Understanding Landager Terminology

Real estate terminology can vary depending on where you operate or whether you come from a commercial or residential background.

Landager uses a specific hierarchy to organize your data. Understanding these core definitions is the key to mastering the platform.

1. Property

A Property is the physical, overarching address or parcel of real estate. It is the top-level container in the system.

• Examples: A 12-unit apartment building named "Sunset Towers", a commercial strip mall, or a single-family home.
• Fields: Property Name, full Address (line 1, line 2, city, state, ZIP, country), Property Type (Single Family, Multi Unit, Apartment, Land, Commercial), Total Units count, and Notes.

Even if you only rent out a single-family home, you must create a Property for it first.

2. Unit

A Unit is a specific, rentable space inside or attached to a Property. It is the child of the Property.

• Examples: "Apartment 4B", "Suite 100", "The Basement Apartment".
• Fields: Unit Number/Identifier, Layout (Bedrooms, Bathrooms, Square Footage), Rent Amount & Currency, Status (Vacant, Occupied, Maintenance), and Notes.
• Why it matters: Rent is tracked for Units, not Properties. Maintenance is performed on Units.

3. Tenant

A Tenant is the person legally responsible for paying rent on a unit.

• Examples: John Doe, Sarah Smith.
• Fields: First Name, Last Name, Email, Phone, Associated Unit, Move-In/Move-Out Date, Status (Active, Past, Pending).
• Emergency Contacts: Each tenant can have unlimited emergency contacts with Name, Phone, and Email.
• Why it matters: Tenants exist independently in your database. You can add a prospective tenant before they officially move in by setting their status to "Pending."

4. Lease

A Lease is the contract that formally connects a Tenant to a Unit.

• What it defines: Start Date, End Date, Rent Amount, Security Deposit, Late Fees (Fixed or Percentage), Lease Type (Fixed-term or Month-to-Month), Rent Due Day (1st through 28th).
• Document Upload: Attach the actual signed lease agreement (PDF, image, etc.) directly to the record.
• Unit Condition Photos: Upload move-in condition photos (JPEG, PNG, WebP, HEIC — up to 30 MB total) to document the unit's starting state and protect against security deposit disputes.

5. Rent Payment

A Rent Payment is a tracked incoming payment from a tenant toward their lease.

• Fields: Linked Lease/Tenant, Total Amount Due vs. Paid Amount, Due Date vs. Paid Date, Payment Method (Cash, Check, Bank Transfer, Online, Other), Status (Pending, Paid, Late, Partial, Waived).
• Itemized Charges: Break down the payment into Rent, Late Fees, and Maintenance charges.
• Receipts: Each payment generates a viewable receipt that can be shared with the tenant.

6. Expense

An Expense is an outgoing cost tied to a property or unit.

• Fields: Linked Property/Unit/Maintenance Request, Description, Transaction Amount, Transaction Date.
• Invoice & Receipt Uploads: Attach physical receipts and invoice files (up to 30 MB per file) for bookkeeping and tax purposes.
• Vendor Assignment: Record exactly which vendor or company received the payment.

7. Maintenance Request

A Maintenance Request is a repair or upkeep task linked to a unit.

• Fields: Linked Unit/Tenant, Title/Description, Priority (Low, Medium, High, Emergency), Category (Plumbing, Electrical, HVAC, Appliance, Structural, Pest Control, Landscaping, Other), Status (Open, In Progress, Completed, Cancelled).
• Cost Tracking: Track Estimated Cost vs. Actual Cost, and flag if it's billable to the tenant.
• Vendor Assignment: Assign a vendor from your directory directly to the request.

8. Vendor

A Vendor is a contractor or service provider stored in your Vendor Directory.

• Fields: Name, Company, Email, Phone, Notes.
• Usage: Vendors can be assigned to maintenance requests and expenses. The inline VendorPicker lets you select from existing vendors or create new ones on the spot.

The Hierarchy in Action

If you understand the flow, the entire dashboard becomes intuitive:

1. You own a 4-plex. You create the Property in Landager.
2. You define 4 Units inside that Property.
3. You find 4 families to rent the spaces. You add them as Tenants.
4. You create 4 Leases connecting each family to their specific unit.
5. As rent comes in, you log Payments against each lease and generate Receipts.
6. When costs occur, you log Expenses with attached invoices.
7. When something breaks, you create a Maintenance Request and assign a Vendor.

Want to see this visually? Read our guide on How Everything Connects for a detailed breakdown.