Overview
A recurring rent charge is a rent schedule. It automatically adds rent to a tenant’s lease on the dates and frequency you choose, so you don’t have to post rent manually. It shows as the rent amount on your Rent Roll report and as the “next rent” charge on the tenant’s Tenant Portal.
Most leases get their first rent schedule when you create the lease. To change what the tenant pays from a specific date onward, you add a new rent schedule. The new schedule takes over on its start date, and the current one ends automatically.
A recurring rent charge is different from a regular recurring charge. A recurring rent charge covers the rent, and only one is active at a time. A recurring charge covers other periodic costs that are billed separately, like utilities or association fees, and can have its own end date. See A Recurring Rent Charge vs. a Recurring Charge for a full comparison.
When to Add a New Rent Schedule
Add a new rent schedule when the rent charge needs to change from a specific date onward. For example:
A rent increase: the tenant’s rent goes from $1,500 to $1,600 starting June 1.
A new fee included in the rent charge: the tenant adds a pet, and $50 pet rent is included in the monthly rent charge starting June 1.
Important: A new rent schedule replaces the current one. It doesn’t add to it. Include everything the tenant should pay in the new schedule, such as the base rent plus any fees, using Add Line Item for each one.
Tip: If you’re renewing the lease, you can schedule the rent increase as part of creating a lease renewal instead.
The Steps
To create a new recurring rent charge, click on Leasing > Leases on the main menu.
Find and click on the lease you want to add a new recurring rent charge for.
Click on the Rent tab and then the Recurring Rent button.
On the Recurring Rent window, enter the required information:
Start date: Set the date you want the recurring rent charge to begin. (If you have an existing recurring rent charge, it will end and the new charge will begin as of this date.)
Frequency: Set how often you want the charge to occur on the lease. (For example, a monthly recurring rent charge will be posted every month on the same day of the month as the start date.)
Account: Choose the revenue account for the charge (likely Rent).
Description: Enter an optional explanation for the charge. (What you enter here is what the tenant will see on their lease ledger in the tenant portal. If you leave it blank, the tenant will just see the word “Charge.” )
Amount: Enter the amount for the recurring rent charge.
Add Line Item: Use this link to add additional charge items if needed. (What you add as additional line item charges will also show up on your Rent Roll report as part of the amount in the Rent column.)
Add memo: Add an optional note for your reference when reviewing the charge later. (You will also see this in the “Memo” column in relevant reports.)
Add any relevant files (optional) and click Create.
This new recurring rent charge will begin adding charges to the Transactions tab of the lease when it's scheduled to start. You can add as many future recurring rent charges as you need, and edit them later if necessary.
Note: You can schedule multiple recurring rent charges for the future, but only one will be active at any given time. You don't need to set an expiration date on any of them — the system handles that automatically when the next one begins.
Note: If you create a recurring rent charge that starts on today's date, you will need to wait a few hours before the actual rent charge will post.
Tip: It's recommended to inform tenants of rent increases so they can adjust any auto-pays to the new amount. Use the Announcement feature or send an SMS Message via the Communications Center.