Texting Tenants: TCPA Consent Rules for Landlords
Sending one text from your phone is simple. Sending automated rent reminders by text brings in federal rules on consent and opt-outs. Here's what landlords need to know.
What is the TCPA?
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is a federal law that restricts automated calls and texts. Texts sent using an automated system (a platform that sends reminders on a schedule, for example) generally need the recipient's prior express consent. Marketing texts need prior express written consent.
A rent reminder is informational, not marketing. But the safest approach, and the one carriers effectively require for business texting, is to get clear, documented consent before sending any automated text.
What good consent looks like
- Specific: the tenant agrees to receive rent reminder texts at a specific phone number.
- Documented: in the lease, a signed form, or an online consent with a timestamp you can produce later.
- Informed: it says roughly how often messages come, that message and data rates may apply, and how to opt out (reply STOP).
- Voluntary: paying rent shouldn't be conditional on agreeing to texts. Offer email as an alternative.
By providing my mobile number, I agree to receive automated text messages from [Landlord / Company] about rent due dates and payments for [Property]. Up to 6 messages per month. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out or HELP for help. Consent is not a condition of my lease.
Opt-outs
When a tenant replies STOP (or says in any reasonable way that they want texts to stop), you must stop sending automated texts to that number. FCC rules adopted in 2024 require honoring opt-out requests made by any reasonable means and processing them promptly. Keep email as a fallback channel for reminders.
Quiet hours
The TCPA's telemarketing rules restrict messages before 8am or after 9pm in the recipient's time zone, and several states (including Florida and Oklahoma) have stricter state "mini-TCPA" laws. Rent reminders aren't telemarketing, but sending during daytime hours is the safe and polite default.
A2P 10DLC registration
If you send texts from software using a regular 10-digit number, US carriers require the sender to register the brand and use case (known as A2P 10DLC). Unregistered business texts are increasingly blocked. If you use a reminder service, it should handle this for you. If you're building your own, you'll need to register through your SMS provider.
How Ping handles consent
Ping won't send reminders until consent is in place. When you add a tenant, you can either confirm consent you've already obtained (in the lease, for example) or have Ping email the tenant a one-click consent request. Reminders start only after they agree, and they can stop at any time.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need consent to text my tenant from my own phone?+
Manually typed, one-off texts from your phone are generally not "automated" under the TCPA. Consent still matters for good practice, and your lease is the best place to get it.
Is a consent clause in the lease enough?+
A clear, specific clause naming the phone number and the type of messages is generally strong evidence of consent. Make sure the tenant can still opt out later.
Can I text a tenant about overdue rent?+
Yes, with consent. Keep messages factual. Landlords collecting their own rent generally aren't "debt collectors" under federal law, but third parties collecting for you may be, and some states have their own collection rules.
Related resources
Let Ping send the reminders for you
Ping emails your tenants before rent is due, on the due date, and follows up automatically if it's late. Free while we're in early access.