Overview
You may already have many tenants and leases, or you may just be starting your property management journey. In either case, you will need to add new leases to get started with DoorLoop.
What is a lease?
A lease connects your tenants to the units they rent and records their charges, payments, and deposits. To keep things simple, DoorLoop allows you to create a lease and add a tenant at the same time.
The Steps
Add a new lease
Step 1 - Begin the New Lease Wizard
To create a new lease, click Leasing on the main menu. Then click either Active Leases.
Click on the + New Lease button in the upper right corner.
Step 2 - Select the Property, Unit, and Terms
On the Overview step, select the Property this lease will be linked to. (If you don’t see any properties yet, you’ll need to create some. Follow our Property Creation Wizard here.)
After selecting the Property, select the Unit this lease is for.
Next, select the Lease Terms. Decide whether this lease is a Fixed Term or Month-to-Month lease and enter the dates of the term. (If this is an existing lease, you can enter a start date in the past.)
Fixed Term leases require a start and end date whereas a Month-to-Month lease only requires a start date.
If you want your fixed term lease to continue posting charges after the lease has expired, turn on rollover to month-to-month. Your lease will still have an expiration date.
Click Next to continue.
Note: If you already have an active lease set on this unit that overlaps with this new lease's terms, a warning will pop up stating this. It will also tell you that you need to fix the start and/or end dates of the existing lease or change the dates for the new lease, depending on which is correct.
Step 3 - Add Tenants
Next we need to add tenants. Click the + Add Tenant button.
If you already have Prospects or Tenants entered into DoorLoop, choose them from the list of available tenants and prospects. You can use the search bar to narrow down the selection.
If they are new and not entered, click the + New Tenant button to create a new tenant. (Enter as much information for the tenant as you’d like, but you will need to enter either a First Name and Last Name combination or Company name. You will also have to enter in the Portal Login Info, either an email address and/or mobile phone number.)
When back on the main tenants page, if you need to add additional tenants to this lease (multi-tenant lease), click the + Add Tenant button and repeat the steps above.
When you have added all the tenants for this lease, the next step is to set their Tenant Portal access and Renters Insurance requirements.
Tip: You can add more than one tenant on a lease while creating the lease, especially if this is a lease is a multi-tenant lease. Don't worry if you don't add them all though as you can add more tenants to the lease after its creation.
Step 4 - Rent Charges
Now we need to add details about the rent - the recurring rent charges, deposits, and credits needed to set up and run the lease.
Enter the details of the Rent Charges. This creates a recurring rent charge which automatically adds charges to the lease on a set schedule. You can also add multiple recurring charges and even set up future rent schedules.
The First Rent Date is automatically populated based on the lease start date. You can change this manually if the start date to collect rent is different.
Note that if the start of the rent is different from the start date of the lease, then you are also prompted to prorate the rent charge (create a one-time charge which you can leverage to be a different account if needed.)Select the Frequency of how often the charge for rent will occur.
Enter the Amount of the rent charge.
If you have other recurring charges you want to include, select Show Advanced Options and from here you can click + Add Another Charge to add additional charges as separate line items to the recurring rent schedule, such as pet rent or parking.
It is recommended that if you have other recurring charges that occur at the same frequency, you should add them to the recurring rent charge as additional line items.
(Optional) You can schedule a Rent Increase by clicking on Schedule Rent Increase. This creates a future recurring rent charge that will replace the previous recurring rent schedule as of the start date you choose. You can use this to set up yearly rent increases for a multi-year lease for instance.
Step 5 - Security Deposit
If you charge and hold one or more deposits on your lease, select Yes for Security Deposit. Enter the Amount and Deposit Receive Date you will be collecting for the deposit. You can also click Show Advanced Options to enter other line item charges by clicking + Add Another Charge.
Note: When your tenant pays for these charges, the payment creates a deposit on the lease's Deposits tab. If this is an existing lease and you've already collected the deposit, read this page on how to record a past deposit that you have already collected.
Step 6 - Late Fees
For Late Fees, select whether or not you will be charging late fees on the lease.
Always make sure your late fee policy is the same as in your actual lease agreement and that it is compliant with your state and local laws. You can select between your default property late fee policy or specify your own for this lease. (Learn more about automatic late fees.) If required, a lease can have multiple late fee schedules.
Step 7 - Status
If this lease is currently active, click the Signed button and upload a copy of your signed lease for secure storage if you’d like.
If this lease is not yet active, click Not Signed. This brings up e-Signature options. You will have the choice to Save as Draft or Send eSignature.
Save as Draft will save this Lease as a Draft that you can go back to later to complete it. Clicking Send eSignature will create the lease as a draft and take you to the eSignature Wizard. (Learn how to Create eSignature Templates using this article.)
Clicking Finish will end the Lease Creation process.
Next Steps
View and edit your leases by going to Leasing and selecting Active Leases to see your current leases. To view and update leases you created in a draft status, choose Draft Leases.
At the end of a lease, use this article and learn how to end the lease once it's over, Ending a Lease. If your tenant's want to renew the lease, How to Renew a Lease.