Landlord Friendly states?

General Landlording & Rental Properties
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Landlord Friendly states?

Eliott G.
Real Estate Investor · Elgin, IL · Member since 2009 · 135 posts · 9 votes

I was reading about different laws in different states for landlords and tenants...

Can anyone tell me which states are the MOST landlord friendly and what states are the LEAST landlord friendly?

From what I can find New England and California are some of the LEAST friendly?
Anyone have some thoughts/details/experiences on this subject?

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Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
Moderator
Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
16y

Wyoming is very Landlord friendly. We'd like to keep it that way, so please don't move inland from the coastal states and try to change us!

The DIY Landlord Book4.7248 Reviews
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  • Harrison Painter
    Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2008 · 759 posts · 185 votes
    17y

    Indiana has been good to us.

    We do not have the horror stories that I hear about from California and Washington DC.

    2Reply
  • Eliott G.
    OP
    Real Estate Investor · Elgin, IL · Member since 2009 · 135 posts · 9 votes
    17y

    Harrison -

    I guess that is what I was getting at...everything I read so far has stated Indiana is one of the better states for landlord...any others?

    0Reply
  • Richard Warren
    Real Estate Investor · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 447 votes
    17y

    Nevada is not bad. New York is awful.

    :cool:

    1Reply
  • Michael Rossi
    Real Estate Investor · OH · Member since 2008 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    17y

    Ohio is good.

    As a general rule of thumb, the more socialist a state is (can you say "coasts"), the more unfriendly they are to landlords (and business in general). Flyover county - generally good.

    Mike

    3Reply
  • Aly W.
    Investor · Middletown, NJ · Member since 2008 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    17y

    My friend is a landlord in Kentucky and they are definitely pro-landlord.

    2Reply
  • Matthew Mucker
    Ft. Worth, TX · Member since 2008 · 97 posts · 16 votes
    17y

    Texas is a very pro-landlord state.

    4Reply
  • Timothy W.
    Attorney · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2008 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    17y

    Look at an electoral map for Bush 43's re-election. Find the red ones. Start there.

    I'll respond to your pm about Indiana Elliott.

    7Reply
  • Mark Forest
    Real Estate Investor · Fenton, MI · Member since 2008 · 946 posts · 153 votes
    17y

    Don’t forget to consider the local property taxes. I have found they can eat up profits quickly, and they vary in different communities within a state.

    1Reply
  • Scott M.
    Real Estate Broker · Rochester Hills, MI · Member since 2009 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    17y

    The majority of MI is good - some cities you have to look out for like Pontiac MI - but Detroit is actually very pro - landlord - actually they are very fair in my opinion - I don't think they lean either way. If your an A$$ of a landlord you won't win and if your tenant is one - they won't win.

    A shock I know considering Mike's comments and the political history of the city.

    2Reply
  • Brandon Schlichter
    Real Estate Agent · Circleville, OH · Member since 2008 · 633 posts · 488 votes
    17y

    I second Mike's opinion of Ohio, I hear stories from CA/NY landlords, and I can't fathom why anyone owns properties in those states.

    Furthermore, in Ohio, different counties/cities can be a monster all their own, some counties close to me do rather fast evictions, some seem to drag their feet.

    0Reply
  • Eric Wang
    Real Estate Investor · San Jose, CA · Member since 2008 · 228 posts · 13 votes
    17y

    The California Fair Housing can be very complicated.

    1Reply
  • Mark Yuschak
    Residential Real Estate Broker · Grand Blanc, MI · Member since 2008 · 885 posts · 316 votes
    17y

    I second what Scott says about Michigan. I have rentals in the city of Flint and don't have many problems. If you follow the rules, you won't have issues. As soon as you start trying to pull funny stuff you'll have problems to deal with. But, that could be said about investing anywhere...

    2Reply
  • J Padawan
    Real Estate Investor · Poway, CA · Member since 2009 · 1 post · 4 votes
    17y

    I know first hand that Ohio is cool, but the tenant doesn't pay utilities, so this will sneak up and crack you in the back of the head. MS, Jackson, MS to be exact is one of my favorite states. Easier than TX (in my opinion) to evict, if you can believe that. I can have a tenant esc :roll: orted out by the police within 3 weeks or less if I stay on top of the paper work and filings. Tenant pays all utilities!! ALL! HA And the bills follow the tenants. Little details.

    4Reply
  • Michael Rossi
    Real Estate Investor · OH · Member since 2008 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    17y

    I'm not sure what you meant here, but my tenants certainly pay their utilities. I would never buy a property if I were paying gas and/or electric.

    Mike

    2Reply
  • Mark N.A
    Real Estate Investor · North Carolina · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 483 votes
    17y

    Almost as important as state laws are local codes, regulations and neighborhood organizations.

    Don't invest in Historic Districts. See how active any neighborhood associations are. Who gets fined if your tenant's yard violates city codes?

    Around here no more than 3 unrelated people can live in a house. Do they enforce that on the other side of the tracks? NO. Around here driveways cannot be dirt. Do they enforce that on the other side of the tracks? NO.

    We have one magistrate who leans over backwards to give tenants the benefit of the doubt. We have another magistrate who is ZERO TOLERANCE.

    Know your neighborhoods. Know your bureaucrats. Know your residents.

    5Reply
  • Sandra Sunshine
    Homeowner · MA · Member since 2009 · 24 posts · 0 votes
    17y

    I believe Massachusetts is the least friendly state to landlords. Some states have laws that address threats from tenants, and I believe the laws need to be amended to address this in Massachusetts.

    There is no protection from threatening tenants and it is a nightmare to get them out unless they don't pay.

    Sandra

    0Reply
  • Dave NA
    Residential Real Estate Broker · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2009 · 9 posts · 0 votes
    17y

    Nevada is landlord friendly as long as you know how to present your case before the judge.

    0Reply
  • Jimmy H.
    Lexington, KY · Member since 2010 · 315 posts · 133 votes
    16y
    Originally posted by MikeOH:


    I'm not sure what you meant here, but my tenants certainly pay their utilities. I would never buy a property if I were paying gas and/or electric.


    Mike



    Mike,

    Assuming you up the rents accordingly, to cover the cost of utilities and effectively "re-billing" the utilities, why would you "never" buy a property where gas and electric were paid by the landlord? Also it can provide a value add opportunity in some situations to get it switched. - Just wondering what your logic is here.
    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Landlord · Seattle, WA · Member since 2010 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    16y

    Washington & Oregon are definitely not landlord friendly states. Sounds like another reason to consider moving to Texas.

    0Reply
  • Aly W.
    Investor · Middletown, NJ · Member since 2008 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    16y

    NJ is definitely tenant friendly, although various municipalities can be more favorable to the landlord. Trenton, NJ, where I have rentals, is one of those areas.

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Property Manager · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2008 · 51 posts · 61 votes
    16y

    Georgia is definitely pro-landlord. In fact when you go to court for an eviction, the first thing they do before the judge comes out is the bailiff plays a recorded video. The video basically says that if you are a tenant and you did not pay rent then you will loose the case. Failure of landlord to do repairs is not a valid reason for not paying rent in the state of Georgia. When judge comes out, she reiterates what was said in the video, judge calls the court calendar to see which sides are present, then she calls a recess and sends everyone out in the hallway for tenant to talk to landlord to work out an agreement. Judge says if you can't work out an agreement and you case comes up then the tenant will loose if they owe money.

    7Reply
  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    16y

    Wyoming is very Landlord friendly. We'd like to keep it that way, so please don't move inland from the coastal states and try to change us!

    The DIY Landlord Book4.7248 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    14Reply
  • Bienes Raices
    Orlando, FL · Member since 2009 · 2k+ posts · 282 votes
    16y

    I think generally Florida is pro-landlord. Maybe there are some rent control laws in individual municipalities, but not where I live. If you're concerned about asset protection & privacy (land trusts) it's one of the best states to live in, if not the best.

    0Reply
  • David Mercil
    Member since 2010 · 1 post · 2 votes
    15y

    I have rentals in 3 states and wanted to bring up Hawaii. Unlike in San Diego which has been one nightmare after another and Houston which has also caused me a good amount of lost sleep, on 5 properties in Honolulu (big and small) I've never once in 7 years had to evict or even consider evicting a single tenant. Also, I've rarely had a place sit vacant longer than a couple weeks. It is still a very challenging place to do business. The Hawaii General Excise Tax (GET) for example is a real pain in the butt and takes 4.5% right off the top of gross rent (no deductions allowed). Fortunately property taxes are amazingly low (like .25% of the home's value give or take) which helps make up for it. Another issue for some is unless you live in Hawaii, you have to hire a professional manager to do your work. Oh, these are regular homes, not vacation rentals. The biggest downer is you cannot turn a regular home into a vacation rental which would be so nice to do given the location. You have to buy one that is already zoned for it. Unfortunately, for what it cost to maintain even a modest vacation rental, you might as well just save the cash, fly to Hawaii 1st class and rent a corner suite at the Hilton a month out of the year. Any kind of ownership with the word vacation attached to it should be looked at very, very cautiously and in most cases probably treated like bubonic plague (at least from a financial perspective). And that's my scoop on Honolulu, Arguably better for landlords than Houston, way better than San Diego. Although, given the choice on where to actually live, I still choose San Diego.

    2Reply
  • John C
    Real Estate Investor · SouthCentral, IA · Member since 2010 · 97 posts · 45 votes
    15y

    Iowa is landlord friendly, especially outside of the few major metro areas

    0Reply
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