Rental registration requirements, city by city
Five cities, five different programs — a license, a registration, a paperwork requirement, an inspection cycle. Every figure below comes from Tusk's own verified city guides, linked in each row.
| City | What you register or license | Renewal cycle | Fee | What happens if you miss it | Key date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denver, CO | Residential Rental License | Every 4 years, or immediately on sale of the property | Set by the city; varies by inspection cost — check denvergov.org | Up to $5,000 per violation (raised from $999 in late 2025) | Renewal application + new passing inspection due before the 4-year license expires |
| Los Angeles, CA | RSO / JCO / SCEP registration | Annual, resets every calendar year | Up to $137.74/unit on time; up to $240.59/unit once delinquent | Can't legally collect rent or pursue an eviction until registration is current | Billed each January; delinquent after February 28 |
| Chicago, IL | RLTO summary + security deposit rate summary | Every lease and every renewal (not a fixed calendar cycle) | No fee — this is a paperwork/disclosure requirement, not a license | $100 damages claim; tenant can terminate with as little as a day’s notice | Attached at each signing/renewal; deposit interest rate updates every January |
| Seattle, WA | RRIO registration + rolling inspection | Registration every 2 years; inspection once every 5–10 years, rolling | $126 (first unit) + $31.50 per additional unit, as of Jan 2026 | $150/day for the first 10 days, then $500/day, once a Notice of Violation deadline passes | Must register as soon as a unit is tenanted, not on a fixed annual date |
| San Francisco, CA | Rent Board registration + Housing Inventory report | Annual | Set annually by the Rent Board; no flat rate published | Can lose that year's allowable rent increase (1.6% for the 2026–27 cycle) | Fee due March 1; exemption requests due mid-December of the prior year |
Fees, penalties, and deadlines change on each city's own schedule. Click through to a city's guide for the full detail and current source before relying on a number here.
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