Lease signing checklist: from approved application to keys

A lease signing checklist covers everything between the owner saying yes to an applicant and the tenant walking in with the keys: the written offer, the lease itself, the signatures, the deposit and first rent, the move-in inspection and the key handover. Followed in order, it leaves the owner with a complete file and lets the tenant know the terms before moving in.

This guide is for real estate agents who rent out properties for owners. It picks up where our guide to rental application requirements ends, once the owner has chosen an applicant.

Why the signing step needs its own checklist

Until the papers are signed and the money has arrived, an approved applicant can still take another place, and by then the owner may have turned the other applicants away.

Mistakes in this step tend to show up months later. A page nobody initialed, a deposit paid in cash with no receipt, or keys handed over without a move-in record can each turn into a dispute when the lease ends. You can catch most of them with a short list that you follow the same way for every tenant.

Where lease signings go wrong

• The approval is a chat message. "You got it!" leaves the rent, the start date and the conditions open to memory.
• The lease comes from the last tenant's file. Old names, dates or rent amounts stay in the new document.
• Not everyone signs. A second adult, the guarantor or the person authorized to sign for the owner is missing.
• Money arrives without a record. A transfer from a relative's account or cash in an envelope, with no receipt that says what it was for.
• Keys go out before the walkthrough. The tenant moves boxes in, and nobody can say what the unit looked like on day one.
• The signed copy lives in one inbox. The owner, the tenant and the guarantor each have a different version, or none.

Lease signing checklist: step by step

Agree on this order with the owner before the first approval, and keep it the same for every tenant.

1. Confirm the approval in writing

• Send the approved applicant one written message with the rent, the deposit, the start date, the lease length and who will be on the lease.
• List any conditions of the approval, such as a guarantor or proof of renter's insurance.
• Give a deadline to accept and a date to sign.
• Tell the other applicants the outcome, the way the owner wants it handled. If a credit or background report played a part in turning someone down, US law requires an adverse action notice. Check what applies where the property is.

2. Prepare the lease

• Start from a current lease form that the owner or your brokerage approves for that property type and location.
• Fill in the full legal names of every adult on the lease and of the owner or manager.
• Check the property address, unit number, parking spot and storage.
• Write the start and end dates, the rent, the due date, how to pay and any late fee the law allows.
• State the deposit amount and when and how the owner will return it.
• Say who pays each utility and any building fees.
• Add the pet policy, house rules, how to report repairs and how much notice the owner gives before entering the unit.
• Attach the inventory if the unit is furnished, and any disclosures the law requires. In the US, for example, most housing built before 1978 needs a lead-based paint disclosure.
• Leave no blank fields. Write "N/A" where something doesn't apply.
• Send the draft to the owner for approval before the tenant sees it.

3. Plan the signatures

• Decide whether the lease will be signed in person or online. Many places accept electronic signatures on leases, but some require witnesses, a notary or a specific type of signature, and the rules for guarantors can differ. Check the rules where the property is.
• List everyone who must sign: each adult tenant, the guarantor and the owner or the person with written authority to sign for them.
• Ask everyone to read the full lease before signing, and give them time to ask questions.
• If your form uses initials on each page or on specific clauses, check every one before you close the file.
• Date every signature.

4. Collect the money before the keys

• Ask for the first month's rent (prorated if the lease starts mid-month), the deposit and any other fee the lease and local law allow.
• Ask for payment by a traceable method, from an account in the tenant's or guarantor's name where possible.
• Say in writing that the keys go out once the move-in payment has arrived, and wait for it. If a payment runs late after the lease is signed, check the rules where the property is before you delay the move-in.
• Send a receipt for each payment that says what it covers.
• Record where the deposit is held. Deposit limits, holding rules and return deadlines vary a lot by country, state and city, so check them before you collect.

5. Collect the documents the lease depends on

• The guarantor's signed agreement, or the policy that replaces one.
• Proof of renter's insurance, if the lease requires it.
• An emergency contact for each adult.
• Who will transfer each utility into the tenant's name, and by when.

6. Do the move-in inspection before the keys

Walk the unit with the tenant on move-in day or just before. Take dated photos of every room, note meter readings, check the inventory and have both sides sign the report. Our move-in inspection checklist goes room by room.

7. Hand over the keys and record it

• Count every key, fob, garage remote, mailbox key and access code.
• Write them on a short key receipt with the date and time, and have the tenant sign it.
• Note the date the tenant takes possession, if it's different from the lease start.

If the tenant asks for the keys early, to move furniture or paint, put it in writing: the date, what they may do and who is responsible for the unit until the lease starts.

8. Share the file and set the dates

• Send the fully signed lease, receipts, inspection report and key receipt to the tenant, the owner and the guarantor.
• Save them in the property's folder, named the same way every time.
• Put the key dates on a calendar: rent due date, inspections, the deadline to give notice and the lease end.
• Give the tenant the contacts they'll need and how to report a repair.

Keep everyone working from the same version

Much of the trouble in this step comes from people holding different versions of the same thing: an older draft, a different deposit amount, a receipt one person has and the other doesn't. Keep one shared record of what was agreed, signed and paid, and send every change to the owner and the tenant at the same time. You'll come back to that record when the lease is up for renewal and again when it ends.

How RentalThread will make it easier

With RentalThread, applications will arrive online with an income check, and the tenant and owner will sign the lease online where the local rules allow it. After signing, the move-in inventory, the lease dates, maintenance and renewals will stay in the same thread the owner and tenant can follow, so nobody has to ask you for the latest copy.

Tenants will get a move-in report with photos and keep their lease and documents in one place, with a notice before renewal. See what's planned for real estate agents.