Set Up a Tenancy

Overview

To set up a tenancy, click Properties, open the property and click Set Up Tenancy, then choose Send offer or Set up a tenancy agreement. Work through the sections in the builder, then Review & send to send it to the tenants for signing.

Choose how to start
1
Open Set Up Tenancy
From the left menu, click Properties, open the property and click Set Up Tenancy. Anything already underway for this property is listed first, with View offer or Resume to pick it back up.
2
Pick one
Under Start something new there are two ways to go.

Send offer

Gets a yes on the key terms before you build anything. The tenant accepts, asks for a change or declines from an email link, and needs no Keyhook account. Use it when the terms are still being agreed. See Tenancy Offers.

Set up a tenancy agreement

Builds the full agreement and sends it out for signing. Use it when the terms are settled, or once an offer has been accepted.
Choose new or existing
1
Choose new or existing
At the top of the builder, pick one.

New tenancy

Keyhook generates the agreement and it is signed through Keyhook, electronically or on paper.

Existing tenancy

The tenancy was already running before it came into Keyhook, for example one that came across from another system or a property whose management you have just taken on. You record it and upload the signed agreement you already have. Existing shows four sections instead of fifteen, because there is no document to build.

On an existing tenancy, the start date is the date the tenancy first started, even if that was before your agency took it on. Rent receipting from is the day the tenancy starts with your agency, which is when Keyhook starts charging rent, so it can't be earlier than the start date.

The Initial arrears balance is the rent the tenant owed on the day before Rent receipting from. It's the tenancy's opening rent balance, so it carries into the arrears balance from day one. Enter 0 if the tenant is paid up to that day. To add an opening credit instead, enter the amount with a minus sign in front.

Set up a carpark rental

A carpark let on your own carpark agreement is recorded as an existing tenancy, so Keyhook tracks the rent and bond without sending a residential tenancy agreement.

1
Start an existing tenancy
Open the property, click Set Up Tenancy and choose Set up a tenancy agreement. At the top of the builder, choose Existing tenancy. Keyhook won't generate an agreement or send anything for signing.
2
Add the tenant
In Tenants & occupants, add the person renting the carpark, with their name and email.
3
Enter the rent, bond and dates
In Tenancy details, set the Term type, Start date, Rent and Frequency. General bond must have a value, so enter 0 if there's no bond.
4
Upload your carpark agreement
In Agreement record, under Signed agreement, click Select file and upload the carpark agreement your tenant signed. You can't finish without it. Then fill in Initial arrears balance (0 if they're paid up) and Rent receipting from.
5
Activate the tenancy
Click Activate tenancy. Keyhook starts charging rent from the Rent receipting from date. Nobody is emailed, and nothing is sent to sign.
Work through the sections
1
Fill in the tenancy
The builder is a list of sections down the left and it saves as you go. Start with Tenants & occupants, then Tenancy details, where you set the term, dates, rent and bond. Enter the General bond and any Pet bond, or use the quick-set buttons under each to fill it in as a number of weeks' rent.
2
Choose what else goes in the document
Every other section prints as its own part of the document. Switch off any you don't need and it drops out of the PDF. A section with something missing is marked Gaps.
3
Know which ones carry a decision
Four are worth a second look.

Landlord & signing

Whose name prints as the landlord, who signs, and whether this is a casual let. See Casual Lets.

Clauses

Pick from your agency, portfolio and property clause groups. Required clauses are always included. See the Clause Library.

Move-in costs

A summary of the bond, rent in advance and what is due before the tenants move in. It doesn't create charges by itself.

Attached documents

Anything held on the property that should be bundled into the signed document, such as body corporate rules.
Review and send
1
Open Review & send
Click Preview & send, or open Review & send, the last section. It lists everything going out as one document.
2
Clear anything blocking it
Anything still in the way is listed with a Fix this link: a tenant without an email address, terms that still need a start date or a rent amount, and any section marked Gaps.
3
Sign the Healthy Homes statement
You sign this one yourself, before it goes out. The send button stays disabled until you do.
4
Send it
Click Send to [number] tenants for signing.

Note: The tenants sign first, then your side. On a managed letting you countersign once every tenant has signed. On a casual let the owner signs instead. Confirming the tenancy marks any active listing on the property Completed and takes its adverts down.

If a tenant hasn't signed
1
Copy their signing link
If a tenant didn't get the email, open Tenancies → Pending Agreements, find the agreement and choose Signing links from its Actions. Click Copy signing link next to the tenant and send it to them yourself. You can copy the link of any tenant who hasn't signed yet.
2
Remind them
Open Tenancies → Pending Agreements, find the agreement and choose Remind from its Actions.
3
Check they have an email address
A tenant with no email address is never invited. They show on the agreement as Cannot be invited and they aren't counted in the signatures. Adding an email afterwards doesn't invite them, because the signing list is set when the agreement is sent. Add the email to the tenant first, then use Void & reissue and send the draft it opens.
4
Get it signed on paper instead
From the same Actions, choose View documents to download the PDF and have it signed. Then come back to Actions, choose Mark signed by hand, upload the signed copy and confirm. The tenancy activates from that, and anyone still holding a signing link is told it was signed on paper. This can't be undone.
5
Change the terms instead
If something needs to change rather than signing, choose Void & reissue. It voids the agreement and starts a fresh draft in the builder.

Note: You don't need to switch the tenancy to Existing to sign on paper. Existing is for a tenancy that was already running before it came into Keyhook.

Edit the tenancy once it's set up

Once the tenancy is set up, correct its details from the Tenancy Overview. From the left sidebar, click Properties and open the property, then click Tenancy Overview in the left menu. Each panel has a pencil: General for the dates, tags and payments reference code, Rent Review for the review date, Rent for the rent amount, Bond for the bond amounts and bond number, and Custom Fields for your agency's own fields.

The Rent pencil is for fixing a mistake. To change the rent going forward, use Change the Rent, because that serves the notice and updates the rent ledger.

Frequently asked questions

Can I change an agreement after I have sent it?

Yes. Open Tenancies → Pending Agreements, find the agreement and choose Void & reissue from its Actions. The old one is voided and a draft opens with everything you already entered, so you change what was wrong and send it again. The payment reference stays the same. Anyone who had already signed will need to sign the reissued one.

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