New Tenant Checklist: What to Include

You’ve been marketing your rental units, giving tours to prospective tenants, and following up with qualified leads. And it’s paying off—you’re getting rental application requests.

But what do you do now? A lot goes into the application, screening, lease signing, and eventual move-in process. Make it as welcoming and smooth as possible by leveraging a comprehensive checklist for new tenants—it’s easy for future tenants but also ensures you cover everything.

We’re breaking down what your new tenant checklist should include to create a seamless application and move-in process.

Pre-Lease Steps

You’ve found a perfect-fit potential tenant. Now what? Start the pre-lease phase of your new tenant checklist, which includes the initial application and tenant screening. A thorough application and screening process reduces the risk of approving less-than-ideal tenants and bad debt.

Initial Application

Your rental application should help verify that a potential renter meets your tenant selection criteria and give you the information you need for an in-depth tenant screen. These details include data like:

Personal details: Full name, date of birth, social security number, phone number, and more.

Household members: Names and ages of any co-tenants, occupants, or pets.

Previous residences: Current and former addresses from the past three years, dates of occupancy, and landlord contact information.

Employment and income: Employers, dates of employment, supervisor names, and income.

To complete background, credit, and income checks, you should also collect these documents from future tenants: 

• IDs, like a passport or driver’s license
• Proof of income, like pay stubs or tax returns
• References who can vouch for the applicant’s work history and tenant behavior

Pro tip: Fraud is becoming increasingly common in rental applications. Verify documents are genuine with tools like fraud detection software.  

Another consideration? Your rental application must comply with local, state, and federal regulations. If your property is part of a real estate management company, it might already have an established application.

But if you’re an independent landlord, you can find application examples through groups like the National Association of Independent Landlords.

Screening Process

Once you’ve got the completed application, conduct background and credit checks and contact references to confirm the renter’s employment, rental history, and other information in the application.

If all checks out, you can move the potential renter to the next step of your new tenant checklist: the lease agreement. But keep fair housing laws in mind—any decision you make should rely on standard, objective criteria that comply with these laws.

Lease Agreement Preparation

Once you’ve approved a tenant’s application, it’s time to draw up a lease agreement with your new renter. After you’ve created and reviewed the lease with the tenant, you’ll both sign it before moving on to the next step in the new tenant checklist.

Drafting the Lease Agreement

If your property management company has a lease agreement template you can use, simply customize it for your new tenant. If not, find a resource—like LegalTemplates—that lets you tweak a lease agreement template to fit your needs.

No matter where you start, make sure your lease includes the following terms and conditions:

• Lease start and end dates
• Rent amount and due date
• Late fees
• Security deposit amount
• Occupants and co-tenants
• Maintenance responsibilities
• Utilities
• Community rules, like guest parking

Reviewing with the Tenant

Because a lease is a legally binding agreement, both parties should understand and agree to all terms and conditions. Schedule a time to sit down with the tenant, go over the lease in detail, and answer any questions they may have. 

Consider sending the lease agreement via email before the meeting so renters have time to thoroughly review the lease and come to the meeting with any questions. They should leave the meeting fully understanding the lease and any terms and conditions.

Signing the Lease Agreement

After you and your new tenant have reviewed all the terms in the lease and are ready to move forward, it’s time to collect signatures. You can either do this in person with paper copies or fully online with tools like DocuSign or HelloSign.

Even if all parties sign online, make sure you save signed copies for yourself and give them to the renter as well.

Financial Arrangements

The next step in your new tenant checklist? Collecting the security deposit and first month’s rent. Depending on the terms of the lease, you might also collect last month’s rent and pet deposits or fees. Make sure you provide receipts for all payments made by the tenant.

Setting Up Payment Methods

Let your tenants know how they can pay rent (and your preferred method)—like paying through an online portal or with checks. 

But if you use an online payment portal, make sure tenants can create an account and let them know about automatic payment options and potential payment processing fees. 

While they’re setting up payments, share utility provider information and give them instructions on how to transfer utilities to their name and get everything set up, including internet. 

Move-In Preparation

Move-in day is a resident’s first impression of what it’ll be like living on your property. Make it a good one by doing a thorough evaluation of their unit. Is it clean? Is everything functioning properly?

A tenant doesn’t want to walk into an unkept, broken, or smelly unit. And if you fail to provide an up-to-code rental unit, you might violate the warranty of habitability, which could cause more problems than an upset tenant.

Property Inspection

Any new tenant checklist should include a comprehensive property inspection and extensive walkthrough to uncover any issues. If you discover any problems, schedule immediate maintenance appointments.

Every unit should receive the same rigorous inspection—a standardized checklist ensures you’re not missing anything. Check all applicable areas, including:

• The exterior: front and back yards, windows, screens, roofs, gutters, siding, and more
• The interior: walls, ceilings, closets, flooring, electrical outlets, window coverings, smoke extinguishers, and appliances
• Miscellaneous: the basement, stairs, railings, and garage

Document issues with photos or using a checklist, and give yourself plenty of time to address any problems before move-in. 

Preparing the Property

After you’ve fixed any issues in the unit, do another inspection. Check your list from the previous step in your new tenant checklist to ensure all repairs are complete. Like with the first inspection, double-check that everything’s working:

Appliances: microwave, oven, stove, washer, dryer, dishwasher, and refrigerator 

Utilities: water, electricity and electrical outlets, and heating and air conditioning

Complete this step well before the lease start date in case you flag any new issues. You may need to repeat this process several times before move-in day.

Once you’ve confirmed everything is functioning properly, give the unit a final walkthrough for cleanliness, making sure there aren’t any odors, and that it’s a presentable—and liveable—unit.

Key Handover

If your property gives tenants access to garages, external mailboxes, or amenities (like a community center or gym), they’ll need keys for everything. Make sure you give your renters physical keys or key fobs, access cards, mail keys, door codes, and garage openers so they can enter all areas by their lease start date.

Schedule time with your new renter to walk them through their unit and hand over their keys.

Move-In Day

It’s finally the big day. Your tenant is moving in. Set aside plenty of time to greet your new resident, walk them through their unit, and answer any questions they have about their unit or the property.

Move-In Walkthrough

Show your renter to their unit and walk them through it, sharing any helpful information about utilities, amenities, and appliances—like which way to turn the faucet for hot water.

Just like you have a new tenant checklist, you should also use a move-in checklist. With your renter present, complete the checklist, noting any damage and the overall condition of the rental property.

Depending on local regulations and property rules, the tenant might sign this report during the walkthrough. Or you might leave the checklist with the tenant to fill out and return to you within a day. 

Providing Essential Information

You want your tenants to feel welcome and content that they got a great rental. The walkthrough is a great time to do just that as they settle in. One part of that (and your new tenant checklist) is giving renters a welcome packet with essential information, like:

• Emergency contacts to call after-hours
• Property rules for guests, using shared spaces, and parking
• How to set up utilities
• Flyers for any upcoming events in your community
• Nearby neighborhood highlights, like cafes, restaurants, and shops
• Information about local services—schools, police and fire stations, and libraries

You’ll also want to give tenants both verbal and written instructions for submitting maintenance requests and getting in touch during an after-hours emergency. 

Post Move-In Follow-Up

Your new tenant checklist doesn’t end with move-in day. Once your new resident settles in, check in with them and continually remind them of crucial lease terms for the first few weeks.

Checking In with the Tenant

Check in with your tenant the day after move-in to see if they have any issues or questions. If you haven’t already done so, collect their signed property condition form.

If the renter tells you about any problems or you see something on the property condition form, contact maintenance to resolve them as soon as possible. 

You can also use this check-in to schedule a follow-up after the first week to see how things are going and make your tenant feel welcome and supported.

Ensuring Compliance with Lease Terms

Even with a signed lease agreement, regular reminders can help with timely rent payments and unit maintenance. Text, email, and even property management software can automate reminders, but you can also send nudges in email newsletters.

Visual inspections provide a good sense of whether the tenant is maintaining the unit. But, in most jurisdictions, you must provide notice before entering a unit (except during emergencies).

If you can’t enter the unit, a drive-by can help determine if the tenant is keeping up the yard, cleaning the windows, and so on.

Your state or city may also require periodic safety inspections. These inspections offer a good opportunity to check that the tenant is not housing additional occupants or pets. But be sure to follow all rules and regulations about providing enough notice to tenants.

Make sure you address any issues promptly so they don’t spiral into serious problems for you or the tenant.

Additional Resources

Creating a thorough—and compliant—new tenant checklist might seem daunting, but it’s crucial in establishing a positive relationship that fosters resident retention. A few key resources can help you get started. 

Sample Tenant Applications and Lease Agreements

Not sure where to begin with tenant applications and lease agreements? A template can be a good starting point. Simply customize it to your property’s specific needs and local regulations.

If you’re an independent landlord, you might use the National Association of Independent Landlords rental application template. You can also look up your state’s National Apartment Association chapter, which often supplies sample forms, including rental applications and lease agreements. 

Resources and Legal Advice for Property Managers

Complying with fair housing laws and other regulations is a non-negotiable—civil penalties for violating these laws can be as high as $23,011 for a first violation.

Several organizations have resources to help you navigate legal concerns: 

• Nolo provides an accessible and large library of legal resources, including landlord-tenant laws by state
• State bar associations often provide overviews of landlord-tenant laws and may publish important changes to state laws
• The National Fair Housing Alliance shares resources for both landlords and tenants to create awareness. They host a state-specific interactive map and a list of relevant national acts

Building your professional know-how can also help you feel more confident with legal matters. Professional associations like the National Association of Rental Property Managers and the Institute of Real Estate Management also provide tools, like:

• Training
• Mentorships
• Certifications
• Networking opportunities

Property Management and Tenant Onboarding Tools

The right tools make your job so much easier by automating and streamlining tasks in your new tenant checklist. Property management software like ResMan, DoorLoop, and Yardi Breeze combine multiple workflows into one platform:

• Rent payment portals
• Submitting and managing maintenance requests
• Tenant screening
• Daily task management 

An ecosystem of proptech also delivers simple tools to handle end-to-end property management, from smart home management to data-driven insights on your property’s performance.