What should an apartment listing include?

Rent, total move-in cost, available date, bedrooms and bathrooms, utilities included, pet policy, parking, laundry, lease length and your screening criteria, plus photos of the actual unit.

How many photos should a rental listing have?

Enough to show every room once plus the outside, laundry and parking. A photo of each space in walk-through order matters more than a set number.

Should I put the deposit in the listing?

Yes. State the total move-in cost as one number. It is a deal-breaker question, and answering it up front saves a round of messages.

How to Write an Apartment Listing That Rents

A listing fills a unit faster when it answers a renter's yes or no questions before they have to ask: the rent, the total move-in cost, the date, bedrooms and bathrooms, pets, parking, laundry and which utilities are included. Put those facts in the first lines, show the rooms in the order a person walks through them, and describe the unit honestly. Every question a renter has to send you is a delay, and every surprise at the showing is a lost lease.

Lead with the facts renters filter on

Renters scan dozens of listings and drop the ones that leave a deal-breaker unanswered. The fix costs nothing: a facts block at the top, in the same order every time, for every unit you list.

Fact	Write it like this
Rent	$1,350 a month
Move-in cost	First month $1,350 plus deposit $1,350, total $2,700
Available	November 15
Size	2 bed, 1 bath, about 820 sq ft
Utilities	Water, sewer and trash included; tenant pays electric
Pets	Cats and dogs under 40 lb allowed, $35 a month pet rent
Parking and laundry	One assigned space; laundry room on the ground floor
Lease	12 months
Screening	Income 2.5 times rent; written criteria sent with the application

State the total move-in cost as one number. It is the question renters most often have to work out themselves, and it rules a unit in or out on the spot.

A headline formula that works on every site

Use: size, type, one standout feature, and the neighborhood or nearest landmark. 'Sunny 2 bed with in-unit laundry, 3 blocks to Lincoln Park' tells a renter more than 'Must see! Won't last!' Skip all caps and exclamation marks; they read as filler and many sites trim them anyway.

Pick the one feature people in your area pay for: in-unit laundry, parking, a dishwasher, central air, a yard.
Use a landmark people know, like a park, a station or a main street.
Keep the price out of the headline if the site already shows it in a field.

Photos: order and honesty

The best room first, usually the living room in daylight.
Kitchen, showing the counters and appliances.
Each bedroom, from the doorway, so the size is clear.
Bathroom.
Laundry, parking, storage and any outdoor space.
The building outside and the street.
A simple floor plan if you have one.

Shoot in daylight with the lights on, from a corner at chest height, after the unit is cleaned. Use photos of the actual unit, or say clearly that they show a matching unit in the same building. A renter who finds a different unit at the showing does not apply.

The description: what living there is like

Write three short paragraphs. First, the unit: what was updated and when, the light, the storage. Second, the building and the rules that apply to everyone: quiet hours, smoking policy, how maintenance requests work. Third, the next step: how to book a showing and what to bring.

Describe the place, never the person you hope will live there. Phrases like 'perfect for a young couple' or 'no kids' can break fair housing law even in a small building; see fair housing rules for rental listings for a list of phrases and rewrites. The federal ban on discriminatory ads in 42 U.S.C. 3604(c) applies even to owners exempt from the rest of the Act under 42 U.S.C. 3603(b).

A listing, before and after

Example a made-up owner's first draft read: 'GREAT APT!!! 2br near downtown, nice landlord, call for details.' The rewrite: '2 bed, 1 bath with dishwasher and assigned parking, 4 blocks to the Elm Street station. $1,350 a month; move in for $2,700 (first month plus a $1,350 deposit). Available November 15. Water, sewer and trash included. Cats and dogs under 40 lb welcome, $35 a month. Book a 15 minute showing online, Tuesday to Saturday.' The second version answers nine questions; the first answers one.

After you post: replies and showings

Write one reply template with the facts block, the screening criteria and a showing link, and send it to every inquiry. Same facts for everyone is good leasing and good fair housing practice.
Offer several fixed showing windows rather than one-off appointments.
Answer the questions that keep coming in by adding the answer to the listing itself, so the next renter does not have to ask.
Take the listing down or mark it pending as soon as a lease is signed.
Update the price or the photos after a week with no applications, not after a month.

Listings and DoorKeeping

You publish the listing on the sites you choose. Once you pick a tenant, DoorKeeping sends the lease for e-signature and a tenant portal invite link, and you can ask Claude or ChatGPT, connected to DoorKeeping, to help with the rest of running the building, and anything involving money or a legal step waits for your one-tap approval. DoorKeeping is $2 per unit per month with every feature included.

Sources

Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. 3604 (Cornell LII), read Oct 29, 2026
Fair Housing Act exemptions, 42 U.S.C. 3603 (Cornell LII), read Oct 29, 2026

Questions

What should an apartment listing include?: Rent, total move-in cost, available date, bedrooms and bathrooms, utilities included, pet policy, parking, laundry, lease length and your screening criteria, plus photos of the actual unit.
How many photos should a rental listing have?: Enough to show every room once plus the outside, laundry and parking. A photo of each space in walk-through order matters more than a set number.
Should I put the deposit in the listing?: Yes. State the total move-in cost as one number. It is a deal-breaker question, and answering it up front saves a round of messages.