Real Estate Department

• Each state has its own real estate department or agency, which issues real estate licenses and regulates the industry. Real estate laws vary by state, including rules requiring property management. Records required by one state's real estate department, might be different in another state.
  
  

Time Limits

• How long a licensed real estate agent needs to keep records on rental properties, to comply with laws can vary by state. For example, in some states property managers are required to keep records for a year. This would be for a year after an owner cancels a property management contract, or for tenant records, a year after the tenant moves out of the property. Yet, your real estate department's time requirement for keeping records only applies to records they can request during the timeframe. It does not mean you should destroy rental record required by the IRS.
  
  

Internal Revenue Service

• The IRS recommends taxpayers keep tax records for a minimum of three years. These are documents supporting your tax filing, such as credit card receipts, invoices, bill statements, canceled checks, proof of payment and other documentation. Yet, the IRS recommends keeping some records longer than three years, such as information pertaining to rental property.
  
  

Rental Property Records

• According to the IRS the length of time to keep rental property records depends on the "action, expense or event" recorded by the document. Time limits vary regarding when you can amend a tax return. In some situations, it is advisable to keep records for up to seven years after a return. For assets, like rental property, don't keep the records a specific number of years after filing an annual tax form, but after disposing of the property in a taxable disposition.