Property Management Laws And Regulations In Louisiana

Louisiana regulates third-party property management through several authorities at once, and the rules that matter most to a management company are the ones covering your license, your client trust accounts, and the money you hold on behalf of owners and tenants. This guide covers those rules for professional managers, with the statute or agency regulation behind each one.

Everything below is sourced to Louisiana's own statutes, agency rules, and court materials rather than to secondhand summaries. Specific dollar amounts and deadlines do change; the citations do not, so you can always open the authority and confirm the current text before you act on it.

Licensing Requirements For Property Managers

Louisiana requires a real estate broker license to manage property for others for compensation, including leasing, rent collection, and general oversight, under the Louisiana Real Estate License Law. The Louisiana Real Estate Commission (LREC) licenses and regulates brokers; an owner managing only its own property is not required to be licensed, and unlicensed employees may only perform narrowly defined administrative tasks.

• A "property manager" is defined as one who, for a fee, commission, or other valuable consideration, manages real estate, including the collection of rents, supervision of property maintenance, and accounting for fees received for another. (La. R.S. 37:1431)
• It is unlawful for a person or entity to perform real estate activity, including property management, for another for a fee or commission without a real estate license, unless specifically exempted. (La. R.S. 37:1436)
• Licensing is not required for an owner, whether an individual, corporation, partnership, LLC, or trust, that sells, exchanges, leases, or manages its own property. (La. R.S. 37:1438)
• A salaried employee of a licensed real estate broker is exempt from licensure for property-management work only if the employee's duties stay within delivering or receiving lease applications, receiving rental payments, showing rental units under the broker's direction, and providing information about rental units; going beyond those functions requires a license. (La. R.S. 37:1438)

Client Trust Account Rules

Louisiana law and the Louisiana Real Estate Commission's administrative rules impose detailed escrow/trust account duties on brokers who manage property for others, covering commingling, dedicated rental and security-deposit trust accounts, signatory responsibility, disbursement timing, ledgers, and multi-year record retention.

• Commingling a principal's money or property with the broker's own funds is grounds for censure, suspension, or revocation of a real estate license. (La. R.S. 37:1455(6))
• A resident broker engaged in property management must open and maintain a separate, specifically titled Rental Trust Account for rental payments and a separate Security Deposit Trust Account for security or damage deposits, in addition to any sales escrow account, each at a Louisiana financial institution. (La. Admin. Code tit. 46:LXVII.2701)
• The individual broker, or the qualifying broker of a licensed entity, must be an authorized signatory on every escrow or trust account and remains personally responsible for its proper maintenance and disbursement even if other signatories are added. (La. Admin. Code tit. 46:LXVII.2708)
• No more than $2,500 of the broker's own funds may be kept in each trust or escrow account to cover bank service charges; a property-management broker may temporarily exceed that amount in the rental trust account only for the limited purpose of satisfying financial obligations on behalf of clients. (La. Admin. Code tit. 46:LXVII.2713)
• A licensee managing property for another must maintain a separate ledger for each managed property documenting all funds received and disbursed, and must issue written receipts for cash payments showing the date, amount, property address, reason for payment, tenant name, and the receiving licensee's signature. (La. Admin. Code tit. 46:LXVII.2605(D)-(E))
• Property-management records, including bank statements, deposit slips, management and lease agreements, owner ledgers, disbursement checks, invoices, and cash receipts, must be retained, indexed, and made readily available for five years. (La. Admin. Code tit. 46:LXVII.2607; La. R.S. 37:1449)

Trust account rules are where Louisiana management companies get into trouble fastest, because a shortage is a licensing problem and not just a bookkeeping problem. The habits that keep you clean are the boring ones: deposit on time, never let operating money and client money mix, reconcile every account every month, and keep a per, property record you could hand to an auditor without preparing it first. Our guide to preparing for a trust account audit walks through what examiners actually ask for.

Security Deposit Rules

Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:3251 governs return of a residential security deposit, requiring return or an itemized statement within one month of lease termination, and R.S. 9:3252 imposes statutory damages for a landlord's willful failure to comply. Louisiana sets no statutory maximum deposit amount.

• A tenant's deposit securing a residential lease must be returned within one month after the lease terminates, except for amounts the landlord may retain that are reasonably necessary to remedy a tenant default or unreasonable wear to the premises. (La. R.S. 9:3251(A))
• If any portion of the deposit is retained, the landlord must send the tenant, within one month after the tenancy terminates, an itemized statement accounting for the proceeds retained and the reasons for retaining them; R.S. 9:3251 sets no maximum dollar cap on the deposit amount a landlord may collect. (La. R.S. 9:3251(A))
• If a lessor transfers the leased property during the lease term, the transferor must also transfer the tenant's security deposit to the successor, who then becomes responsible for returning it at lease termination. (La. R.S. 9:3251(B))
• A landlord's willful failure to remit a wrongfully retained deposit within 30 days after a tenant's written demand for a refund entitles the tenant to damages of $300 or twice the wrongfully retained amount, whichever is greater; suit may be brought in the parish of the landlord's residence or where the property is located. (La. R.S. 9:3252)

Lease Agreements And Required Disclosures

Louisiana leases are governed primarily by the Louisiana Civil Code's lease provisions rather than a separate landlord-tenant act. A Real Estate Commission-prescribed written property disclosure document applies to sales and to leases with a purchase option on 1-4 unit residential property; confirm whether it reaches a standard rental lease without a purchase option before relying on it.

• Louisiana requires a Real Estate Commission-prescribed written property disclosure document, disclosing known defects, for sales and for leases that include a purchase option involving residential real property of one to four units. (La. R.S. 9:3196 et seq.)

Entry Notice And Tenant Privacy

Louisiana's Civil Code does not set a specific advance-notice period for landlord entry comparable to URLTA states; it instead gives the lessor a right to enter for repairs that cannot be postponed until the lease ends, even if that causes the lessee inconvenience.

• The Louisiana Civil Code gives the lessor the right to enter and make repairs that cannot be postponed until the end of the lease, even if doing so causes the lessee inconvenience or loss of use of the leased premises; no statutory advance-notice period for landlord entry was found in the Civil Code's lease articles. (La. Civil Code art. 2692)

Rent, Late Fees, And Other Charges

No statewide rent-control preemption statute or general residential late-fee cap could be verified on an official Louisiana source; a separate consumer-lease late-charge cap exists but applies to consumer leases, not ordinary residential rentals, and unpaid rent can trigger attorney-fee liability after written demand.

• R.S. 9:3314 limits late charges on consumer leases to not more than five percent of the unpaid amount or twenty-five dollars, whichever is greater; this provision applies to consumer leases specifically, not to ordinary residential rental agreements. (La. R.S. 9:3314)
• A lessee who fails to pay rent that becomes due and delinquent, and who does not pay within twenty days after written demand, is liable for reasonable attorney fees incurred by the lessor to prosecute and collect the claim when judgment is rendered for the claimant. (La. R.S. 9:3259)

Fee income is also taxable income, and how you record management fees, late fees, and pass, through charges affects both your compliance position and your books. See our guide to Louisiana property management taxes for the reporting side.

Fair Housing Obligations

The Louisiana Equal Housing Opportunity Act, enforced by the Equal Housing Opportunity Section of the Louisiana Department of Justice and separately handled for complaints by the Louisiana Commission on Human Rights, is described by the Attorney General's office as substantially equivalent to the federal Fair Housing Act, and adds two protected classes beyond the federal seven: military status and natural, protective, or cultural hairstyle.

• It is unlawful to refuse to sell or rent, or to otherwise discriminate in the terms or conditions of the sale or rental of a dwelling, because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, military status, or natural, protective, or cultural hairstyle. (La. R.S. 51:2606(A)(1))
• Disability-based housing discrimination, including denial of reasonable modifications or accommodations, is separately prohibited. (La. R.S. 51:2606(A)(6))
• A private individual owner of no more than three single-family houses is exempt from most of the Act's prohibitions, except the provision barring discriminatory advertising. (La. R.S. 51:2605)
• Act No. 100 of the 2025 Regular Session (SB 66), effective August 1, 2025, amended Louisiana's housing discrimination law to add military status as a protected characteristic. (2025 La. Acts 100, amending La. R.S. 51:2606)

Habitability And Safety Duties

The Louisiana Civil Code obligates a lessor to make necessary repairs and warrants that leased premises are suitable for their intended purpose and free of vices or defects.

• During the lease, the lessor must make all repairs that become necessary to keep the premises suitable for the purpose leased, except for repairs that are the lessee's responsibility. (La. Civil Code art. 2691)
• If the lessor fails to make necessary repairs within a reasonable time after the lessee's demand, the lessee may have the repairs made and seek reimbursement. (La. Civil Code art. 2694)
• The lessor warrants that the leased premises are suitable for the purpose leased and free of vices or defects that prevent that use, and this warranty extends to defects arising after delivery that are not the lessee's fault. (La. Civil Code art. 2696)

Eviction Basics

Louisiana eviction begins with a written notice to vacate and proceeds through a summary court process; the notice may be waived in a written lease.

• When a lessee's right of occupancy ends, whether by lease expiration or default such as nonpayment, the lessor must deliver a written notice to vacate giving the lessee not less than five days from delivery; for fixed-term leases the notice may be given up to 30 days before term expiration, and the lessee may waive this notice in a written lease provision. (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 4701)
• If the occupant does not vacate after proper notice, or has waived notice, the lessor may have the occupant cited summarily to show cause why possession of the premises should not be delivered to the lessor, the Louisiana eviction proceeding. (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 4731)

Recent Changes Worth Tracking

These are the Louisiana changes most likely to affect a management company's procedures. Confirm the effective date against the source below before you update a lease template or a policy.

• Act No. 100 of the 2025 Regular Session (SB 66), effective August 1, 2025, added military status as a protected class under Louisiana's housing, education, employment, and public-accommodation discrimination laws, including the Equal Housing Opportunity Act. (2025 La. Acts 100, amending La. R.S. 51:2606)

Staying Compliant Without Guessing

Most Louisiana compliance failures are not decisions, they are drift: a deposit that sat too long, a reconciliation that got skipped in a busy month, a lease template that never got updated after a statute changed. Build the calendar first. Monthly trust reconciliations, an annual review of your lease and disclosure packet against current statutes, and a documented process for deposits and refunds cover the large majority of what an examiner will ask about.

This guide is a starting point for professional managers, not legal advice. For a specific dispute, a novel fact pattern, or anything with real money at stake, work with a Louisiana attorney, and confirm the current text of any statute cited above with the Louisiana Real Estate Commission or the Louisiana legislature.

Sources

Every fact above is drawn from one of the official sources below.

• La. R.S. 37:1431, Louisiana Real Estate Commission
• La. R.S. 37:1455(6), Louisiana State Legislature
• La. Admin. Code tit. 46:LXVII.2701, Louisiana Real Estate Commission
• La. Admin. Code tit. 46:LXVII.2607; La. R.S. 37:1449, Louisiana State Legislature
• La. R.S. 9:3251(A), Louisiana State Legislature
• La. R.S. 9:3252, Louisiana State Legislature
• La. R.S. 9:3196 et seq., Louisiana State Legislature
• La. Civil Code art. 2692, Louisiana State Legislature
• La. R.S. 9:3314, Louisiana State Legislature
• La. R.S. 51:2606(A)(1), Louisiana State Legislature
• La. R.S. 51:2605, Louisiana State Legislature
• 2025 La. Acts 100, amending La. R.S. 51:2606, Louisiana State Legislature
• La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 4701, Louisiana State Legislature
• La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 4731, Louisiana State Legislature