The Landlord Kit: Landlord Forms for Small Landlords
Being a landlord is mostly paperwork. Here is the paperwork.
Eight files for a small landlord: inspection checklist, rent ledger, income and expense tracker, deposit sheet and return letter, screening checklist, repair log, letter pack and a setup checklist. PDF, Excel and Word.
$29
8 files · instant download · US Letter · refunds within 14 days
What’s inside
LL-01/01Move-In and Move-Out Inspection ChecklistFree to try
Room-by-room condition checklist with move-in and move-out columns side by side, a photo log and signature lines.
- PDF · Letter
- Word
LL-01/02Rent Ledger for 1–4 UnitsFree to try
Every rent payment for up to four units in one spreadsheet, with days late, late fees from your lease and yearly totals per unit.
- Excel
- Works in Google Sheets
LL-01/03Rental Income and Expense Tracker
A year of rental income and expenses, each expense sorted into the IRS Schedule E categories, with monthly and yearly totals.
- Excel
- Works in Google Sheets
LL-01/04Security Deposit Deduction Sheet and Return Letter
Work out deductions with evidence for each one and the refund due, then send the itemized statement in an editable Word letter.
- Excel
- Word
- Works in Google Sheets
LL-01/05Tenant Screening Checklist and Rental Application
The same screening steps for every applicant, plus a rental application form that asks only what you need to decide.
- PDF · Letter
- Word
LL-01/06Maintenance Request Form and Repair Log
A one-page request form for tenants and a repair log that tracks each job from report to done, with days open and costs.
- PDF · Letter
- Excel
- Works in Google Sheets
LL-01/07Landlord Letter Pack
Three editable letters: a late rent reminder, a notice of entry and a rent increase notice, each with a check-your-rules box.
- Word
LL-01/08First-Time Landlord Setup Checklist
Everything to set up before the first tenant moves in: money, insurance, safety, rules to look up, screening, move-in and routine.
- PDF · Letter
Why it’s built like this
Small landlords rarely lose disputes because they were wrong. They lose them because they cannot show what happened: which scratches were there at move-in, when the rent actually arrived, what the repair cost, when the tenant was told. This kit is a matching set of records for those moments, each with a form code in the corner so a folder of them stays in order.
Landlord law is mostly state and local law. Deposit deadlines, notice periods, late fees and entry rules all change from one state, and sometimes one city, to the next. So the files leave room for your own rules, every letter carries a highlighted box reminding you to check them before sending, and the federal rules that apply everywhere (fair housing, screening reports, lead disclosure, Schedule E) are named with their sources. For some states the deposit sheet has its own page with the statute.
The files follow a tenancy from start to finish. Before anyone moves in, the setup checklist and the screening checklist get the basics in order. On move-in day, the inspection checklist and its photo log record the condition of every room. Month to month, the rent ledger shows who paid and when, the repair log tracks each request, and the income and expense tracker sorts spending the way your tax return wants it. When the tenant leaves, the same inspection sheet, the deposit sheet and the itemized return letter close things off with evidence attached.
There is no lease in this kit, on purpose. A lease has to follow your state’s law, and a generic one is worse than none. Get yours from your state’s landlord association or a local attorney, and use these files for everything around it.
Who it’s for
- Owners of one to four rental units
- Accidental landlords renting out a former home
- Landlords who manage their own property without a management company
- Anyone who has tried to reconstruct a year of rent from bank statements in April
- Advice for First-Time Landlords: The Paperwork
Try two files free
Two of the 8 files are free. Enter an email address on either page and the file arrives in your inbox. If they are useful, the rest are the same kind of useful.
- Move-In and Move-Out Inspection Checklist (PDF, DOCX)
- Rent Ledger for 1–4 Units (XLSX)
How delivery works
- Pay on the secure checkout page. It is run by Link, Stripe’s payment service, so your statement shows LINK.COM.
- You come straight back here, and a download link arrives by email within a minute. It works for 30 days, and you can get a new one from the help page at any time.
- The download is one zip file: US Letter PDFs to print, Excel files that also open in Google Sheets and LibreOffice, Word documents with the blanks highlighted, a README and the license.
Guides
Questions
- Does the kit include a lease?
- No. Leases have to follow state and often local law, so a one-size lease is a risk. Use one from your state landlord association or a local attorney; the kit covers the records and letters that go around it.
- Are the letters legally valid notices?
- They are plain, editable letters, not state-specific legal notices. Each one has a box telling you to check your state and local rules on notice periods, wording and delivery before you send it. Formal notices, such as a notice to pay or quit, have strict rules and are not included.
- Will the income and expense tracker do my taxes?
- No, but it sorts every expense into the categories on IRS Schedule E, so the totals are ready for you or your tax preparer. Questions like depreciation and repairs versus improvements are for a tax professional.
- What format are the files, and how do I get them?
- One zip file, straight after checkout, with a download link by email as well. Inside are Letter-size PDFs, Excel files that also open in Google Sheets and LibreOffice, Word documents with the blanks highlighted, a README and the license.
- I have more than four units. Will the rent ledger work?
- The ledger is set up for up to four units, which covers most small landlords. You can add rows to the Units tab, but the yearly summary is laid out for four; above that, a property management tool will probably serve you better.
- Do the files work for any state?
- Yes. Nothing in the files is tied to one state: deadlines, fees and notice periods are blanks you fill in from your own state and city rules. For security deposits there are separate pages for California, Texas, Florida, New York and Illinois that summarize each statute and link to it.
- I rent out a room in the house I live in, or one side of a duplex. Is this still useful?
- Mostly, yes. The inspection checklist, rent ledger, repair log and expense tracker work the same way for a single room. Owner-occupied rentals are sometimes treated differently under fair housing and local rules, so read the screening page with that in mind and check what applies to you.
- What if it isn’t what I needed?
- Email within 14 days of buying and we will refund you. No form, no questions.
Refunds
If the kit isn’t what you needed, email us within 14 days of buying and we’ll refund you in full. No form, no questions. Details are on the help page.
Last reviewed: September 29, 2026 · Sources named on each file · Not legal or professional advice