TurboTenant for Independent Landlords

In-Depth Review

TurboTenant targets the same landlord that Hemlane and Cozy (now folded into Apartments.com) targeted before it: the self-managing owner with a handful of residential units who wants to get organized without paying a management company or a per-unit software fee.

The business model is the core design decision. TurboTenant is free for landlords because tenants pay for screening reports, application processing, and certain payment types. That shifts cost off the landlord and onto applicants, which is either a feature or a friction point depending on your rental market.

What TurboTenant Actually Does

The platform covers the full leasing cycle: you enter a vacancy, it syndicates to Zillow, Trulia, Hotpads, Apartments.com, and a few other sites. Applicants find the listing, click through to a standardized application form, and pay for their own TransUnion credit and background check. You review the screening report inside TurboTenant, decide to approve or decline, and send a state-specific lease for e-signature.

Once the tenant moves in, rent comes in via ACH through the tenant portal. Tenants can submit maintenance requests with photos. You get a notification and can log notes on the work order.

That is the entire workflow. There is no accounting module. There is no owner portal. There is no vendor management. It is a leasing and operational tool for people who manage their own properties.

Pricing Reality

The free tier is genuinely functional for most independent landlords. You pay nothing as long as your applicants are willing to absorb the screening fee, which runs roughly $45-$55 depending on the report. In a soft rental market or with lower price-point units, that fee can reduce application volume — some qualified tenants will pass rather than pay to apply.

The Premium tier, priced around $8.25-$19 per month, lets landlords pay for screening themselves. It also adds rent credit bureau reporting, which some landlords use as a tenant retention benefit, and priority support. For landlords with vacancy pressure or who want to attract a broader applicant pool, the upgrade is worth evaluating.

Who This Fits

TurboTenant works well for independent landlords managing one to twenty residential units who want to run a cleaner leasing process without paying monthly software fees. It is particularly useful for first-time landlords who need state-specific lease templates and do not want to pay an attorney for a one-off document.

It does not work for third-party managers who need to report financials to property owners, track income and expenses per property, or manage trust accounts. There is no general ledger, no owner distributions, and no owner portal. Anyone operating as a property management business rather than a self-managing investor will hit that ceiling quickly.

One Thing to Test Before Committing

Before listing your first vacancy through TurboTenant, pull up the state-specific lease template for your state and read through it. Template quality varies by state, and some have user-reported gaps in required local disclosures. If your state has specific lead paint, habitability, or security deposit notice requirements, verify those clauses are present before sending a lease to a tenant. Discovering a missing required disclosure after a lease is signed is more expensive than spending thirty minutes on due diligence upfront.