Walkthrough
Setting up your rental, start to finish
There is nothing to import and nothing to configure. Latchly asks you questions, and builds the property from your answers. Here is exactly what it asks and why.
The seven setup questions
You will only see the ones that apply to you. Say you have no parking and the parking step never appears.
Your property
The address, and how you rent it — by the room, or the whole place. Everything after this is shaped by that answer.
What you rent
Each space someone pays you for, and what it goes for. Rent by the room and you list the rooms; rent the whole place and there is just the one.
Utilities
Tick what rent covers — water, power, gas, internet. Whatever you leave unticked is what your tenants are told they pay themselves.
Your costs
The bills that go out every month. Tick the mortgage box and it asks the payment. This is what makes your profit figure real instead of just rent coming in.
Shared spaces
Anything tenants share. Say you have laundry and how many machines, and tenants can book it — two machines means two bookings in the same slot, and the third is refused.
Parking
Only if you said you have it. Spots and monthly price now; the car that goes in each one — make, model, colour and plate — whenever you like.
Getting paid
Your e-transfer address and the day rent is due. That address is what your tenants are shown when they go to pay.
Then: your first week
Add your tenants
Name, email, which room, the rent and the move-in date. Send the invite and they set their own password.
Record the rent
When someone e-transfers you, tap it in. Latchly works out who is paid up and who is late, and writes the receipt for you.
Put your bills in
Mortgage, insurance, utilities you cover. Once they are in, the finances page shows what you actually clear each month.
What your tenants see
They get their own login, free. It is deliberately narrow.
Theirs
- Their rent, and whether they are paid up
- Their receipts, going back to the start
- Their lease and any documents you shared
- Maintenance requests they have raised
- Laundry and shared space bookings
- Where to send the rent
Never theirs
- Any other tenant, or what they pay
- Your mortgage, bills or profit
- Your notes and landlord-only documents
- Your entry reports
- Anything at any other property you own
Common questions
How long does setup take?
About ten minutes for one property. You can stop part way and pick it up later — your answers are kept.
What if I get an answer wrong?
Nothing is locked in. Every answer can be changed afterwards in Settings or on the property page.
Do I have to add tenants straight away?
No. You can set up the property first and add people whenever you are ready. An empty room is simply an empty room.
How do tenants get in?
You send an invite from the tenants page. They get an email with a link and a code, and they choose their own password. You never see it and cannot recover it — if they forget it, they reset it themselves.