Overview
Once you have all your properties and units set up in DoorLoop, the next step is to add your leases to those properties and units. These can be existing leases, leases about to start, or leases set to begin in the far future. In either case, you will need to add new leases to get started with DoorLoop.
What is a lease?
A lease in DoorLoop connects one or more tenants to a rental unit and is where all rent charges, fees, deposits, and payments live. Creating a lease through the New Lease Wizard walks you through each piece in order, so nothing is missed before the lease goes active.
Walkthrough Video
Create a New Lease Walkthrough Video Link.
Note: Only one active lease can exist on a unit at any given time. If your new lease overlaps with an existing one, update the existing lease's end date first.
The Steps
Step 1 - Begin the New Lease Wizard
To create a new lease, click the Create New button at the top of the main menu. Then under the Leasing section, click Lease. This will begin the New Lease wizard.
Step 2 - Select the Property, Unit, and Terms
In the New Lease wizard, on the Overview step, select the Property this lease will be associated with. Then select the Unit that the tenant will be leasing. (If you don’t see any properties yet, you’ll need to create some. Follow in instructions here: Add a New Property.)
Next, define the lease type. 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 tell you that you need to update the existing lease's end date to proceed.
To fix this:
Click the Edit Existing Lease to the right of the error message.
On the lease settings window, adjust the End Date so it does not overlap with your new lease's dates. Also, make sure Month-to-Month and Rollover to Month-to-Month is turned off on the existing lease.
There can only exist one lease on one unit at any given point in time. You cannot have overlapping lease terms for the same unit.
Step 3 - Add Tenants to the Lease
Next, we need to add tenants to the lease. Click the Add Tenant button, where you'll have two options:
If you already have Prospects or existing Tenants entered into DoorLoop, choose them from the list of available tenants and prospects. You can also use the search bar to narrow down the selection.
If the tenants you want to enter are new and not on the list, click the New Tenant button at the top right 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 Contact Info, either a primary email and/or mobile phone number.)
If you need to add additional tenants to this lease (multi-tenant lease), click the Add Tenant button again and repeat the steps above.
Now that you have added all the tenants for this lease, the next step is to set their Tenant Portal access, Renters Insurance requirements, and if you want to send them a welcome message via Text Messaging (if you have SMS on the Communications Center set up). You can toggle these on or off and can always go back and turn them on or off later.
Click Next to continue.
Tip: Be sure to toggle off the "Welcome Message" option when creating a new lease if you do not want to send the new tenant a welcome message with your SMS number information.
Step 4 - Add the Recurring Rent Charges
Now we need to add rent details to the lease. Enter the following information:
First Rent Date - This is the starting date of when you want rent to post each month. This should be when the first full amount of rent will be posted, usually on the 1st of the month.
If the start of the rent is different from the start date of the lease, you will be prompted to prorate the rent charge and create a one-time charge.
Frequency - This is how often the charge for rent will occur.
Amount - Enter the Amount of the rent charged each month.
Add Recurring Charge - If you have other recurring charges you want to include, select Add Recurring Charge, 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 Future 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.
Click Next to continue.
Step 5 - Add Any Signing & Move-in Fees
If you have any additional charges collected before or at move-in, such as security deposits, pet fees, etc., select Yes for Move-in Fees. Enter the following information:
Charge Date - Enter when the charge is due
What is this for - Select the account category that this charge is for (example: security deposit)
Add Description - (Optional) what is this charge for
Amount - Enter the amount of the charge
You can also enter other line item charges by clicking Add Another Move-in Fee.
Click Next to continue.
Note: When your tenant pays for these charges, if they are liability categories, 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 - Select a Late Fees Policy
For Late Fees, select whether or not you will be charging late fees on the lease. If you select Yes, select the existing late fee policy on the property, or specify and create a custom late fee policy for this lease.
Click Next to continue.
Note: 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 - Review the Lease Information
Review the terms of the lease. Double check to make sure everything looks correct with the lease. If not, click Edit next to the section that is incorrect so they can be corrected.
Click Save Lease will save this is a Draft Lease, which you will be able to find later under Leasing > Draft Leases.
Step 8 - Request Electronic Signatures or Add Existing Lease Agreements
Note: The option for requesting signatures electronically or managing signatures outside of DoorLoop will not be available as part of the create a new lease wizard if the lease start date is a date set in the past. If you need to send out an Electronic Signature Request for the lease that starts in the past, you'll need to do it from Files & Agreements > Signature Requests.
The final step is to Request Electronic Signatures for your lease agreements or manage those lease agreements outside of DoorLoop. If you already have lease agreements signed, you also have the option to upload those.
There will be three options you can choose from once your lease has been saved as a draft:
Request signature electronically via DoorLoop - Choose this option to begin the Electronic Signature Request wizard to have your lease agreements signed electronically by the tenant and all required parties. If you choose this option, follow the instructions here: Request Electronic Signatures After Creating a New Lease.
Manage signatures outside of DoorLoop - Choose this option if you would prefer to handle your lease agreements outside of DoorLoop. This will end the flow and keep the lease as a draft. Once all your lease agreement has been signed, be sure to attach the agreement to the lease and activate the lease later.
Already signed? - If this is currently an existing, active lease, click the Already Signed button and upload a copy of your signed lease for secure storage. This will make the lease active on DoorLoop.
Click Continue to Finish.
Once your lease is active, it's ready to use — rent charges will post automatically based on the schedule you set, and your tenant can log into their portal to make payments.
Note: Once a lease has been set to active status, it cannot be converted back into draft status. If you need to request electronic signatures and forgot to do so when making the lease active, your best course of action would be to delete the lease and start over, allowing you to choose the "Request signature electronically via DoorLoop" when recreating the lease again.
Tip: Once a lease is set to active, regardless if it's a current or future-dated lease, the tenant will be able to log into their tenant portal and begin making payments. This includes tenants who haven't moved in yet and need to pay their security deposits.