A guide of the most common Create tenancy issues and queries have been compiled for our clients to expand their own knowledge of the system and use if you were to ever come across an issue with the Create tenancy process.
1. Why is a new tenancy template not appearing in the dropdown?
The Agreement type selected for a template determines on which page the template will appear in the Select template dropdown menu.
Agreement Type | Page the template appears within |
Residential (fully-managed) | Create tenancy |
Let only | Create tenancy (let only) |
Bedsit | Create tenancy (bedsit) |
Company | Create tenancy (company) |
To update the Agreement type of an existing template:
Go to Tenants > Create tenancy
Click Edit tenancy agreements
Locate the required template
Click the pencil icon in the Edit column
Update the Agreement type
Click Update tenancy agreement to save this change
2. Why do merge fields not pull through the correct data?
Only merge fields specific to the Create tenancy section can be used within a tenancy template. Taking a merge field from another part of the system (eg Template documents) may not be compatible with a tenancy agreement.
Ensure the correct merge fields are being used
In your template, locate the merge field that is not working
Go to Tenants > Create tenancy > Edit tenancy agreements > Add new agreement
At the bottom of this page, there is an accordion menu containing all the merge fields that are available to be used in a tenancy template.
English clients - How to edit an existing tenancy agreement
Scottish clients - How to edit an existing tenancy agreement
Ensure the correct information is present within SME Professional
If the data associated with the merge field has not been entered in your system, the merge field will not be able to pull through any information. Please check the corresponding field and populate it.
For example, if the merge field is for the landlord’s telephone number, check the landlord's record and see if the preferred contact number has been set
If the merge field is pulling through the incorrect information, please double-check the corresponding field and ensure it is populated with the correct data
Ensure the tenant is ticked
Tenants who are due to move into a property tend to be automatically ticked by default when you go to Tenants > Create tenancy but this may not be the case depending on the status of the tenant
If the tenant is not ticked at the point of generating the tenant documents all the tenant merge fields will be blank
3. Why are the guarantor details not pulling through to the agreement?
These are the two most common reasons as to why guarantor details are not pulling through to the tenancy agreement:
A guarantor template has not been used
There are specific tenancy templates that should be used if there is a guarantor involved as they contain the required guarantor merge fields so that the guarantor information will be pulled through onto the generated tenancy agreement
On the Tenants > Create tenancy page expand the Select a tenancy agreement template dropdown menu
Ensure a guarantor template is selected (Example shown below)
Generate the tenancy agreement again
Guarantor details are not present within SME Professional
If the required details have not been updated in your system, the merge fields will not be able to pull through any guarantor information
Go to Tenants > View tenants and locate the tenant in which the guarantor is associated with. Click the pencil icon in the Edit column and open the Guarantor tab
Populate the tab with the required information
Click Update property
Generate tenancy agreement again
4. Why is the let only lease still showing agent details?
There are a couple of steps that need to be taken when creating a Let only tenancy agreement that differ from a fully-managed agreement.
Standing order - Landlord's bank details MUST be entered under the Finance tab within the property record so that it pulls through to the standing order
Tenancy agreement - For the landlord’s bank details to pull through to the lease in place of the agents, the Overwrites section must be used:
Go to Tenants > Create tenancy.
Populate the tenancy details as normal.
Expand the Overwrites bar. For the landlord’s bank details to pull through to the lease in place of the agents, the Overwrite default bank details fields must be entered. If you have uploaded these details against the property record under the financial tab, you can select Copy from property bank tab and the details will auto-populate, otherwise you can manually populate this information.
Generate tenancy documentation as normal.
5. How do I add additional clauses/why do they not pull through to the tenancy agreement?
In order for additional clause information entered within the property record to pull through to the generated lease, the agreement template must include the additional clause merge field - $property.additional_clauses$.
Alternatively, a custom merge field can be added to the template. Upon generating the document, a pop-up window will then appear, allowing users to populate the custom fields with the required additional clause text.
6. Can I edit the standing order mandate template?
The current standing order mandate cannot currently be edited on the system. However, some users may want to use their own standing, which can be added as a tenancy pack document. Tenancy pack - Setting up tenancy packs
7. How can I set up a tenancy where the first payment covers several months?
If the tenant has made an advanced rent payment (for example, 3 or 6 months' rent) upfront, the Pro-rata payment section can also be used to detail this. Further details can be found in Create tenancy - Pro rata Section