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The add a New Tenancy screen is accessed from the Contact (where the Contact's Requirements are set to Rent) or Property screen by clicking on the Tenancies icon. The screen is also accessed from the Tenancy List screen by clicking on the Tenancy button.
Alternatively, if a Pre-Tenancy has already been set-up use the Change to Current Tenancy from the Tenancies menu.
If the Tenancy being added is an existing tenancy such as a management take-on, or you are a new client adding your existing tenancy data use the Add Existing Tenancies topic.
To set up a Tenancy you need to set up the Tenant (Purchaser), the Property and the Landlord (Vendor). Both the Tenant and the Landlord are connected via the Property
| Who is the Primary Tenant? | Select a Tenant, optionally create a new Contact |
| Which Property are they renting? | The Property to be Let, Acquaint will try to pre-fill this if there’s an accepted offer or a Pre-tenancy for the Tenant |
| When does the Tenancy Start? | Specify the Start Date of the Tenancy |
| How long does the Tenancy run for? |
The Duration of the Tenancy in months or days. This figure also dictates the letting fee (Letting fee = (Monthly rent * Percentage * # of months)) – this is the default calculation, however there is a system configuration setting called Tenancy Introduction Fee Charge Frequency. If this is set to First Rental Period the calculation will be Monthly rent * Percentage |
| End Date | The End Date of the Tenancy automatically calculated based on the Start Date and Duration |
| Which Branch is this Tenancy assigned to? | The Branch the Tenancy is assigned to |
| Which Bank Account will the Tenant's Transactions be held in? | This is the Bank Account they will be paying into |
| Do you want this Tenancy to automatically renew and become a Statutory Periodic Tenancy after the first term? |
If you want the Tenancy to automatically renew specify Yes otherwise choose No. If set the system will automatically roll the Tenancy forward 1 month at a time when the Tenancy is within 1 month of expiry. This process happens automatically at the beginning of each day. The roll forward process will not create historical rent due transactions. Statutory Periodic is disabled for if the Tenancy End date is in the past. |
| Additional Tenancy Notes | Optionally store any Notes regarding the Tenancy. |
| What is the Management Type for this Tenancy? | Fully Managed, Rent Collection, Let Only or a custom Management Type |
| What is the commission for this Tenancy? |
This will be pre-populated with the default that you entered in Property Details #3 but can be edited if necessary. If there is a fee specifywhether it is to be charged on a Fixed Fee or Percentage basis and enter the amount in the field. This is the commission to be charged to the Landlord. This is based on the value set in the Contract Details section of the Details #3 tab of the Property and can be entered as a fixed fee or as a percentage. Different values can be entered for the first and subsequent payments which allows for loading of the initial payment |
| Are you charging a Let Only /Introduction Fee to the Landlord? |
This is a one off fee. if there is a fee specify whether it is to be charged on a Fixed Fee or Percentage basis and enter the amount in the field. This is the commission to be charged to the Landlord. This is based on the value set in the Contract Details section of the Details #3 tab of the Property and can be entered as a fixed fee or as a percentage. |
| Would you to charge this fee when renewing the Tenancy? |
Choose Yes if you want the Let Only/ Introduction fee to be charged on renewal. This option is disabled if Automatic Renewal (Statutory Periodic) is ticked |
| How much is the Rent? | Amount to charge based on the Price set within the Property |
| How often will the Rent be paid? | Specify how often the Rent will be paid |
| When will the Rent be paid? |
Specify the day of the month that Payments will be made by the Tenant. A system configuration setting provides the option for the Payment day to automatically be due on the anniversary of the move in date or to be a a certain date of the month If a Tenancy is created with a Payment Frequency of 4 Weekly or Fortnightly, Acquaint will assume this is a Rent Benefit Tenancy and displays a field Next Council Payment in which the next payment date from the Council should be specified. This date is then used to pro-Rata the first months rent |
| Would you like to pro-rata the first Rent payment? |
Select this option if the 1st month's rent is pro-rata and subsequent months are due on a different payment day. If you have selected pro-rata payment it will take into account the difference between the start date and the payment date. For example, if you have a Tenant starting their lease on the 31st of the month and you want them to pay on the 1st of every month. Acquaint will generate the first invoice as one day (the gap between the actual start date and your desired payment date) |
| How will the Rent be paid? | The Payment Method that will be used by the Tenant |
| What Tax Rate is applied to the Rent? | For Residential Properties this will default to 0% / Tax Exempt. For Commercial Properties this will default to 20% / New Standard VAT. Once saved the Rent Due transactions will be created with the selected Tax Rate. Auto Renewal and Extending a Tenancy will use the Tax Rate selected during the Tenancy set-up. The Tax Rate against a Tenancy can subsequently be changed in the Update Rent & Commission screen. |
| Does the Tenant receive Rent Benefit? | Choose Yes if they receive Rent Benefit and Rent Benefit options will appear. This will appear as a separate transaction in the accounts screen |
| How much rent Benefit does the Tenant receive? |
Specify the amount of rent which will be paid by Rent Benefit. This allows Rent top-up to be on a different payment schedule (e.g. weekly in advance) for the council's payment (e.g. 4 weekly in arrears). |
| How often will the Rent Benefit be paid? | Specify how often the Rent Benefit will be paid |
| When will the Rent Benefit be paid? | On which day of the month the Rent Benefit will be paid. This is typically set to End of Period if the council is paying the rent benefit weekly or four weekly. |
| How will the Rent Benefit be paid? | The account the payment will be paid into |
| How much is the Deposit? |
When setting up a Tenancy the Deposit will be set as 5 weeks rent (provided rental amount is less than £50,0000 per year.
If the Rental amount is over £50,000 then the cap is 6 weeks rent.
This uses the Deposit Ratio (weeks) the setting in System Configuration.
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| Who's holding the Deposit? |
Choose from Deposit Account, Paid to Landlord, Custodial Scheme, Deposit Replacement Scheme or Client Account
If the option is set to Deposit Account Acquaint will retain the money once the deposit has been received. The money will not be passed onto the landlord. Once the deposit has been paid by the Tenant it will appear on the Home Page, under Financial as a Deposit Account Transfer.
If the option is set to Pay to Landlord then the deposit will automatically be passed to the Landlord and will be included in his next payment (The same way rent received is automatically passed from the tenant account to the Landlord's account).
If the option is set to Custodial scheme Acquaint will retain the money once the deposit has been received. The money will not be passed onto the Landlord. Once the Deposit has been paid by the Tenant it will appear on the Home Page, under Financial as a Custodial Scheme Deposit Transfers.
If the option is Deposit Replacement Scheme* then the Deposit can be specified but Acquaint won't prompt the User to receive the Deposit on both the Tenancy set-up screen and the Deposits Home Page reminder. When performing a check out the Check Out screen won't display any deposit deduction or custodial scheme request options.
If the option is Client Account, Acquaint won't create a debit for the deposit, however if the Deposit hasn't been received Acquaint will still prompt to receive the Deposit via the Deposits Due Home Page reminder. When performing a checkout any deductions from the Deposit will be made in the Client Account and paid for with the unallocated Deposit transactions for the Tenant.
Important: If you enter this information incorrectly at the start it is recommended that you delete and redo the Tenancy as attempting to replicate these transactions manually can be difficult. |
| Deposit Scheme ID | The Deposit Scheme ID can be entered. e.g. TDS ID |
| Bond | The amount of Bond provided by the Council |
| Holding Deposit Received | The amount of Holding Deposit received will be displayed |
| Deposit Due | The amount of Deposit due will be displayed |
| Has the Deposit been paid? | Choose whether the Deposit has already been paid |
| Do any of the Tenants have a Guarantor? | Choose Yes if you want to add a Guarantor |
| What are the Guarantor details |
If they have a Guarantor click yes. Right click and select Set Guarantor. The details of the Guarantor can also be used in the production of Letters. If a Guarantor has been added in error this can be removed by right clicking and choosing Remove Guarantor. |
| Are there any additional | Choose Yes if you want to add a Guarantor |
| What are the Guarantor details |
If they have a Guarantor click yes. Right click and select Set Guarantor. The details of the Guarantor can also be used in the production of Letters. If a Guarantor has been added in error this can be removed by right clicking and choosing Remove Guarantor. |
| Will you perform Inspections on this Property? | If Inspections are to be performed on the property click Yes |
| When is the first Inspection due | Specify when the first Inspection is due. A Home Page reminder will notify when this is imminent. |
| How often would you like to perform an Inspection? | Specify how often would you like to perform inspections for this Tenancy. |
| Second Inspection will be due on | Displays when the second inspection will be due. This is automatically calculated from the First Inspection date and how often you would like to perform inspections. |
| Are you charging any additional fees to the Tenant? | These are optional fees against the Tenant to cover credit checks, references etc. If there are additional fees click Yes. Additional fields will appear enabling you to add these fees. |
| What additional fees are being charged to the Tenant? | To add a fee click Add, select the required Product and specify the amount. |
| Has the Tenant paid these fees? | Indicate whether they have already paid these fees |
| Are you charging any additional fees to the landlord? | These are optional fees against the Landlord. If there are additional fees click Yes. |
| What additional fees are being charged to the Landlord? | To add a fee click Add, select the required Product and specify the amount. |
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Would you like to add any additional clauses |
Optional Tenancy clauses, paragraphs, break clauses and pet clauses etc can be configured as merge fields for Tenancy Agreements. To add a clause click Yes -> Menu ->New and select Clauses. Learn more about setting up Clauses here. |
| Total Being Paid | Total Amount being paid |
| Which User received the money from the Tenant? | This is pre-filled with the User adding the Tenancy but can be changed as required |
| When was the money received? | The date on which the money was received |
| How did the Tenant pay the money? | The method the payment was received by |
| Payment Schedule | Shows a preview of how the payments will be set-up for the Tenancy. Before the Save button is clicked is for the Tenancy , we advise you to view the Payment Schedule tab as this shows a summary of the Tenancy and the payments and commission expected. |
Click Save to add the Tenancy and you will be give the option to produce a Receipt.
Once a Tenancy has been created it can be edited using the Edit Tenancy option.
* Read more about the Deposit Replacement service at https://www.blincref.com/deposit-replacement-scheme
Customising your Tenancy Set-up process
To streamline the Tenancy set-up process if some of the steps of Tenancy set-up are not applicable to your business you can optionally hide them, this applies to the Rent Benefit, Additional Tenant fees, Additional Landlord Fees, Additional Clauses and Inspection steps. When adding a Tenancy click Don't show this step again and these screens will be hidden the next time a User sets up a new Tenancy.
A Show All hidden steps option is shown on the first tab so Users can access the hidden tabs as required.
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