Quick answer: In Stockton in 2026, a full-service property manager charges somewhere between 6% and 10% of the monthly rent, plus a one-time placement fee of half a month to a full month's rent when a new tenant moves in. On a $2,100 house that is $126 to $210 a month before any add-ons. We charge 7% and a half-month placement, and we own rentals here, so this is written from both sides of the invoice.
Updated September 2026. I run SUM Property Management out of Stockton, and most of what we manage is here in the city, some of it ours. Owners call us most weeks to ask what property management should cost here, usually after getting two quotes that look nothing alike. This is the answer I give them on the phone, with the numbers written down.
Key Takeaways
- The monthly fee is the smallest part of the decision. On a $2,100 house, 7% and 9% are $42 a month apart. A single avoidable vacancy month costs $2,100.
- The placement fee and the add-ons are where quotes really differ. Half a month versus a full month at placement is $1,050 on that same house, every turnover.
- Ask for the whole fee schedule in writing, including the optional items. If a manager will not put it on one page, that tells you something.
What do Stockton property managers charge per month?
Most full-service managers in Stockton and the rest of San Joaquin County charge a percentage of the rent, and the range I see on contracts owners bring us is 6% to 10%. The national flat-fee companies that advertise here quote roughly $100 to $160 a month regardless of rent. We charge 7% of whatever we collect, which on the median single-family house on our Stockton book, about $2,100 a month, works out to $147.
Two details matter more than the percentage. First, "of rent collected" versus "of rent due". If the fee is charged on rent due, you pay it during a vacancy or while a tenant is not paying. Ours is on collected rent, so an empty month costs you nothing in management fees. Second, whether the percentage applies to the whole rent when part of it comes from a housing authority. Ours does, and we do not charge extra for the paperwork, which matters in Stockton, where a good share of the leases we manage are Housing Authority of San Joaquin County voucher tenancies.
What is the tenant placement fee, and what should it include?
This is the one-time charge when a manager finds and signs a new tenant. In Stockton it runs from half of one month's rent up to a full month, and a few companies charge more than a month. It should cover photos, the listing on Zillow, Apartments.com, Redfin and the other syndicated sites, showings, screening, and the lease itself. If any of those are billed separately on top of a placement fee, ask why.
We charge 50% of one month's rent and it includes all of that. We also do not charge it again when the same tenant renews. Some contracts have a renewal fee of $100 to $300 every year the tenant stays, which is a strange thing to be charged for, since a tenant who stays is the best outcome you can have.
Which add-on fees actually change the total?
These are the ones that turn an 8% quote into something more expensive than a 10% one. Not every company charges all of them, but you should ask about each by name.
- Setup or onboarding fee. $250 to $500 to take the property on. We do not charge one.
- Lease renewal fee. $100 to $300 a year, as above. We do not charge one.
- Maintenance mark-up. 10% to 20% added to every contractor invoice. On a $1,200 year of repairs that is $120 to $240 you will not see on a fee page. Ask how repairs are billed and whether the manager's own crew is involved.
- Inspection fees. $50 to $150 a visit. We do not charge for inspections.
- Cancellation or early-termination fee. Sometimes a flat amount, sometimes months of fees. We do not charge one. You can leave on notice.
We do have optional items, and they are on the schedule you sign rather than discovered on a statement. Preparing and serving a legal notice, for example a rent-increase notice or a 3-day notice to pay or quit, is a flat $85. A contract that says "other services quoted on request" is asking you to sign before you know the price.
What does a year actually cost? A worked example
Take a three-bedroom in Lincoln Village renting for $2,100, with one tenant turnover in the year and $1,200 of repairs. The "typical" column below is built from the middle of the ranges above, not from any particular company.
| Line item | Typical Stockton quote | SUM |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly management, 12 months | 9% = $2,268 | 7% = $1,764 |
| Tenant placement, once | 75% of a month = $1,575 | 50% of a month = $1,050 |
| Setup fee | $300 | $0 |
| Lease renewal fee | $0 in a turnover year | $0 |
| Mark-up on $1,200 of repairs | 15% = $180 | $0 |
| Year one | $4,323 | $2,814 |
In a year with no turnover the gap narrows to the monthly fee and the mark-up, about $700. The point is not that every other manager costs $4,300. It is that the placement fee and the add-ons move the total far more than the headline percentage, so compare the whole year, not the first number on the website.
What is different about Stockton?
A few things that affect what you will spend, beyond the fee schedule.
The housing stock is old. A lot of central, east and south Stockton was built before 1960. Sewer laterals, roofs, galvanized plumbing and old panels come up, and a manager who marks up repairs earns more the older your house is. On an older house the maintenance billing terms matter more than the management percentage.
City of Stockton utilities stay in the owner's name. Water, sewer and garbage are billed to the property, not the tenant. Your manager should be paying them, tracking them per building, and billing the tenant's share back to the tenant ledger, not leaving that to you.
Section 8 is a large part of the market. The Housing Authority of San Joaquin County inspects before move-in and again each year, and the rent has to pass its reasonableness test. A manager who has not done this will learn on your property.
AB 1482 caps most increases. On a house or unit covered by the state rent cap, the annual increase is limited to 5% plus the local CPI change, never more than 10%, with 30 days' notice under 10%. Some single-family homes owned by individuals are exempt if the lease says so. Your manager should be telling you which applies to each property, not guessing.
What SUM charges in Stockton
Seven percent of rent collected, 50% of one month's rent when we place a tenant, and nothing for setup, renewals, inspections or leaving. Optional items like the $85 notice fee are on the fee schedule before you sign. We are landlord-owned and licensed under CA DRE Broker #01004922, and the full description of what the fee covers is on our Stockton property management page.
If you are comparing quotes right now, call or text (209) 299-2100, or email us. Bring the other quotes. We will go through them line by line, and if one of them is genuinely a better fit for your property, we will say so. For the statewide picture, our note on typical California property management fees covers the same ground for the rest of the state, and ten questions to ask a Central Valley property manager is the list we would use ourselves.
Five questions to ask before you sign with anyone
- Is the monthly fee charged on rent collected or rent due?
- What exactly is inside the placement fee, and is anything charged at renewal?
- How are repairs billed? Is there a mark-up, and who does the work?
- Is there a setup fee, an inspection fee, or a fee to leave?
- Can I have the full fee schedule, optional items included, on one page?
Any manager worth hiring will answer all five without hesitating. If the answers come back vague, the total will too.