What Landlords Need in a Tenant Portal (Apps & More)

A DIY landlord’s job is never done. Posting listings, screening new applicants, scheduling maintenance tasks, and collecting rent leave little time for new investments or downtime. Fortunately, a tenant portal can help you empower your tenants to assist you with some of these tasks.

For a landlord seeking to boost efficiencies, a tenant portal provides tenants with a centralized location to communicate with you, pay rent, submit maintenance requests, sign documents, and access critical property information. They’re a key feature of property management software.

In this guide, we’ll review the key features to look for when deciding on the best tenant portal for your specific situation and provide guidance on how to choose the right one for you and your tenants.

What is a tenant portal?

At its most basic level, a tenant portal is accessible through a mobile app or web browser. It allows tenants to complete tasks that would typically require them to call you directly, send a text message, email, or meet in person. It enables tenants to:

• Pay rent
• Submit maintenance requests
• Access the lease and other documents
• Message you

So, the tenant gains a place to manage their rental themselves, and you gain the benefit of empowering the tenant to pay their rent or submit a maintenance request right from their phone.

Core Features Landlords Should Look For

There are a few core features that landlords should prioritize when choosing a tenant portal. You’ll find tenant portals as standard fare in property management software solutions across the market, but if you want to try one for free, TurboTenant’s all-in-one software is free for landlords.

Online Rent Payments

Collecting rent from a tenant portal is rapidly becoming the default for many landlords. It funnels payments directly into your bank account, automatically assigns late fees, and notifies your tenants about upcoming rent. Tenants can sign in with their own unique login and connect their bank account for ACH payments. For convenience, they can also pay with a credit or debit card.

Maintenance Requests

Managing maintenance issues can be stressful and time-consuming. Juggling requests, vendors, and in-progress tasks quickly becomes overwhelming. With online maintenance requests, tenants log issues, add details and photos, and view progress in one place. Then, notifications go directly to you for timely service. Many portals allow sending requests to external vendors and tracking status updates. All maintenance requests are logged per unit, providing quick access to a unit’s history for forecasting and planning.

Lease Access and Document Storage

The lease agreement is the cornerstone of renting property. It serves as the guide by which both the landlord and the tenant understand their rights and responsibilities. By storing the lease agreement in the app, tenants can access it anytime they have a question or concern, saving you the time it takes to answer questions that they can now answer themselves.

You can also include a Home Guide to share with your renters. Your Home Guide could include any details that may not be covered in the lease or require additional explanation. Think about it as a place to provide information about the community or neighborhood, important things to remember about the property, or utility information.

Secure Communication Tools

Keeping the lines of communication open between you and your tenant is a critical part of building a positive and effective landlord-tenant relationship. Many tenant portals include secure messaging as a native part of the platform, making it easier than ever to stay in touch with your tenants without needing to make a phone call or sort through text message threads.

Bonus Features That Elevate the Experience

The above list represents features commonly found in many popular landlord apps. However, to truly maximize the benefits of your app, consider incorporating the following features, which significantly enhance your workflow and the experience of your tenants.

Mobile Tenant Portal App

The easiest way to keep in touch with your tenants is through their cell phones. While not everyone has a computer anymore, you can be sure that your tenant has an iOS or Android device. A standalone tenant portal app enables your tenants to access and manage their information anywhere, making it straightforward to pay rent, submit photos, and complete maintenance requests.

Landlords can send push notifications to the tenant’s phone when rent is due or if it is late. Plus, they can notify them when any outstanding repairs have been completed.

Application and Screening Integration

No matter how many units you own, the application and screening process can be a major headache at all stages of the process. With many cities featuring competitive rental markets, the sheer number of applications can quickly get out of hand. However, by integrating the application and screening process into the platform, tenants can easily apply for rentals, and you can manage the leads with ease.

Tenant Insurance Tracking

In theory, the lease agreement provides some protection for your property, but in practice, there are plenty of situations where you might want a little bit more. While renters insurance isn’t required by law, landlords can choose to make it a requirement for rental and include that language in the lease. However, the best way to ensure your tenant has acquired the necessary insurance package is to have them upload proof of insurance directly into the platform, allowing you to verify it at any time.

Why a Tenant Portal Matters for DIY Landlords

Making the decision to adopt a tenant portal isn’t just about convenience; it’s about finding ways to streamline your workflow, automate tasks, and provide your tenants with a professional and positive tenant experience. Choosing to incorporate a tenant portal into your business means you:

• Improve tenant satisfaction. A happy tenant is a long-term tenant. Providing tenants with options for paying rent, submitting maintenance requests, and communicating with you means your tenant won’t be in a rush to leave when it comes time to renew their lease.
• Save time and energy. When you automate tasks like rent collection, maintenance, and applications, time is freed up for you to pursue other things, like finding new investment opportunities.
• Store and track documentation and communication. Because everything is stored within the platform, documents and communications are easily accessible.
• Scale more easily. If you choose to add a few more rental units to your portfolio, landlord software enables you to quickly and easily add new properties.

Choosing the Right Platform

To be fully transparent, there are numerous options available for landlords seeking the ideal software solution. But not all are created equal, and choosing the right one can mean the difference between finding an efficient workflow and spending hours on the phone with customer support.

Here’s what you should consider when choosing a tenant portal:

• How many properties are in your portfolio? The size of your portfolio can significantly impact the software you choose. Some platforms are better suited for large portfolios, while others cater to small, DIY landlords that are seeking a rich feature set with great value.
• Budget. The pricing for tenant software can range from free to hundreds of dollars per month, so choosing one within your budget range is critical.
• Feature set. A premium feature isn’t much of a selling point if you’ll never use it. Review your operations and identify the key features that are most important to you.
• Ease-of-use. A tenant portal is useless if it’s too difficult for your tenant to figure out. Opt for software that has a slight learning curve without sacrificing functionality.

Tenant Portal Wrap Up

No one ever said that being a landlord was easy, but it can be much easier to manage with the right things to help you out. A tenant portal has become a necessary tool for landlords seeking to enhance their property management and provide tenants with a world-class rental experience.

With the ability to collect rent online, easily track and manage maintenance requests, process applications and tenant screenings, and communicate with your tenants all from one platform, you’ll find that TurboTenant has many of the capabilities you need.

Sign up for a free TurboTenant account and make it easier for your tenants to rent from you.

Tenant Portals for Landlords FAQs