late spring or summer start, when North Texas leasing tends to be busiest, begin in early spring so the paperwork is finished before the listing goes live.
What Are the Terms of Your 30-Day Leasing Guarantee?
If the property is competitively priced and we haven’t secured a qualified tenant with a deposit within 30 days, we waive the first month’s management fee. The property must be vacant, meet our condition requirements, be competitively priced, and allow pets.
Our agreements are month-to-month with no long-term contract. We’ll walk through the full terms during your consultation so you know exactly what applies to your home before you sign anything.
Do I Have to Give a Tenant Flood Information?
Yes. Texas requires residential landlords to give tenants a written flood disclosure notice. It covers whether the home is in a 100-year floodplain and whether the owner knows of flood damage in the dwelling within the past five years.
Check the current statute for the exact wording and timing, and have it reviewed against your lease. Owners unsure about a property’s flood history can look at FEMA flood maps or ask their insurance agent.