What to capture at resident onboarding (agreements & KYC)
Onboarding feels like paperwork you rush through to get the resident settled. But almost every deposit dispute, missing-agreement headache, and awkward exit traces back to something that wasn't captured on day one. Treat move-in as the moment you set the terms in writing — clearly, once — and the rest of the tenancy gets easier.
Identity and KYC
Capture a government ID and a photo at move-in, not later. It's your basic safeguard, it's expected practice, and chasing it after the resident has settled in is far harder. Store it securely and only keep what you actually need.
- A government-issued photo ID.
- A current photograph of the resident.
- A working phone number, verified there and then.
- An emergency contact — name and number.
The agreement, in writing and acknowledged
A verbal understanding is worth nothing when memories diverge. Put the terms in a simple agreement the resident actually reads and acknowledges. It doesn't need to be a legal fortress; it needs to be clear and mutually acknowledged.
- Rent amount, due date, and what's included (electricity, food, Wi-Fi).
- Deposit amount and the conditions for its return.
- Notice period for leaving, from both sides.
- House rules that actually matter to you — guests, quiet hours, kitchen use.
The deposit and the bed's condition
Record the exact deposit taken, keep it accounted for separately from rent, and note the condition of the bed and room at handover. When the resident leaves, that record is the difference between a calm settlement and an argument about a stain nobody remembers.
Why capturing it digitally matters
Paper forms get lost, and a photo of a form buried in your gallery isn't much better. Capturing onboarding digitally — ID, agreement, deposit, condition — means it's searchable, it's tied to the right bed and resident, and it's still there twelve months later when it settles a dispute in seconds.
The five minutes you spend doing this properly at move-in is the cheapest insurance in the whole operation. Skip it and you pay for it at move-out — with interest.