Creating a New Lease

A Lease is the engine that drives Landager. By connecting a Tenant Profile to a physical Unit, you activate the financial ledgers, auto-update occupancy metrics, and tie maintenance requests to the correct people.

Step 1: Start the Lease Creator

1. Navigate to the Leases page using the left-hand sidebar.
2. Click the "New Lease" button in the top right corner.

Step 2: Select the "Who" and "Where"

The top section forms the core connection:

• Property: Select the building from the dropdown.
• Unit: Select the specific unit inside that building.
• Tenant: Select the primary leaseholder from your Tenant Directory. If they don't exist yet, you must Add a New Tenant Profile first.

Step 3: Define the Timeline

• Start Date: The day the tenant legally takes possession. Note: If this date is today or in the past, the Unit Status will instantly flip to "Occupied".
• End Date: The day the contract expires.
  • If you are signing a standard 12-month lease, select the exact end date.
  • If you are creating a Month-to-Month arrangement, simply leave this field blank.

Step 4: Configure the Financial Terms

This section dictates exactly what the tenant owes and when:

Base Rent

• Rent Amount: Enter the monthly rent. (If you set a Base Rent on the Unit profile, this field will auto-populate, but you can override it here).

Security Deposit

• Security Deposit: Enter the fully refundable deposit amount collected at move-in.
• Deposit Paid: Check this box once you have physically received the funds. Unchecking this box serves as a strong visual reminder on the dashboard that you are still holding keys awaiting a check.

Late Fee Configuration (Optional but Recommended)

Protect yourself by configuring automatic late fee tracking:

• Late Fee Amount: E.g., $50.
• Late Fee Type: Choose Flat Fee or Percentage of Rent.
• Grace Period (Days): E.g., 5 days. (If rent is due on the 1st, late fees apply on the 6th).

Step 5: Save the Lease

1. Review the details carefully.
2. Click "Save Lease".

What Happens Automatically?

The moment you click Save:

1. The physical unit acts as Occupied (if the start date is valid).
2. The Tenant's profile changes from "Past" to Active.
3. The Tenant's financial ledger is activated, expecting the defined Rent Amount on your globally defined Rent Due Day.

Next Steps

Now that the core data relationship is built, we highly recommend you immediately secure the data by Uploading the Signed Lease Document and Adding Unit Condition Photos directly to this new lease record.