Overview
Creating a lease in DoorLoop is a simple process when you only have to account for one tenant and one unit. However, what happens if a tenant wants to rent multiple units at once? This is common for commercial properties where some tenants rent multiple spaces or units in a building or mall for instance. Not to worry because DoorLoop makes this process simple within the system.
The Steps
Step 1 - Begin the New Lease wizard
To set up a multi-unit commercial lease, click Leasing on the main menu and then click either Active Leases or Draft Leases.
(Alternatively, you can also create new leases from the Leases tabs of your properties and units.)
Click on the + New Lease button at the upper right of the display.
Step 2 - Choose the property and set up the lease terms
In the Overview step, select the Property this lease will be for in the drop-down menu. (If you don’t see any properties yet, you’ll need to create some. Follow our New Property wizard here.)
After selecting the Property, select the Unit this lease is for. If there are multiple Units on the property that need to be rented, you can select them from the pull-down menu. (This only works for commercial properties)
The Lease Terms section will appear. From here, select whether this lease is Fixed Term or Month-to-Month, and enter the dates. (If this is an existing lease, you can enter a start date in the past.)
Click Next to continue.
Lease Terms
Fixed Term leases: enter start and end dates for the lease using either the calendar icon or typing in a date in MMDDYYYY format.
Month-to-Month leases only require a start date. These leases never expire on their own and only end if you edit the terms or end the lease.
Step 3 - Add your tenants
The next step in the Lease process is to add your tenants to the lease. Click the + Add Tenant button.
If you already have Prospects or Tenants entered into DoorLoop, choose them from the available tenants and prospects list. If not, click the green + New Tenant button to create a new tenant. Enter as much information for the tenant as you’d like, but only a First Name and Last Name combination or Company name is required. You will also need to enter contact information. Click Save when you are finished.
To add additional tenants to this lease, click the + Add Tenant button and repeat the steps above.
When you’ve added all the tenants for this lease, the next step is to set their Tenant Portal access and whether or not you require Renters Insurance.
Tenant Portal: If toggled on, DoorLoop will send an email and text invite to the tenants using the email address or phone number you entered in their contact info. If you did not enter an email address or phone number, no invite is sent.
No worries if you don’t have an email address for your tenant or you aren’t ready to turn on tenant portal access yet—you can always turn it on later!
Learn more about the tenant portal and how your tenants can use it to make online payments and submit requests here.
Renters Insurance: This option displays a banner in your tenant's portal telling them that they are required to have renters insurance. Allowing tenants to upload their renter's insurance is currently controlled in your tenant portal settings.
Step 4 - Set up rent charges
This sets up a recurring rent charge, which automatically posts charges to the Transactions tab of the lease on a set schedule. You can add multiple recurring charges and even set up future rent schedules.
The First Rent Date is automatically populated based on the lease start date. If the start date to collect rent is different, you can change this manually.
(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.)
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.
(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 - Set up lease deposits
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.
Step 6 - Late Fees
Always ensure your late fee policy is the same as in your actual lease agreement and that it complies with your state and local laws. You can select between your default property's late fee policy or specify your own for this lease. If required, a lease can have multiple late fee schedules.
Step 7 - Lease 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 New Lease wizard.
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.