The short answer
Give residents the information they need to settle in, pay rent, and report a problem. A useful welcome combines a condition record, working access, and a short written handoff.
On this page
Walk the home together
Confirm the full address and unit, the handover time, and who is receiving access. Inspect the rental using a room-by-room condition record. Note existing damage and unresolved work, invite corrections, and give the resident a copy. Record a reported defect separately from its repair completion.
Show the location and safe use of ordinary controls, exits, and equipment. Give appliance instructions and emergency contact information. Refer specialist or unsafe equipment questions to the appropriate contractor rather than asking residents to investigate themselves.
Give a practical welcome sheet
- Access: list the keys or credentials supplied, permitted recipients, and how to report a lost key or access problem. Share private credentials through an appropriate secure channel.
- Payments: confirm the agreed amount, due date, permitted payment methods, any disclosed charges, receipt process, and where to ask for help. Test that the resident has received the correct account invitation without exposing another household's information.
- Repairs: distinguish the routine request channel from the after-hours emergency process, and state the contact details and information to include.
- Daily use: cover utilities, waste collection, parking, shared areas, and responsibilities already established by the agreement and applicable rules. Explain rather than add new obligations at handover.
Keep the welcome considerate
A small optional welcome item or useful local information can be a friendly gesture. Consider allergies, animals, accessibility, and household preferences before giving food, cleaning chemicals, or scented products. Gifts do not replace repairs or change the rental terms.
Respond to requests respectfully. Separate an urgent condition, a promised repair, a disability-related request, and an optional improvement so each reaches the right process. Confirm any commitment in writing, with a responsible person and follow-up date.
Send a short follow-up
Use this structure for the handoff message: welcome the household; identify the rental and handover date; link the condition record; provide payment help and routine/emergency repair contacts; list open work and its next update; invite questions through the agreed channel. Keep access codes and sensitive documents out of a group email.
Check shortly after move-in that essential access and services work. Record the response, outstanding items, and completion evidence. Keep the welcome sheet alongside the signed lease and move-in records.
Maintain one accurate handoff for this tenancy
Keep the signed agreement, condition record and practical household guide distinct. Review utility suppliers and setup responsibilities, waste and parking arrangements, permitted shared areas, appliance instructions and routine versus emergency contacts. Include HOA information only after checking what applies to this rental. Never ask a resident to investigate unsafe equipment or use a guide to impose a new lease obligation.
Date the guide, identify the correct rental and tenancy, name who maintains it, and give residents a way to report an error. Restrict private access credentials and other households' information. Before a change, review the actual facts; afterward, tell affected residents what changed and confirm they can access it. A stored or edited document does not establish delivery, notification or understanding.
Confirm the household received the current version
Before handing over the welcome sheet, confirm the rental, tenancy, intended recipients and appropriate language or accessible format. Review the actual lease information and contact details; copied or automatically filled information still needs checking. Keep private credentials separate from an ordinary household guide.
Use the supported document or communication channel for this household, then retain the version and sharing record. Ask residents to confirm access and explain how to report an error. When changing important instructions, tell affected residents what changed; editing a saved document alone does not prove a notification was sent or read. Keep the signed lease, condition report and practical instructions as distinct records.
Rentari's written guide supports an owner-led handoff. It does not establish an automatically generated, continuously shared home manual. Check the actual document and message workflow before relying on an automatic delivery or update.
Keep learning
Archive years group longstanding rental topics. This Rentari guide was published on 2026-10-03.
Written and maintained by the Rentari team. Examples explain a decision; they are not customer results. This is general education. Confirm the rules and treatment for your property with a qualified local professional. Found an error or an unclear step? Send a correction with this page's address and the detail to review.
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