Your First Rental: A Move-In Checklist from Application to Keys

Before anyone can apply, prospects need a way to find the unit and a clean, consistent way to submit their information. Doing this online — instead of trading texts and paper forms — means every applicant answers the same questions and you have a single place to compare them.

• Publish a public listing: Post the unit on your public listing and booking page with photos, rent, and availability so prospects can view it and start an application directly.
• Reach the big portals: On the Landlord+ plan you can syndicate the listing to Zillow, Apartments.com, and Realtor.com to widen the applicant pool without re-entering the details everywhere.
• Collect complete applications: The multi-step rental application wizard walks each applicant through their details, residence and employment history, and consent — so nothing gets skipped.
• Ask what matters to you: Add custom questions per property (pets, move-in date, vehicles, and more) to capture the information specific to that unit.

In Tenantivo: Set up the property’s public listing and booking page, turn on portal syndication if you’re on Landlord+, and configure the application wizard with any custom questions. Share the listing link — applications land in one organized queue.

Screening is where you protect your investment — and where the rules matter most. The goal is a consistent, documented process applied the same way to every applicant, using objective criteria rather than gut feel.

• Run a compliant background check: Tenantivo uses Checkr for FCRA-compliant background, credit, and eviction history reports, so you get the data you need through a regulated channel.
• Check affordability: A common guideline is that rent should be around 30% of gross income — the rent-to-income ratio. Applicants well above that threshold may face payment stress.
• Decide who pays: Settle up front whether you or the applicant covers the screening fee, and apply that policy uniformly to every applicant for the unit.
• Handle declines correctly: If you decline someone based on a screening report, adverse-action requirements apply — the applicant is entitled to notice and information about the report used in the decision.

In Tenantivo: Order the Checkr screening from the application, review the background, credit, and eviction results alongside the rent-to-income picture, and follow the adverse-action steps if you decide not to move forward.

Once an applicant clears screening, it’s time to make the decision official and secure the unit with a deposit. Approving in a structured way — with notes on why — gives you a clean record if questions come up later.

• Approve with a paper trail: Use section-level approval and manager notes to sign off on the application and document the reasoning behind your decision.
• Collect the deposit securely: Take the security deposit as an online payment via Stripe (card or ACH bank transfer), so the funds and receipt are tracked automatically.
• Chase any missing docs: Use the application chat to ask the applicant for anything outstanding — proof of income, ID, or renter’s insurance — without leaving the platform.

In Tenantivo: Approve the relevant application sections and add your manager notes, request the deposit payment through Stripe/ACH, and use the application chat thread to collect any final documents before moving to the lease.

The lease is the legal backbone of the tenancy. Getting it signed cleanly — with a stored, tamper-evident copy — matters far more than the ink-on-paper ritual it replaces.

• Prepare the lease document: With Firma e-signatures you can prep the lease PDF and send it for signing without printing, scanning, or chasing wet signatures.
• Reuse a template: Build lease templates with merge fields so tenant names, dates, rent, and unit details fill in automatically — consistent and fast for every new lease.
• Sign from the approved application: Kick off signing directly from the approved application, keeping the applicant, screening, and lease connected in one record.

In Tenantivo: Prepare the lease PDF (or generate it from a Firma template with merge fields) and send it for e-signature from the approved application. The signed lease is stored with the tenant’s record.

Handing over the keys isn’t the finish line — it’s the start of the tenancy. Setting up rent collection and communication now means fewer headaches every month afterward.

• Turn on rent collection: Set up recurring rent and auto-pay through Stripe (card or ACH) so payments arrive on time without monthly reminders.
• Automate late fees: On the Landlord+ plan, late fee automation applies your policy consistently so you don’t have to track due dates by hand.
• Handle upkeep in one place: Let the tenant submit maintenance requests and message you through tenant chat, so nothing gets lost in texts or email.
• Keep documents together: Store the lease, receipts, and any addenda as documents on the tenancy so everything is easy to find later.

In Tenantivo: Configure recurring rent with auto-pay via Stripe/ACH, enable late fee automation if you’re on Landlord+, and point the tenant to maintenance requests, tenant chat, and their documents for everything after move-in.

Here’s the whole sequence in one scannable list. Work top to bottom and you’ll go from an empty unit to a signed, paying tenant without skipping the steps that protect you.

• List & collect: Publish the public listing (syndicate to Zillow, Apartments.com, and Realtor.com on Landlord+) and collect applications through the wizard with your custom questions.
• Screen: Run the Checkr background, credit, and eviction check, apply the ~30% rent-to-income guideline, and follow adverse-action steps for any decline.
• Approve & deposit: Approve with manager notes, collect the deposit via Stripe/ACH, and request any missing docs through application chat.
• Sign the lease: Prepare the lease PDF or a Firma template with merge fields, then send for e-signature from the approved application.
• Move-in & beyond: Set up rent and auto-pay via Stripe/ACH, turn on late fee automation on Landlord+, and enable maintenance requests, tenant chat, and documents.

Keep this list handy for your next vacancy — once you’ve run the cycle a couple of times in Tenantivo, it becomes second nature.