Landlords and Property Managers: TCPA Rules for Tenant Texts
A landlord or property manager can send automated rent reminders and maintenance notices to a tenant’s cell phone if the tenant gave that number for the tenancy, because informational messages need only prior express consent. Marketing is different. A text urging a tenant to renew, or pitching a vacant unit to a past applicant, can be telemarketing that needs signed written consent if automated and must respect the Do Not Call rules. Property managers who sort their messages into those two groups, and honor STOP replies quickly, have strong defenses.
Which tenant messages need only basic consent?
Messages about the tenancy itself, when the tenant gave you the number.
The FCC’s rule bars autodialed or prerecorded calls to cell phones and certain other lines unless the call is “made for emergency purposes or is made with the prior express consent of the called party,” under 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(a)(1). The FCC has long said, in guidance that courts now weigh but aren’t bound by after McLaughlin Chiropractic Associates, Inc. v. McKesson Corp. (June 20, 2025), that “persons who knowingly release their phone numbers have in effect given their invitation or permission to be called at the number which they have given, absent instructions to the contrary,” as it recounted in its 2015 order. The same order repeated that “the scope of consent must be determined upon the facts of each situation.”
For a tenant who listed a cell number on a lease or rental application, I’d treat rent due dates, late notices, package alerts, water shutoffs, and entry notices as within that consent. They’re the reason the number was given.
How far does that consent reach?
As far as the transaction that produced it, according to the Ninth Circuit.
In Van Patten v. Vertical Fitness Group, LLC, 847 F.3d 1037 (9th Cir. 2017), a man who had given his cell number on a gym membership application canceled the membership and later received texts inviting former members back. The court read FCC orders to show “that the transactional context matters in determining the scope of a consumer’s consent to contact,” and that his consent covered the “come back” texts because, as Van Patten put it, they “related to the reason Van Patten gave his number in the first place.” It affirmed summary judgment for the defendants.
Two cautions for landlords. First, the texts in Van Patten were sent before the FCC’s written-consent rule for marketing took effect, so the case answers the scope question, not whether a marketing text today needs written consent. Second, the Van Patten court also held that canceling the membership didn’t revoke consent, because “Revocation of consent must be clearly made and express a desire not to be called or texted.” A tenant who moves out hasn’t revoked. A tenant who replies STOP has.
Our post on the scope of TCPA consent goes deeper on how courts measure it.
When does a landlord’s text become telemarketing?
When it encourages someone to rent, renew, or buy.
The FCC defines a telephone solicitation as a call or message “for the purpose of encouraging the purchase or rental of, or investment in, property, goods, or services,” under § 64.1200(f)(15). Renting an apartment is the rental of property. A text to a prospective tenant about an open unit, or a campaign urging current tenants to sign a renewal before rates rise, fits the definition.
That has two consequences. Automated marketing to cell phones requires “the prior express written consent of the called party” under § 64.1200(a)(2), meaning a signed agreement, which can be electronic, authorizing marketing messages to that number. And telephone solicitations to numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry need an exception.
For texts specifically, the private Do Not Call claim has a new defense. In Jones v. Blackstone Medical Services, LLC, No. 1:24-cv-01074 (C.D. Ill. July 21, 2025), the court held that “Section 227(c)(5) of the TCPA does not regulate text messages,” and in Davis v. CVS Pharmacy, Inc., No. 4:24-cv-477 (N.D. Fla. Aug. 26, 2025), the court concluded that a text message isn’t a telephone call under § 227(c)(5) and dismissed the claim on the merits Both are single district court rulings that bind no other court, so I’d still scrub and suppress for texts.
A renewal notice that only states the lease end date and the renewal terms is closer to informational, in my view, because the lease itself calls for it. A renewal “special” with a countdown and an upsell to a bigger unit reads as marketing. Write the message for the job it actually does.
What about prospective tenants and past applicants?
Their consent is narrower, and the Do Not Call clock runs.
A prospect who inquired about or applied for a unit has an established business relationship with the property for three months, and a tenant who signed a lease has one for 18 months after that transaction, under the FCC’s definition in § 64.1200(f)(5). A do-not-call request ends it sooner. That relationship takes the call out of the definition of telephone solicitation for Do Not Call purposes. It doesn’t supply the signed written consent needed for automated marketing texts.
I’d keep a separate, documented opt-in for listing alerts: an unchecked box on the inquiry form, with the disclosure and the number, that the prospect doesn’t have to check to schedule a tour.
Do prerecorded calls to a tenant’s landline follow different rules?
Yes. Residential lines have their own prerecorded-call rule with numerical caps.
A prerecorded message to a residential line that’s informational and commercial needs no consent if it “Is made for a commercial purpose but does not include or introduce an advertisement or constitute telemarketing and the caller makes no more than three calls within any consecutive 30-day period to the residential line and honors the called party’s request to opt out of future calls,” under § 64.1200(a)(3)(iii). Over three calls in 30 days requires prior express consent. Prerecorded marketing to a residential line requires written consent.
Buildings still using automated voice calls for rent reminders should count. Three in any 30-day period is the ceiling without consent, and opt-out requests must be honored.
How fast must a property manager honor STOP?
Within ten business days, under rules that took effect April 11, 2025.
A tenant may revoke consent “by using any reasonable method to clearly express a desire not to receive further calls or text messages from the caller or sender,” and requests must be honored “within a reasonable time not to exceed ten business days from receipt of such request,” under § 64.1200(a)(10). Replies like stop or unsubscribe count automatically, and the sender can’t designate an exclusive way to opt out.
One piece is on hold. In DA 25-312, the FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau delayed until April 11, 2026 the rule “to the extent the rule requires callers to treat a request to revoke consent made by a called party in response to one type of message as applicable to all future robocalls and robotexts from that caller on unrelated matters.” So today, a STOP reply must end the stream it answered, and a confirmation text may ask which messages the tenant wants to stop under § 64.1200(a)(12). Property management software often runs several message streams at once. A STOP that never reaches the system that sent the message is an easy gap to miss, and starting April 11, 2026, the gap widens to every stream. Our post on proving TCPA consent at summary judgment covers the records that win those fights.
Tenant-text claims and the defenses that answer them
| Claim theory | Statute or rule | Exposure per call or text | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Automated informational text without consent | 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(A)(iii), (b)(3); 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(a)(1) | $500 or actual loss, whichever is greater, and up to $1,500 if willful or knowing | Number provided for the tenancy, message within the scope of consent, or no autodialer under Duguid |
| Automated marketing text without written consent | 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(A)(iii); 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(a)(2) | Same | Signed written consent, or the message was informational |
| Rental or renewal solicitation to a Registry number | 47 U.S.C. § 227(c)(5); 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(c)(2) | Up to $500 or actual loss, whichever is greater, and up to $1,500 if willful or knowing | Established business relationship, the more-than-one-call threshold, or reasonable practices |
The autodialer defense comes from Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid, 592 U.S. 395 (2021), which requires “the capacity to use a random or sequential number generator to either store or produce phone numbers to be called.” The damages rules are in 47 U.S.C. § 227.
Steps to take when a tenant’s lawyer sends a demand
The firm’s TCPA defense attorneys in California page explains how a demand letter can turn into a lawsuit or class action. Before answering one:
- Preserve the lease, rental application, and any form showing where the number came from, along with the text and call logs and property-management platform records for the number.
- Export opt-out and internal do-not-call records from every messaging system, with the date each request arrived and when it was processed.
- Pull National Do Not Call Registry scrub records for any listing or renewal campaigns, with Registry version dates.
- Collect contracts with the texting and property-management vendors, every message template, and any prerecorded messages.
- Talk to a lawyer before replying, contacting the tenant about the claim, or offering a rent credit to settle.
Questions property managers ask about tenant texts
Can we text a tenant about late rent?
Yes, if the tenant gave the number for the tenancy and the message is about the account. That’s informational, and prior express consent covers it under § 64.1200(a)(1). Collection practices raise separate issues under state and federal debt-collection laws, which this post doesn’t cover.
Can we keep texting a former tenant?
About the tenancy, such as the security deposit, yes. Van Patten held that ending a relationship didn’t revoke consent by itself. Marketing a new unit to a former tenant is different and needs written consent if the text is automated.
Does a tenant’s emergency contact number carry the tenant’s consent?
I wouldn’t assume so. The emergency contact didn’t give you the number, and the FCC’s principle about numbers people “knowingly release” depends on whether the person called gave, or authorized giving, the number. Use those numbers for emergencies only.
Defending a tenant-text lawsuit
If your property management company has been sued over automated texts or calls to tenants or prospects, the source of each number and the opt-out records usually decide which claims survive. Rosenberger + Kawabata represents businesses defending TCPA lawsuits and class actions through its business litigation practice, including claims involving texts to tenants and rental prospects. Contact Rosenberger + Kawabata online for a free and confidential consultation, or call (310) 894-6921.
Sources
The statute is the Telephone Consumer Protection Act at 47 U.S.C. § 227. The FCC’s rules are at 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200, in the eCFR version as of August 28, 2025. The FCC order is the 2015 Declaratory Ruling and Order, FCC 15-72 (July 10, 2015).
The court decisions are McLaughlin Chiropractic Associates, Inc. v. McKesson Corp., No. 23-1226 (U.S. June 20, 2025); Van Patten v. Vertical Fitness Group, LLC, 847 F.3d 1037 (9th Cir. 2017), and Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid, 592 U.S. 395 (2021).
This post is general information about the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and related laws as of August 28, 2025. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Courts and the FCC change the rules in this area often, and the outcome of any claim depends on its facts. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.