How we write our guides

The RentalThread team writes every guide, starting from the questions owners, managers, agents, tenants and pros ask about rental work.

Each guide is published in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Each version is adapted to its market, with local terms, examples and currency, rather than translated word for word.

• Every guide goes through an editorial review before it's published: accuracy, safety advice, and whether each step works in practice.
• We don't invent numbers, quotes or testimonials. Example amounts and example messages are marked as examples.
• Features of RentalThread are described as planned until they're available.

Rules on deposits, notice, repairs, receipts and taxes differ by country, state and city. When a guide depends on a rule, it says so and asks you to check the rules where the property is.

When we cite a law or an official source, we name it, for example Brazil's tenancy law (Lei do Inquilinato, Law 8.245/1991).

For a gas smell, sparks, smoke, flooding or a carbon monoxide alarm, our guides tell you to leave and call the emergency services or the gas company from outside, never to fix it yourself. Repairs that need a licensed pro say so.

Our guides are practical information, not legal, tax or financial advice. For a decision with legal consequences, such as an eviction, deposit deductions or tax receipts, talk to a local professional.

Each guide shows when it was published and when it was last updated. When a reader or a reviewer points out a mistake, we fix it in all three languages and update the date.