Text examples

Texting tenants: maintenance and water-shutoff notices

Last checked: 6 Nov 2026 · state statutes and iOS 26

Short answer

Yes, you can text all your tenants without sharing numbers: send each tenant their own text, never one group message. Say who you are, the building, what's happening, the date and the time window. A text is a heads-up, not legal notice. Entry-notice rules vary by state, so check your state and lease.

Occasion

Every text says their name.

As Sam will see it

Details

Your message · firstName becomes each name

Pasting this into one message with several people in To still makes a group. Send it to one person at a time.

Send it one-by-one from your iPhone with Batchrunner

Batchrunner opens Messages; you tap Send for each recipient.

Free for up to 10 people per send.

A landlord's hand with an iPhone by a row of mailboxes, a bubble with a water drop going to each slot

The short answer

You can text all your tenants without sharing numbers by sending each their own text instead of a group message. A notice text should say who you are, which building, what's happening, the date and the time window. A text is a heads-up, not legal notice. Entry-notice periods are set by state law and your lease, from about 24 hours to 2 days in the three statutes we read, and some states require writing. So send the text early, then give the formal notice your state and lease require.

Not legal advice. We read three state statutes and quote them below; we did not research the other states, local codes or your lease. Check your state's landlord-tenant law and your lease, or ask a lawyer.

Write yours

The One Text Each message writer opens below with the tenant heads-up loaded. Fill in your name, building, date, time window and an extra line; the preview shows one tenant's text, counted in characters and SMS segments. The template ends with "Formal notice is on your door." on purpose.

Pasting this into one message with several people in To still makes a group. Send it to one person at a time.

Batchrunner for iPhone

Send it to the whole building. Batchrunner, our iPhone app, opens Messages batch by batch from your own number. You tap Send each time, and a ledger marks each tenant sent, remaining or skipped, so you know who still needs a knock on the door. In Batchrunner 2.2, include {firstName} to open one conversation per person; without a merge token, a batch can open as a group. Only text people who asked to hear from you. Free covers 10 tenants per send, 2 groups and 2 templates; Pro is $7.99/month or $39.99/year with a 3-day free trial. iPhone only, iOS 17 or later.

Get Batchrunner on the App Store

Batchrunner opens Messages; you tap Send for each recipient.

Never put tenants in one group thread

A group text to a building hands every tenant everyone else's number, and turns one tenant's "this is the third shutoff this month" into a building-wide conversation you can't end. Landlords on BiggerPockets ask how to send one notice to all tenants at once; the answer that keeps numbers private is one conversation per tenant; how to text many people individually on iPhone walks through the ways to do it. If you're unsure whether a message you're about to send will turn into a group, will my text become a group chat checks your list.

A text is a heads-up, not legal notice

Three state statutes, read on 4 Nov 2026, show how much the rules differ for entering a unit to make repairs:

Table: State and statute · Notice before entry for repairs (hours or days) · Allowed entry hours · Must it be written? · Other details in the statute
State and statute	Notice before entry for repairs (hours or days)	Allowed entry hours	Must it be written?	Other details in the statute
Florida, Fla. Stat. 83.53(2)	At least 24 hours	7:30am–8:00pm	The section doesn't say	Entry any time "for the protection or preservation of the premises"
Delaware, 25 Del. C. § 5509(b)	At least 48 hours	8:00am–9:00pm	The section doesn't say	Not required for repairs the tenant asked for; emergency entry any time
Washington, RCW 59.18.150(6)	At least 2 days ("two days'")	"Reasonable times"	Yes: "written notice"	Notice must give the exact time, or a window with earliest and latest times, and a phone number to object or reschedule; 1 day for showings

None of the three sections we read says whether a text counts as notice. Washington's notice must be written and contain a phone number for objections, so a text that skips either falls short. Your lease may also name how notice is given. So check your state and lease, give formal notice that way, and use the text to make sure people see it.

Water shutoffs differ from entry: you may not enter any unit. We found no state statute on notice for a planned building water shutoff; local codes may set one. We suggest texting at least 24–48 hours ahead (editorial, matching the entry rules above) and again the morning of the work.

The {unit} field means one send per building

The writer has a Building field: you type "14 Birch St" once and it appears in every tenant's text. The Batchrunner app fills only first name, last name and company per person, so an apartment number can't change within one send. The same limit applies to appointment times; the appointment reminder text shows how to handle clients with different slots. In practice:

Building-wide news (water, hallway work, parking lot): one send per building, with the building in the text.
One apartment (a plumber entering 3B): text that tenant on their own and type the apartment in.
Several buildings: one saved group per building, so 14 Birch St tenants never get Maple Court's shutoff.

Tenant notice templates (8, counted)

Counts assume an 8-letter first name ("Jonathan"). "Room for a name" is the longest first name that keeps the text in one SMS.

Table: ID · Use · Text · Chars (8-letter name) · SMS segments · Room for a name (chars)
ID	Use	Text	Chars (8-letter name)	SMS segments	Room for a name (chars)
ten-water	Planned water shutoff	Hi {firstName}, heads-up from Lee Rentals: water at 14 Birch St is off Thu Nov 20, 9am-1pm (main valve repair). Formal notice is on your door.	139	1	29
ten-water2	Shutoff + what to do	Hi {firstName}, heads-up from Lee Rentals: water at 14 Birch St is off Thu Nov 20, 9am-1pm for a valve repair. Fill a few jugs. Formal notice on your door.	152	1	16
ten-done	Water back on	{firstName}, water at 14 Birch St is back on. Run the cold tap 2 min if it sputters. Any leaks or brown water? Reply here. - Lee Rentals	133	1	35
ten-emerg	Emergency	{firstName}, Lee Rentals: burst pipe at 14 Birch St. Water is off now while we repair it. Next update by 2pm. Call 555-0144 if water reaches your floor.	149	1	19
ten-entry	Entry, one unit	Hi {firstName}, Lee Rentals: our plumber needs to enter your unit Fri Nov 21, 10am-noon, to check a leak. Written notice to follow. Questions? Reply here.	151	1	17
tenant-02	Repair visit	{firstName}, a technician will visit Thursday between 10am and 2pm for your heater repair. Reply to reschedule. - Maple Court Mgmt	127	1	41
ten-hall	Common-area work	{firstName}, Lee Rentals: hallway painting at 14 Birch St Mon-Tue, 9am-4pm. Doors stay open; wet paint on rails. No entry to your unit.	132	1	36
tenant-03	Rent reminder	Hi {firstName}, friendly reminder: November rent is due on the 1st. Pay online or at the office. Questions? Call 555-0142. Reply STOP to opt out.	142	1	30

Show all 8 rowsShow 3 rows

tenant-02 and tenant-03 come from our template set; the rest are written for this page. ten-entry first ran to 160 characters ("between 10am and noon… Reply with questions."), leaving room for only an 8-letter name; "Christopher" would push it into 2 SMS segments. Trimming it to "10am-noon" bought 9 characters. The SMS character limit page explains why 160 is the line.

The sequence for a planned shutoff: ten-water (24–48 hours ahead) → a morning-of repeat if you like → ten-done when it's back. For an emergency, ten-emerg with a "next update by" time, then ten-done. All three statutes above allow entry without the usual notice in an emergency.

Notices about a tenant's own building, sent to the number they gave you, are informational texts, but CTIA still counts anyone texting for a business, including a landlord on a personal phone, as a business ("Non-Consumer") sender. Two rules of thumb:

Recurring texts, such as monthly rent reminders, get "Reply STOP to opt out." If a tenant opts out, the FCC's 24-24 order says to honor it within 10 business days. The Federal Register lists 25 Nov 2026 as the effective date of FCC 26-67, which changes how senders may name an opt-out method.
Opting out of texts isn't opting out of notice. A tenant who replies STOP still gets every notice the lease and state require, by paper or email.

Only text numbers that came from the tenant: no bought lists, no prior owner's spreadsheet of past tenants. The FCC and CTIA details are on texting customers: consent and opt-out basics.

Edge cases

Why replies sometimes go to everyone. If tenants end up in one message, Messages picks the group type. In a group iMessage or group MMS, Apple says everyone sees all responses, so one complaint reaches the whole building; why replies to your group text go to everyone covers the cause.
Mixed iPhone and Android tenants. iMessage needs every recipient on Apple devices; anyone else gets SMS, MMS or RCS through their carrier, where the 160-character count applies.
A tenant says they never got it. Apple's "Screen Unknown Senders" puts texts from unsaved numbers in a separate list, without a notification.
Carrier filtering. CTIA says providers "may block or filter message traffic" to stop unwanted messages. Plain notices with no shortened links are least likely to look like spam.

New management took over

When new management takes over, the first text should say who you are, who you replaced, how to reach you and that a written notice follows. "Hi {firstName}, this is Dana Cole, the new manager at Elm Court from Dec 1 (taking over from Oak PM). Questions: 555-0100. Formal notice is on your door."

Questions people ask

What's the best app or service to group text all my tenants?

Don't group text them; send one text per tenant so nobody sees the others' numbers or replies. Property-management software does this from a business number. From your own iPhone, an app that opens Messages for each tenant, like Batchrunner, does it with you tapping Send. In Batchrunner 2.2, include {firstName} to open one conversation per person; without a merge token, a batch can open as a group.

Is there an iPhone app to send several tenants the same information?

Yes. Write one notice with each tenant's first name in it and send it to each tenant separately. Batchrunner opens Messages per tenant from your own number; you tap Send for each. In Batchrunner 2.2, include {firstName} to open one conversation per person; without a merge token, a batch can open as a group. Keep paper or email notice for anything your lease or state requires.

How do I send a text to multiple people without showing everyone's info?

Send it to one person at a time. A message with several people in To becomes a group, and in a group iMessage or group MMS everyone sees the others and every reply. One conversation per tenant keeps each number private.

How do I send a group text without reply-all on iPhone?

Only a separate text per person reliably avoids it. Apple says replies in a group SMS come back privately, but in a group iMessage or group MMS everyone sees all responses, and Messages picks the type, not you.