Independent Landlord Rental Performance Report: October 2026

Monthly Tracker of On-Time Payments in Non-Institutional ("Mom-and-Pop") Rental Properties

Key Takeaways

1. On-time rental payments rose to 83.2% in October, up 56 basis points from September.

2. Year-over-year performance improved by 68 basis points, marking a third consecutive positive annual comparison.

3. The observed full-payment rate stood at 95.3% in August, the latest month reported with a two-month lag.

4. Late payments declined to 12.8% in August, from 13.3% in July, but continued to account for a sizable share of collections.

5. All three property types improved in October, led by 2–4-family rentals, where the on-time payment rate reached 83.9%.

   
   

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The Bottom Line Upfront

October’s rent collection data point to modest, uneven improvement across independently operated rental properties. The on-time payment rate rose to 83.2%, up 56 basis points from September. Collections were 68 basis points above October 2025, marking a third consecutive positive year-over-year comparison and the first such three-month stretch since late 2024.

The improvement extended across all three major rental subsectors, with 2–4-family properties posting the largest monthly increase. Payment timing nevertheless remains a challenge. The latest mature observation, August, shows that 12.8% of payments arrived late, bringing the observed full-payment rate to 95.3%. While collections remain well above their pandemic low, on-time performance is still below the stronger levels recorded in 2022–2024.

The emerging picture is one of renters gradually regaining their footing, with seasonal patterns becoming more visible as collections stabilize. That improvement has limits. High living costs continue to strain household budgets, particularly among lower-income renters, while a softer labor market leaves less room to absorb unexpected expenses. For independent landlords, the recent gains offer some reassurance that payment conditions are improving. However, the recent gains have yet to establish a sustained recovery toward the stronger collection rates of 2022–2024.

National Overview

On-time rental payments across independently operated properties increased to 83.2% in October 2026, according to the latest Chandan Economics–RentRedi data. The national rate rose from a revised 82.7% in September and 82.5% in August.

October marked a third consecutive monthly increase following July’s summer low. The rebound offers further evidence that the sharp deterioration through much of 2025 has given way to a more stable pattern. Progress remains uneven, however: October’s rate was still below the 83.5% recorded in April.

There are signs of more familiar seasonal fluctuations returning, with a spring improvement followed by summer softness and an autumn rebound. At 83.2%, the on-time rate is approximately 3.5 percentage points above the pandemic low of 79.7% in 2020, but remains about 5 percentage points below its 2023 peak of 88.2%.

Year-over-Year Change

October’s on-time payment rate was 68 basis points above its year-earlier level, following gains of 47 basis points in September and 19 basis points in August. This marks the first three consecutive positive annual comparisons since October–December 2024.

The milestone represents a meaningful improvement in direction. Year-over-year declines exceeded 400 basis points during several months of late 2025 and early 2026. The return to positive territory indicates that collections are now running above the same months last year, although those comparisons also benefit from the weaker readings recorded in 2025.

Full-Payment Rate

The observed full-payment rate stood at 95.3% in August 2026, the latest available observation.

August’s full-payment rate comprises an on-time payment rate of 82.5% and a late-payment rate of 12.8%. The difference highlights the substantial share of rental obligations that are satisfied after their initial due date.

For independent landlords, eventual collection provides some reassurance, but delayed payments can still complicate cash flow and the ability to meet recurring expenses.

Late Payments

Late payments remain a meaningful source of pressure for the mom-and-pop rental sector. While generally less damaging than outright nonpayment, delayed rent can still create significant operational challenges for independent landlords that rely heavily on timely collections to meet recurring expenses.

The late-payment rate declined to 12.8% in August, from 13.3% in July and 13.1% in June. August’s reading was 47 basis points below July and approximately 221 basis points below August 2025, when the rate stood at 15.1%. The decline offers some relief following the elevated late-payment activity of 2025. Even so, late collections continue to account for a sizable share of rent receipts.

Performance by Property Type

On-time payment performance improved across all three major rental subsectors in October, with 2–4-family properties recording the strongest monthly gain.

The 2–4-family on-time payment rate increased to 83.9%, from 82.9% in September, a 97-basis-point gain. Single-family rentals rose to 83.1%, from 82.5%, an increase of 55 basis points. Multifamily collections improved to 82.5%, from 82.2%, a 28-basis-point gain.

Multifamily properties continued their recovery from July’s low, but remained the weakest-performing segment. Their smaller October increase widened the gap with both single-family and 2–4-family rentals. The breadth of the monthly gains is encouraging, while the differing pace of improvement underscores the uneven nature of the recovery.

Regional Differences

State-level on-time payment rates remained widely dispersed in October. Hawaii, Utah, and Alaska led the distribution, while several Southern states continued to report weaker collections.

Hawaii posted the highest on-time payment rate at 92.6%, followed by Utah (92.5%), Alaska (92.3%), Oregon (91.3%), and New Hampshire (90.7%). At the lower end, Mississippi recorded 68.8%, followed by West Virginia (72.6%), Delaware (76.2%), Alabama (78.1%), and Georgia (78.5%).

Importance of the Independent Landlord Rental Performance Report

The Independent Landlord Rental Performance Report provides insights into how well non-institutional landlords are managing rental payments. It uses data from property management software RentRedi, showcasing results from 60,217 units. Information is collected and reported monthly by Chandan Economics. The trends highlighted here can serve as a benchmark for investors, brokers, and policymakers seeking to understand the health of independent landlords in the rental market.

About: Chandan Economics

Chandan Economics is an economic advisory and data science firm serving the commercial real estate industry. The firm provides bespoke research, analytics, and advisory services to investors, lenders, operators, and public- and private-sector clients. Core practice areas include real estate data science (REDS), economic and market research, and litigation consulting, with a focus on translating complex data into clear, decision-relevant insight.

About: RentRedi

RentRedi is the leading comprehensive, data-powered rental management software for smart landlords and investors. It helps landlords and their tenants rent smarter by providing all the tools and intelligence needed to optimize portfolios, boost retention, reduce turnover, and improve the lives of everyone in the rental process. By combining real-time data, user behavior insights, and customer feedback with a modern, intuitive interface, RentRedi delivers solutions that help savvy real estate investors increase revenue, reduce risk, save time, minimize friction, and improve relationships. For landlords, the all-in-one web and mobile app streamlines rent collection, listings, tenant screening, lease signing, maintenance coordination, accounting, and more. For their tenants, it includes online rent payment, auto-pay, credit building and boosting, 24/7 maintenance requests, among other services. Founded in 2016, RentRedi is VC-backed and a proven PropTech leader. It has been recognized by the Inc. 5000, Inc. Power Partners, Fast Company’s Next Big Things in Tech, and HousingWire’s Tech100. With more than $33 billion in assets under management and nearly 300,000 landlords and tenants using its platform, RentRedi partners with leading technology providers including Zillow, TransUnion, Experian, Equifax, Realtor.com, Lessen, Thumbtack, Plaid, and Stripe to create the best customer experience possible. Learn more at RentRedi.com.

Methodology

The underlying data cover March 2020 through October 2026, the current reporting period. The latest month’s tracking sample totals 60,217 units. Rent charges are measured on a 15th-to-15th-of-the-month basis. Rent charges issued after the 15th of the current month are treated as a rent charge for the following rent-tracking period. National and property-type rates are represented as three-month trailing averages; complete three-month observations begin in May 2020. State-level rates reflect the individual reporting month.

The report tracks eligible rental units using RentRedi and is not designed as a nationally representative sample of all independently operated rental housing. Results reflect the tracking sample and the exclusions described below; state rankings should be interpreted in that context.

The state analysis includes the 50 states and Washington, DC, and excludes records without valid, capitalized two-letter state abbreviations. Individual state readings can fluctuate substantially from month to month, particularly in smaller samples.

Historical figures reflect the latest available data and may differ from previously published reports. Late- and full-payment rates are reported with a two-month lag; August 2026 is the latest observation in this report. Full-payment rates combine on-time and late payments for the same months before averaging. These observed rates remain subject to revision as additional payments are recorded. In the payment snapshot, on-time segments use three-month averages and late-payment segments show individual-month receipts recorded to date; recent late-payment segments are incomplete and are not forecasts.

Only charges designated as “rental income” are included for analysis. Rent charges below $500 and above $10,000 are excluded.

Units that have not paid any form of rental income, full or partial, in the previous 60 days at the time a new rental charge is issued are removed from the tracking sample. Unpaid units refer to units that have yet to fully satisfy their owed rent for a collection period and include units that have made only partial payments. As a means of reporting standardization, units with more than one monthly rent charge are removed from the rent-tracking sample.