Find out how to onboard a new tenant for your rental property

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Customer satisfaction is key to any business, and property management isn't any different. 

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Tenant onboarding is your first chance to make a great impression with a new tenant and demonstrate that you are a professional. Good communication is key and if you have a good relationship with your tenant from the get go, it increases the likelihood that they will care for your property and help you avoid turnovers.

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The onboarding process starts from the moment a prospective tenant submits an application and ends when they move into the property.

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The Application Process

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You’ve placed your property ad, done your inspections and the applications are rolling in. In this market it’s likely you may have a few to choose from. Dealing with applicants can take time but it’s an important part of the process in selecting the right tenant. 

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It’s important you get back to all applicants so that they know where they stand instead of leaving them hanging. They have taken the time to apply for your property so even if they’re not suitable you should take the time to write back with the outcome. 

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If you’re using RentBetter to manage your property, all your applications will sit in one place to enable you to easily organise and manage them. The applications are industry standard and are easily completed online by prospective tenants. 

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From the applications dashboard you will be able to take action, you can conduct tenant checks and accept or reject applications. 

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The simplicity of online rental application forms means you receive a faster response and best of all, there are no papers to sort through and lose.

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Tenant Screening

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Screening your tenants is one of the most important parts on the process. RentBetter offers access to the National Tenancy Database (NTD), an industry leading solution from Equifax to help you screen your tenants. Digital tenant checks are $25 per tenant or $18 if you’re a RentBetter customer. 

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The NTD is the most extensive database of tenant information in Australia. All you’ll need are your prospective tenant’s basic details, current address and one form of ID (e.g. Driver Licence Number and State OR Passport Number and Country). Once you have entered in the details you’ll receive your report in minutes - it’s quick, easy and will help to save you from any headaches down the road. 

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It’s important to also ensure you check references from previous landlords or agencies in addition to doing a formal check on the NTD as well as confirming their employment and income.

The Lease Agreement

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If your selected tenant has passed the screening process, then it means it's now time to confirm a move in date and lock things in with the Lease Agreement and Bond.

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The key to a successful landlord-tenant relationship is a clear understanding of terms, expectations, and responsibilities - this is where the Lease Agreement comes into play. It’s important to have these terms written out so everyone knows where they stand. To ensure that everyone understands the lease and you answer any questions, you should give the tenant time to go over the lease and then either sign it in person or send for electronic signature.

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On RentBetter we’ve made it simple to set up your tenant and lease within minutes. Once your tenant has been invited to the platform and is set up, they will be able to view and sign their lease, access their rental payment schedule and more.

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To send your Lease Agreement all you need is your tenant’s details and the lease terms to enable you to fill in the online agreement. You can then click a button to send a copy directly to your tenant where you can both digitally sign. Once signed it will sit in your documents section for you to refer to at any time. 

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If you’re not using RentBetter, you can simply download a copy of your states standard template for a residential Lease Agreement online and send this directly to your tenant. 

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Collecting the Bond 

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You should collect the Bond and any upfront rental payments prior to your tenant moving in. This should be communicated clearly to your tenant via the Lease Agreement as well as in a welcome email. 

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It’s important to note that you can't just keep the bond money in the bank. You need to lodge the bond with the relevant board or authority which is usually able to be done online. 

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If you’d like to find out more about lodging your bond, you can read more in our article here. 

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Through RentBetter, you can collect rental bond directly from your tenant based on our recommendations according to the rules of your state. Your tenant will be notified and will receive the bond details on their RentBetter dashboard.

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Your tenant will be able to pay their bond via online and their payment status will be shown on your dashboard. You can also upload any bond-related documents for your personal record so that everything is stored securely together. 

The Condition Report

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It’s important to record the condition of your property before tenants move in through a Condition Report. The Condition Report ensures that there is a clear understanding between you and your tenant on the state of the property and record any existing damage and conditions so that theres no confusion when it comes time to move out and who’s responsible for what. 

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The tenants will have the opportunity to complete their side of the Condition Report when they move in and they’ll be able to either agree or disagree with the comments made in their report. 

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If you’re using RentBetter to manage your property there here are two ways that you can do your Condition Report: 

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1. by completing a digital condition report inside the platform, or
2. by hiring a professional to conduct an in-person inspection for you

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To book an inspection for a Condition Report - Click here.

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Setting up Rental Payments

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Getting your tenant set up for their Rental payments is important to ensuring their success. You might like to do this through direct transfer and get your tenants to set up a schedule to ensure things run on time and aren't missed.

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RentBetter gives you more control over rental payments to ensure you get paid on time, every time. Your tenants can pay rent using a credit card or their bank account and the system will ensure payments run on schedule as per your lease agreement.

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Payments are tracked, the ledger is automatically updated, and receipts are sent to you and your tenant. RentBetter will send automatic alerts and notifications to both you and your tenant. It’s peace of mind to ensure nothing is missed and all payments are received on time.

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Locked and Loaded

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Everything is secured and locked in, you’ve communicated all the steps above clearly to your tenant, everything's been signed off and now it’s time for them to officially move in. If you’ve done all of the above steps, you’re well on your way to success. 

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You should ensure that the keys are picked up or delivered to your tenants once the bond payment has come through. You would have communicated via the Lease Agreement or via documentation such as email on how many keys are being provided and if there are any rules around loss or extra keys being copied. 

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You should remain accessible to your tenants to enable them to communicate with you throughout the tenancy but this is especially important in the beginning of a new tenancy as there are sometimes ‘teething’ issues that need to be addressed. 

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Make your self-management journey super efficient and stress-free. 

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To summarise the key takeaways for successful tenant onboarding: 

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• Online Application submission where a good property management system (like RentBetter) saves you time
• Reviewing the application and verifying all information and using Tenant Checks
• Explaining and signing the lease
• You and and the tenant both inspect the property and agree in writing on its condition
• Bond collection and any early upfront rent
• Keys presented to your new tenant with any rules
• Conduct follow-ups to answer questions for a smoother move-in and tenancy

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These key tenant onboarding steps when followed correctly will ensure a seamless experience for the start of your tenancy. And the best bit is that they can all be done well from a remote environment using technology like RentBetter.

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You can be an excellent landlord at any time and anywhere!

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