How Much Does Property Management Cost in Tacoma?
Short answer: most Tacoma owners pay between 7% and 10% of collected rent, plus a leasing fee of roughly half a month’s rent to a full month’s rent. Here is the long answer, with real numbers and no form in the way.
The short answer
In Tacoma and the rest of Pierce County, full service residential property management usually costs:
45% to 100% of one month’s rent as a one time leasing fee when a new tenant is placed
7% to 10% of collected rent each month
$100 to $300 for a lease renewal, where it is charged
Add-on fees that vary a lot from company to company
A quote lands at the low end or the high end for reasons you can actually influence. We will go through those reasons below.
That range is not a guess. It comes from what local companies publish on their own websites. Most managers in this market publish nothing at all, which is why this question is so hard to answer honestly. We are going to name the published numbers, including our own.
The two main fee models
Percentage of collected rent
This is the standard in Tacoma. You pay a set percentage of the rent your manager actually collects each month. If rent is $1,800 and the fee is 8%, you pay $144 that month.
The key words are “collected rent.” A good agreement charges only on rent that arrives, so an empty unit costs no fee. A few companies charge on rent due rather than rent collected, which means you keep paying through a vacancy or a nonpayment. That is a very different deal, so read the wording.
Flat monthly fee
Some managers charge a fixed dollar amount per unit, per month, whatever the rent is. Flat fees are more common with large portfolios and lower rent properties.
Which is better depends on your rent. A flat $150 on a $1,200 unit is 12.5%. The same $150 on a $2,600 unit is 5.8%. Convert any flat fee to a percentage of your rent before comparing it to anything.
Tiered by door count
A third model prices by how many units you own. BCI Properties publishes exactly this: 10% for 1 to 3 units, 8% for 4 to 9 units, 7% for 10 to 29 units, and 6% for 30 or more. If you own one rental, a tiered schedule usually puts you at the top of the range. If you own twelve, it can be the cheapest option on the table.
The leasing fee, and why it varies so much
The leasing fee, sometimes called a tenant placement fee or a new lease fee, pays for advertising, photography, showings, application processing, screening and lease preparation. It is charged once, when a tenant signs.
Local published leasing fees look like this:
Keyrenter Tacoma: 50% of one month’s rent
SJC Management: 45% of one month’s rent, with a $795 minimum
Red Roof Rentals: 50% of one month’s rent with the Gold Package, or 100% of one month’s rent for tenant placement only with no ongoing management
Watch the minimums. A 45% leasing fee sounds cheaper than 50%. On a $1,500 rental, 45% is $675, but a $795 minimum means you pay $795. That is 53% of a month’s rent, which is more than the company quoting 50%. Percentages only tell the truth when there is no floor underneath them.
Also ask two questions: is the leasing fee charged again at renewal, and is it charged again if the first tenant leaves early? Some agreements charge a full new leasing fee every time a tenant turns over, even after four months. Others cover that at no cost. Ours does, under the Leasing Guarantee described on our guarantees page.
The fees that are easy to miss
This is the part that changes the real cost more than the headline percentage does.
Setup or onboarding fee
A one time charge, often $99 to $300, to open your account. Not universal. Ask.
Annual administrative or technology fee
SJC Management publishes $85 a year. Small, but it is real money and it is easy to skip past in a schedule.
Lease renewal fee
Charged when a sitting tenant signs again. Ours is $250. Compare that against what a turnover actually costs you, which is usually a full leasing fee plus vacancy plus paint and cleaning. A renewal fee is almost always the cheaper outcome.
Inspection fees
Some companies charge per visit for move-in, move-out, drive-by and annual walk-through inspections. Four inspections at $75 each is $300 a year that never appears in the advertised percentage.
Maintenance markup
This is the big one. Some managers add a percentage on top of every contractor invoice, often 8% to 12%. On $6,000 of annual repairs, a 10% markup is $600. It rarely appears in the fee table. Ask directly: “Do you mark up third party invoices, and by how much?”
In-house maintenance rates
If the manager has their own crew, ask for the hourly rate and the service call fee. BCI Properties publishes $95 per hour plus a $95 service call. Published rates are a good sign. Unpublished ones deserve a question.
Eviction and legal costs
Filing fees, service costs and attorney fees are real. Ask what is included in “eviction assistance” and what is billed to you.
Vacancy handling
Ask whether you keep paying a management fee while the unit is empty, and who pays for utilities and lawn care during the vacancy.
Late fees, application fees and pet fees
Ask who keeps them. In some agreements the manager does. Inside Tacoma the amounts are limited anyway. TMC 1.100 caps late fees at $10 per month and is enforceable by private lawsuit, so nobody should be building a business on late fees in this city.
Markups on marketing
Enhanced or premium marketing packages are usually optional. Ours is $500 and it is a choice, not a default.
What actually moves a quote between 7% and 10%
Managers do not pick a number at random. These are the factors that move it:
How many units you own
01
More doors usually means a lower rate, because the manager’s cost per unit falls.
Rent level
02
A $2,600 home and a $1,200 home take similar effort, so lower rent properties often sit at a higher percentage.
Property type and age.
03
Older homes generate more maintenance calls. Multi-family with shared systems is different work than a single family home.
Condition at handover
04
A property that needs work before it can be listed costs more to bring to market.
What is bundled
05
A 7% fee with separate charges for inspections, statements and renewals is not cheaper than a 9% fee that includes all three. Compare total annual cost, not the headline.
Whether you also want leasing
06
Placement-only pricing is different from full management pricing.
Location and local rules.
07
A unit inside Tacoma city limits carries real compliance work: registration, the required tenant information packet, a City form for rent increases with 180 days notice, and relocation assistance rules on larger increases. That work costs something. So does getting it wrong.
A full year cost example, using real Tacoma rent
Let us use a real number. The average rent in Tacoma was $1,718 per month as of August 2026, according to Zillow Rental Manager Market Trends. By bedroom, Zillow reported a studio at $1,250, a one bedroom at $1,403, a two bedroom at $1,815 and a three bedroom at $2,600 in the same month.
We will run a single family home renting at $1,718 a month, fully occupied for twelve months, with a new tenant placed at the start of year one.
Year one, new tenant, at 8% with a 50% leasing fee
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Annual rent collected | $20,616 |
| Management fee at 8% | $1,649 |
| Leasing fee at 50% of one month | $859 |
| City code compliance | $75 |
| Total management cost, year one | $2,583 |
| As a share of annual rent | 12.5% |
Year two, same tenant renews, at 8%
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Annual rent collected | $20,616 |
| Management fee at 8% | $1,649 |
| Lease renewal | $250 |
| City code compliance | $75 |
| Total management cost, year two | $1,974 |
| As a share of annual rent | 9.6% |
What this shows. Year one always costs more than the advertised percentage, because the leasing fee lands in it. Year two is where the true ongoing cost shows up. This is why tenant retention matters more to your return than shaving half a point off a management fee. One avoided turnover, at roughly $859 in leasing plus a month of vacancy at $1,718 plus turn costs, is worth more than a full year of the difference between 8% and 9%.
Figures are rounded to the nearest dollar. Rent source: Zillow Rental Manager Market Trends, August 2026. Your property will differ. This example assumes full occupancy and no repairs, because repair costs belong to the property and vary far too much to model here.
How the published local numbers compare
| Company | Monthly management | Leasing fee | Other published fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| SJC Management | 7% to 10% | 45% of one month, $795 minimum | Annual admin $85 |
| BCI Properties | 10% (1-3 units), 8% (4-9), 7% (10-29), 6% (30+) | Not published | In-house maintenance $95 per hour plus $95 service call |
| Keyrenter Tacoma | 7% to 10% | 50% of one month | Not published |
| Red Roof Rentals | From 8% of collected rent | 50% of one month, 100% (placement only) | Renewal $250, city code compliance $75, transfer $250 |
These come from each company’s own website. We are not ranking them and we are not commenting on their service. We are showing you the numbers so you can do your own math.
Run every quote through the same test:
Total the first twelve months, leasing fee included.
Total the second twelve months, assuming a renewal.
Add any inspection, admin, technology or statement fees.
Ask, in writing, about maintenance markup.
Ask whether the management fee applies during vacancy.
Do that and the cheapest headline number often stops being the cheapest deal.
TESTIMONIALSThe Trusted Choice for
Property Management Cost
Cassidy and Celina have been absolutely amazing through the whole rental/move in processes. I’ve been renting from Red Roof Rentals for almost a year now and am extremely happy with the team. Definitely check them out! You won’t regret it!
Awesome and amazing service along with great personal experience with staff especially Cassidy who was such a great free spirited person!!
I appreciate this property management on their great customer service and for helping us throughout the process when we had the ok that we were approved, Cassidy is such a great worker and helped me throughout the process she is very professional and just an awesome worker making everything easygoing.
Cassidy was very helpful! She made everything very stress free and she was very thorough with everything! :)
Cassidy was a great help!
They made setting everything up very easy, and Cassidy was a super great help!
I have had a great experience moving into my new place with Red Roof Rentals. The team is friendly, communicative, and so helpful! I am happy to be renting from them and appreciate their great service!
Great people all around! Helped us get into our home pretty fast.
I have never worked with a more pleasant property management company. Cassidy and Celina are incredibly responsive, knowledgeable, informative, and very friendly. They made the rental process go so smoothly and relieved a lot of the stress of a very stressful process. I can’t say enough great things about this team.
Thank you guys!
Everyone was super nice and friendly, I've never worked with a management company that's so hassle free. They got our move-in set up quickly and they made the process smooth and enjoyable.
My family and I recently moved into one of their apartment complex and Cassidy from the office was absolutely wonderful throughout the whole process. Her team was incredibly accommodating with our move in situation and got us in exactly when we wanted to be. I am so happy with the whole experience.
Red Roof has always been pleasant to work with! Highly recommend!
Where Red Roof sits
We start at 8% of collected rent for full service, with a 50% leasing fee. That puts us in the middle of the local range on the monthly fee and in the middle on leasing.
Where we are different is the second half of the schedule. We do not charge a setup fee, an annual admin fee, inspection fees of any kind, a security deposit disposition fee, a 1099 fee or a cancellation fee. Screening, rent collection, the owner portal, monthly statements, ACH deposits, maintenance support, eviction assistance and utility management are all included at no extra charge.
We also publish the whole thing. You can read Red Roof’s full fee schedule right now without giving us your email address.
Frequently asked questions
-
Most full service residential property managers charge 7% to 10% of collected rent each month, plus a one time leasing fee of about 45% to 100% of one month’s rent when a new tenant is placed. In Tacoma, expect add-ons like a lease renewal fee of $100 to $300 and, at some companies, setup, admin, inspection or maintenance markup charges.
-
Published local rates run from 6% to 10% of collected rent. The low end generally applies to owners with thirty or more units. A single rental home usually falls between 8% and 10%. Red Roof starts at 8%. SJC Management and Keyrenter Tacoma both publish 7% to 10%. BCI Properties publishes a tiered schedule starting at 10% for one to three units.
-
It depends on the agreement. Fees based on collected rent stop during a vacancy, because no rent is collected. Fees based on rent due, or flat monthly fees, usually continue. Ask for the exact wording before you sign. Red Roof charges a percentage of collected rent, so a vacant month carries no management fee.
-
A maintenance markup is a percentage a manager adds to a contractor’s invoice before billing you. It is often 8% to 12% and it is often not in the published fee table. On $6,000 of annual repairs, a 10% markup is $600. Always ask whether a markup exists and get the number in writing.
-
The management fee usually does not change, but the compliance work does. Tacoma requires a business license and unit registration before any rent increase or notice to vacate, 180 days written notice on a City form for rent increases, a tenant information packet, and relocation assistance on increases of 5% or more where the tenant moves. Confirm your manager handles all of it.
Get a written quote for your property
Send us the address. We will come back with a rent range based on current local data, a fee quote in writing, and an honest read on what the property needs before it lists. Free, no obligation, and we answer within 24 hours.