How to become a landlord in Idaho

Idaho's landlord-tenant chapters require no set disclosure form in the lease itself. The statements Idaho law requires appear in the 3-day notice for unpaid rent: the 72-hour belongings statement and, to recover attorney fees, the attorney-fee statement (Idaho Code § 6-303(2); Idaho Code § 6-324).

• If you condition a disabled tenant's modification on restoring the premises, the restoration term must be included in the lease or rental agreement (Idaho Code § 67-5909(8)(h)).See Fair housing on the Idaho page
• A fee a written rental agreement does not include needs 30 days' written notice before you charge it, and no fee may exceed the amount the agreement states (Idaho Code § 55-305(2)).See Rent payments and late fees on the Idaho page

No section of Idaho's landlord-tenant chapters requires you to disclose the owner or manager to the tenant (Idaho Code title 6, ch. 3; Idaho Code title 55, ch. 2; Idaho Code title 55, ch. 3).

• A tenant serves a repair notice on you or your agent, including by leaving it at your usual place of business, so a tenant needs to know where that is (Idaho Code § 6-323).See Tenant repair remedies on the Idaho page

No section of Idaho's landlord-tenant chapters requires a flood disclosure to tenants (Idaho Code title 6, ch. 3; Idaho Code title 55, ch. 2; Idaho Code title 55, ch. 3).

• A tenant may sue if you keep the premises in a condition hazardous to health or safety or fail to provide reasonable waterproofing and weather protection (Idaho Code § 6-320(a)(1); Idaho Code § 6-320(a)(3)).See Repairs and habitability on the Idaho page

Install approved smoke detectors in each dwelling unit under your control and verify, when the rental agreement begins, that they are installed and working. The tenant must keep them in good working order during the tenancy (Idaho Code § 6-320(a)(6)).

• An approved smoke detector is battery operated, detects visible or invisible particles of combustion, and carries a label from an approved testing agency (Idaho Code § 6-320(a)(6)).
• If working detectors are not installed within 72 hours after you receive the tenant's certified-mail notice, the tenant may install them and deduct the cost from the next month's rent. The detectors then belong to you and stay in the home (Idaho Code § 6-320(a)(6)).

No section of Idaho's landlord-tenant chapters requires particular locks or rekeying between tenants (Idaho Code title 6, ch. 3; Idaho Code title 55, ch. 2; Idaho Code title 55, ch. 3).

• The only safety device the statute requires is approved smoke detectors (Idaho Code § 6-320(a)(6)).See Smoke alarms on the Idaho page

Idaho sets no maximum security deposit. Any amount a tenant deposits with you for a purpose other than paying rent counts as a security deposit, whatever the lease calls it (Idaho Code § 6-321(1)).

• Because the definition turns on purpose, money deposited for pets, cleaning or keys is a security deposit under the statute. Whether a charge labelled nonrefundable escapes that definition is not settled by the text (Idaho Code § 6-321(1)).
• Cities and counties may not enact or enforce rules that regulate the deposits charged for private residential rentals (Idaho Code § 55-306).See Rent control and local rules on the Idaho page

Idaho does not require you to pay interest on a deposit or to hold it in any particular account yourself. A deposit for a home managed by a landlord's third-party manager must be kept in a separate account at a federally insured financial institution, apart from the manager's operating account (Idaho Code § 6-321(4)).

• The separate-account rule does not apply to a property owner, to managers who share members or principals with the owner entity, to a real estate licensee, or to a nonprofit organized under Idaho Code title 30, chapter 30 (Idaho Code § 6-321(4)).

No Idaho statute requires a move-in checklist, inspection report or photographs. The one move-in duty in the landlord-tenant chapters is to verify, when the rental agreement begins, that smoke detectors are installed and working (Idaho Code title 6, ch. 3; Idaho Code § 6-320(a)(6)).

• Deductions from the deposit still cannot cover normal wear and tear, so a record of the starting condition helps you show what changed (Idaho Code § 6-321(1)).See Returning the deposit on the Idaho page

No Idaho statute sets a limit on application or screening fees. Idaho Code 55-305 requires fees imposed on a residential tenant to be reasonable and limits fees the rental agreement does not include; it does not say whether it reaches a fee charged to an applicant before any rental agreement exists (Idaho Code § 55-305; Idaho Code title 6, ch. 3).

• Cities and counties may not regulate the fees charged for leasing private residential property (Idaho Code § 55-306).See Rent control and local rules on the Idaho page
• Application forms and screening questions may not indicate a limitation or discrimination based on a protected class (Idaho Code § 67-5909(8)(f)).See Fair housing on the Idaho page
• Check an eviction case's current disposition and public-record status when reviewing rental history. For cases filed on or after January 1, 2025, section 6-303A provides shielding without a petition when the entire case was dismissed, no appeal is pending, and either three years have passed since filing or the parties filed a stipulation to shield. A filed case is not the same as a judgment against the applicant (Idaho Code 6-303A(1)).See Eviction process on the Idaho page
• Shielding removes records from public viewing subject to Supreme Court rules and the court system's capabilities. Court staff and parties to the case retain access, and a party may separately petition for sealing under court rules. Verify the relevant status rather than assuming the record has been erased or that every screening report is current (Idaho Code 6-303A(2) to (5)).