Lease Management Software: Features, Cost & Best Uses

As your portfolio grows and the rental agreements pile up, lease management software becomes an indispensable tool. Staying organized is critical, and finding the right platform to manage the chaos will help you stay on top of renewals, all while never misplacing a lease.

In this article, we’ll cover key features to look for in lease management software, including state-specific lease generation, e-sign compatibility, clause customization, and renewal tracking. Then, we’ll explore the benefits of using software to handle your leases and recommend a well-reviewed option that’s helping landlords across the country.

Keep reading to learn how lease management software can simplify your workload, reduce legal risk, and boost document organization. By finding the right fit for your portfolio, you’ll be able to manage your rentals with more confidence, decisiveness, and control.

What is lease management software?

Lease management software is a digital tool that helps you create and store rental agreements, track key dates, and keep everything organized in an online platform. It replaces scattered documents and hands-on tracking with a more efficient, centralized framework.

Use this software to handle addendums, monitor upcoming renewals, and ensure legal compliance regarding the finer parts of your lease terms. Without it, expired agreements, botched clauses, and disorganized files can create legal and financial mayhem, especially if you have several properties to keep track of.

Most lease management software comes built into a broader property management platform that helps landlords handle more than just leases. Rental marketing, tenant screening, rent collection, and accounting should all come standard in the next product you choose.

Lease Management Software Feature Must-Haves

Software is only as good as the features behind it. Choosing the right lease management platform means understanding which tools are most crucial for your rental business. In the next section, we’ll look at the components worth prioritizing when weighing your options.

State-Specific Digital Lease Generation

Any reputable lease software should generate state-specific agreements that reflect current state-required disclosures, early termination clauses, security deposit rules, and lease terms. Look for a platform backed by legal professionals who review and update templates as regulations change.

Failing to use a state-specific lease can result in unenforceable terms, missing disclosures, and legal issues with tenants or local authorities. Read through reviews and search for software that has a reputation for generating enforceable, legally sound leases. And don’t just trust any old lease you find on the internet to protect you.

Clause Customization

Clause customization enables you to tailor default lease terms to reflect property-specific rules or preferences. For example, certain landlords may consider adding a pet clause that limits the types of breeds or sets weight restrictions. Your future software should enable you to edit, add, or remove clauses like these without needing to contact support first.

Understand that lease templates should never be one-size-fits-all, as every property has its own needs. If you want to prohibit subletting, set guest policies, or add rules for shared spaces, the software you choose should help you create leases that effectively enforce these rules, no matter what.

E-Signature Capabilities

Remember when signing a lease meant sitting across the table from your tenant with a pen and paper? Those days are over. Today, we e-sign legally binding rental contracts online because doing so is faster, more convenient, and easier to track and store for both parties.

Once you prepare a lease, you can initiate e-signing by sending a secure link to the tenant, who can then review and sign it digitally. Be cautious of platforms that charge landlords for every signature; instead, opt for software that gives you the option to e-sign an unlimited number of lease agreements without nickel-and-diming you after you pay for a subscription.

Adding Co-Signers

Some tenants require co-signers (individuals who agree to take on financial responsibility if the tenant fails to pay rent) when their credit is poor or their income is unstable. The right software makes it easy to add co-signers, helping protect your portfolios with added financial assurances.

Co-signers can complicate the paperwork if your software isn’t ready for them, however. So, look for a platform that clearly distinguishes between tenants and co-signers, includes signature fields for both, and generates a complete, legally enforceable agreement time after time.

Secure Document Storage

Leases often contain sensitive information and outline the legally binding terms that govern your rental agreement. Storing them safely is non-negotiable, so look for software that uses encrypted servers to protect your digital documents (and your liability).

Effective lease software doesn’t stop at document security. It should also protect bank account details, screen for fraud, and secure sensitive data collected during background checks. These essential security features will help you establish a rock-solid rental operation from the outset.

Expiration/Renewal Tracking

You juggle a lot of responsibilities, and lease renewals can easily slip through the cracks. Relying on your smartphone’s calendar may work in a pinch, but doing so is a risky way to manage legally binding deadlines. Software will help you track key dates and display them on a dashboard that stays synced with all of your active leases.

By tracking lease expirations and renewals, you can spot upcoming deadlines before they become urgent. Doing so will give you time to send non-renewal notices (when required by law), schedule walkthroughs with prospective tenants, and avoid scrambling to fill vacancies.

Addendum Capabilities

Addenda are attachments that modify or add to an existing lease. Things change, and you might need to add a pet agreement or adjust parking arrangements after signing. The software you choose must support addendums to keep your contracts up-to-date and ensure they remain legally binding.

Some software makes adding an addendum a pain, turning a simple update into a frustrating task. TurboTenant keeps it simple. Check out our comprehensive guide to learn how to create, send, and store lease addendums without missing a beat.

Why Lease Management Software is Essential for Landlords

Lease management software plays an outsized role in keeping your rental business organized, efficient, and compliant with legal requirements. The following section breaks down why it’s become such an essential tool for modern landlords.

Keeps You Legally Compliant

Landlords need things to go smoothly. Legal issues can quickly throw operations into chaos by attracting fines, disputes, or government attention. The software you choose should help you generate legally sound leases, update clauses, track compliance, and stay protected.

Saves Time and Minimizes Errors

Have you ever attempted to write a lease agreement yourself? How’d that go?

Generating a rental contract with a legally reviewed template will save you hours and ensure compliance. Combine that with e-sign capabilities and lease tracking, and you’ll spend less time combing through landlord-tenant laws and more time focusing on your properties.

Centralizes Documents and Sensitive Data

For better or worse, your entire portfolio revolves around signed leases and any addendums you add to them. Proper software stores these documents securely in the cloud, reliably protected by password-locked, encrypted servers. You’ll never need to print a physical lease again (or worry about losing one).

Helps Track Important Dates and Deadlines

Failing to renew or terminate a lease can lead to awkward holdovers, prolonged vacancies, or forced tenant renewals. Lease management software keeps these critical dates front and center, allowing you to plan and avoid preventable issues tied to your rental timeline.

TurboTenant: Lease Management Software Built for Independent Landlords

TurboTenant helps landlords manage leases with state-specific templates, e-signatures, clause customization, renewal tracking, secure document storage, and more, all in one dashboard.

With our comprehensive property management software, landlords can also market rentals, screen tenants, collect rent, handle accounting, coordinate maintenance, and access friendly, attentive customer service if questions arise.

Sign up for TurboTenant today to streamline your leasing duties while keeping your important documents organized, secure, and compliant.

FAQ: Lease Management Software