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Showing a vacant unit by yourself: a safety checklist for landlords

DoorKeeping team

3 min read

Before you meet a stranger at a vacant unit, tell someone where you are and when you will be back, get the visitor's name, phone and email in advance, meet in daylight, keep the door and your exit behind you, and keep your phone in hand. Follow the same steps for every visitor, so the checklist is about the situation and never about who the person seems to be.

One rule first: the same steps for everyone

Safety steps that depend on how a visitor looks, sounds or what they might be are not safety, they are discrimination. The Fair Housing Act bars treating applicants differently because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin or disability (see HUD's overview and 42 U.S.C. 3604). So write the checklist once, and run it on every showing: a retiree, a couple, a person you have a feeling about. If you apply a step to one visitor, apply it to all.

Before the showing

  1. Collect the visitor's full name, phone and email when they request the showing, and confirm by text or email. A real renter does not mind.
  2. Tell someone you trust the address, the time and the visitor's name, and when you will check in.
  3. Book in daylight where you can, and spread visits out so people do not overlap or arrive early.
  4. Check that your phone is charged and has signal in the unit. A basement unit may not.
  5. Walk the unit first. Open blinds, turn on the lights, unlock any back door from inside, and note anything that could trip someone.
  6. Remove valuables and tenant documents, and leave nothing in the unit you would mind losing.

During the showing

  • Greet them at the door and let them walk in first, so your path to the exit stays clear. Walk behind, not in front, through narrow spaces.
  • Keep your phone in your hand, not in a bag. Do not hand your keys to anyone.
  • Park so your car is not blocked in and your exit is easy.
  • If you feel uneasy, end the showing politely: "I need to take a call, let's reschedule." You do not owe an explanation.
  • For several visitors at once, an open house with two people on site is safer than one alone. See open house or private showings.

Example a made-up owner has six showing requests for Saturday. The owner books them at 10, 11 and 1, two to a slot, asks a friend to sit on the porch for the 11 o'clock group, and texts the friend before and after. Every visitor gets the same sign-in at the door and the same walk-through.

After the showing

  • Text your contact that you are done.
  • Check that the unit is locked and nothing is missing or left on.
  • Write down who came and what they asked, for your own record. Keep it factual.
  • If anyone made you uncomfortable for a clear reason, such as threats or trying to enter closed areas, write down what they did, not who you think they are, and report a crime to the police.

Watch for the scam side too

Showings are also where a fake renter can learn when a building is empty, or where a fake applicant sends a bogus payment. The FTC's page on rental listing scams covers fake listings and requests to wire money, and the same alertness applies from the landlord's side. See protecting your listing.

How DoorKeeping handles it

DoorKeeping's listing page has a Schedule a showing form, and each request, with the visitor's name, email, optional phone and good times, comes to the owner by email and is saved on the Listings screen, so you have the details before you meet. The listing page never shows the org, any id or anyone's name. DoorKeeping gives no safety advice for your area. Use your own judgment and local resources. See the connect page.

Sources

  1. HUD: Fair Housing Act overview, read Oct 30, 2026
  2. Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. 3604 (Cornell Legal Information Institute), read Oct 30, 2026
  3. FTC Consumer Advice: Rental listing scams, read Oct 30, 2026
  4. DoorKeeping: Connect Claude or ChatGPT (steps and tools list), read Oct 30, 2026

Questions

Is it safe to show a vacant rental alone?
It can be, with precautions: tell someone, get the visitor's details beforehand, show in daylight, keep your exit clear and your phone in hand.
Can I screen visitors by how they look before a showing?
No. Apply the same safety steps to everyone. Treating visitors differently by a protected trait is discrimination.
Should I ask for ID before a showing?
Some landlords do. If you do it, do it for every visitor, and do not keep copies you do not need.
What if I feel uneasy during a showing?
End it politely and reschedule. You do not owe an explanation.

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