One of the most harrowing experiences of my relatively charmed life occurred over the last two months as I sought out a residential rental in Marin.
In all seriousness, I’m safe and sound now, but still not entirely over the trauma. And I’m not alone.
I checked in with other renters, landlords and a property management firm in our exclusive county. All agree that renting presents significant challenges for both tenants and owners. The biggest issue, of course, is a shortage of housing, affordable or otherwise.
Marin has a low apartment vacancy rate of 4.3%, according to the Q2 2025 CoStar Survey, an analytics report by a real estate data firm. Compare that figure to the 7% national vacancy rate for the same period, as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau, and the tight local rental market comes into focus.
Consider these stats to put it in better perspective: Marin has approximately 111,565 housing units for its 256,400 residents, with about one-third of the county’s population renting their homes. Zillow, a popular online real estate marketplace, currently has just 766 available residential rentals. Sure, the site doesn’t list every rental, but let’s just say Zillow’s tally indicates that it’s darn competitive out there.
My search began when I sold my little condo with a jarringly fast one-week close. I immediately perused postings on the large rental websites, including Zillow, Apartments.com and Craigslist. My list narrowed from the git-go because not all landlords accept dogs.
Admittedly, I started off with strict and in hindsight too many standards. Charming. Natural light flooding in. Ample closets. Laundry. Perhaps a view or garden. Preferably an ADU or a lovely Victorian divided into a few units.
This set of criteria couldn’t be met in a week, sending me to bunk on a friend’s sofa. Treating the search like a job, I checked the listings at least daily. I found a lovely ADU in San Anselmo where the landlord allowed dogs but didn’t permit poop bags in the outside garbage can. Perplexed about the disposal process, I moved on.
Reviewing the lease for a Ross cottage, I discovered that I was limited to one overnight guest for two nights in a six-month period. Forget about those weekend visits with my SoCal sister or bestie from Austin.
Then there were the funky units. One possessed just a hot plate and dorm fridge in the kitchen, while another had slanted floors that kept me off-balance. The few places that seemed ideal were rented before I could fill out the applications.
To gain some insight on why I kept failing to find an inviting place to hang my hat, I caught up with Matt Borries, VP of business development for Prandi Property Management, Marin’s largest property management company.
“Owners who live on the property have a vision of the type of renter they’re seeking,” Borries said. “They want this perfect living situation with the perfect person. It can be quirky because they may not know the rental laws and want to have a lot of control.”
Borries advises renters to be aware if they’re dealing directly with an owner who lives on site or a mom-and-pop landlord. They should ask the right questions and carefully review the lease to ensure it hasn’t departed too far from a boilerplate agreement.
Professionally managed properties—from a $1,700 San Rafael studio apartment to a $17,000 Mill Valley home—place an intermediary between the tenant and owner, benefiting all parties. Most of Prandi’s clients don’t make a career of owning rentals; rather, they belong to the “accidental landlord” category. They need to leave their home but aren’t yet prepared to sell.
This category includes the person relocating for a job, but concerned that if all doesn’t go as planned, they won’t be able to buy back into Marin’s ever-appreciating real estate market. Then there’s the couple who has owned their home for 40 years, needs to move into assisted living and wants to avoid a huge capital gains tax.
As a prospective tenant, dealing with a reputable property management company removes many worries, such as becoming a scam victim. Joan, a Mill Valley resident using only her first name, has a 24-year-old son who almost fell for a con by a man claiming to own a one-bedroom Marin apartment renting for $2,000 a month. After obtaining personal information from the young man, including ID, credit score and employment background, he then required a signed lease and security deposit to show the apartment prior to an upcoming open house.
“All this seemed like a big red flag,” Joan said. “The apartment was listed on Apartments.com. I notified them, and they had it taken down from their site within 24 hours.”
Renters are essentially on their own, says Borries. Prandi’s leasing agents will show a potential tenant properties in their portfolio. But unlike a realtor representing a home buyer, renters’ agents don’t exist in Marin.
Landlords also have a difficult time. A woman we’ll call Tammy is trying to rent out a bedroom and shared bath in her Novato home, where she also lives. Young people often share homes to keep expenses low, yet it has also become commonplace among mature adults in high-priced real estate markets.
Tammy hasn’t had much luck. A man getting divorced seemed appropriate, until his wife insisted that he take the two dogs with him to Tammy’s home with a no-pet policy. Students typically can’t afford the $1,200 rent, and professionals would rather pay more to have their own bathroom. Currently, Tammy is considering renting to a single dad who works at a nearby grocery store.
“I do want to help the local workers and make it possible for them to reside close to their work,” Tammy said. “So let’s see how that goes.”
Borries offers advice for both landlords and tenants to help the process run more smoothly. For example, landlords should have the roof and furnace inspected and replace the 20-year-old carpet.
“I’m not telling them to renovate their home, but they’ve got to bring it up to speed to attract a quality tenant and more value,” he said.
Suggestions for renters include starting the search 60 days ahead of when they need a new place. Cut back on the number of must haves and remain flexible. Set up alerts on rental websites for units coming on the market that meet their top criteria. And expect a one- to three-week overlap in paying rent because it’s hard to line up the last day of a current rental with the first day of a new lease.
Borries is spot on, at least in my situation. After a disappointing and exhaustive eight-week hunt for unique and cozy quarters, the cookie-cutter, corporate-owned apartment complexes looked more attractive. I’m living in one now.
Finding a rental is like that game of musical chairs where people outnumber seats. Keep moving and grab the empty spot before someone else does. And don’t forget to read the fine print.
