How to lease several vacant units at once in a small building
When several units are empty at once, treat them as one project: list every unit with its own price and date, keep a single log of inquiries, offer the same terms to every applicant, and finish each unit's make-ready in order of how soon it can rent. A fixed weekly showing schedule and a first-complete-application rule keep the process fair and fast.
Start with a list of every vacant unit
Write one line per unit: unit number, bedrooms, current condition, work still needed, the date it will be ready, the asking rent and the lease start you will offer. This list is your plan. Units that are ready now go to market first; units that need work are listed with the date they will be ready.
Several empty units at once are not the same as several separate vacancies, because renters compare the units within your building. A renter who sees two similar units at different prices will ask why, so decide the differences before you list.
Order the work and stagger the dates
Finish the units that need the least work first. Each one starts earning rent sooner, which helps pay for the rest. Use the make-ready checklist for each unit, and share vendors rather than hiring a new one per unit.
Stagger the move-in dates by a few days if you can. Moving several households in on the same day jams the parking lot and your phone. Spacing them out also spreads out your lease expirations. If all your leases start in the same month, they all expire in the same month, which makes the next vacancy a repeat of this one. Try mixed lease lengths so renewals land across the year; see month-to-month versus one year.
Price each unit on its own, and decide on incentives early
Do not set one rent for the whole building. Price by unit: size, floor, view, condition and what is included. Check what similar units nearby ask, and adjust after two weeks of inquiries, not before. Low interest usually points to a price or listing problem; many inquiries and few applications often mean something in the unit or the listing text is putting people off.
If you offer an incentive, such as a reduced first month, offer it on a defined set of units and dates and write it down, so every applicant for those units gets the same deal. An incentive given to one applicant and refused to another can look like unequal treatment.
Run one process for every inquiry
- Keep one inquiry log: date, name, contact, which unit, what you sent, next step.
- Reply with the same information to everyone: rent, date available, how to see the unit, how to apply, your screening criteria and the application fee, if any. See application fee limits by state.
- Set fixed showing times, for example two evenings and Saturday morning, and show several units in one visit so you do the walk once.
- Accept applications in the order they are complete, and say so in writing. Apply the same standards to everyone, such as your income rule and screening checklist.
- Take a unit off the market the day it is accepted, and tell the people waiting.
The Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful to treat applicants differently because of protected traits, and with many units and many applicants, a written, repeated process is your protection. See 42 U.S.C. 3604. Do not steer an applicant toward one unit or floor based on who they are; offer every available unit that meets their stated needs.
Track progress weekly
Every week, write down per unit: inquiries, showings, applications, status. After two weeks without an application on a unit, change one thing: the price, the photos, the listing text or the date available. Changing several things at once leaves you not knowing which one worked.
Example a made-up small building has 3 empty units at $1,100, $1,250 and $1,400. The $1,100 unit gets 12 inquiries and 4 applications in the first week, so it rents fast. The $1,400 unit gets 2 inquiries and no applications in two weeks, so the owner reviews the photos and drops the rent to $1,350, then tracks the next week.
Vacant units do not collect rent but still cost money. For how to measure it, see occupancy and economic occupancy. DoorKeeping keeps one record per unit, with its lease dates, rent and open work orders, and you can ask Claude or ChatGPT, connected to DoorKeeping, which units are vacant, since when, and what work is still open.
Sources
- Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. 3604 (Cornell LII), read Oct 30, 2026
Questions
- How do I fill several vacant units quickly?
- Finish the units that need the least work first, price each unit on its own, hold fixed showing times and process applications in the order they are complete.
- Should all new tenants start on the same date?
- Not necessarily. Staggered move-in dates avoid congestion and spread out later lease expirations.
- Is it fair to offer a move-in special on only some units?
- Yes if it is a written offer on defined units and dates and every applicant for those units gets it. Giving it to some applicants and not others can look like unequal treatment.