The People section is your central directory for everyone associated with your rental properties — tenants, property owners, managers, vendors, and other contacts.
People Overview
Navigate to People from the sidebar. The section has two tabs:
- Tenants — People assigned to your leases
- Contacts — Manually created contacts with customizable roles
Tenants Tab
The Tenants tab lists all tenants across your properties. Tenants are created automatically when you activate a lease and assign tenants to it.
Tenant Information
Each tenant record includes:
- First and last name
- Email address
- Phone number (formatted as (000) 000-0000)
- Associated property and unit
- Lease period (from/to dates)
- Lease status (Active, Expired, Upcoming, or Unknown)
- Lease progress percentage (for active leases)
Filtering Tenants
| Filter | What it shows |
|---|---|
| All Tenants | Every tenant across all properties |
| Active Lease | Tenants with leases currently in effect |
| Expired | Tenants whose leases have ended |
| Upcoming | Tenants with leases that haven't started yet |
Sort options: Name, Property, or Lease End Date.
Use the search bar to find tenants by name, email, property, or unit.
View Modes
- Card View — Large cards with tenant avatar (initials), contact info, property details, and lease progress bar
- Table View — Compact table with columns for tenant, property/unit, phone, lease period, and status
Exporting Tenants
Click Export to Excel to download tenant data including name, email, phone, property, unit, lease status, lease dates, and progress percentage.
Contacts Tab
The Contacts tab lets you create and manage contacts manually — vendors, property owners, managers, and more.
Contact Roles
Each contact can have one or more roles:
| Role | Description |
|---|---|
| Tenant | A renter/resident |
| Cosigned | A lease cosigner |
| Owner | A property owner |
| Manager | A property manager |
Roles appear as colored badges on each contact.
Creating a Contact
Click New Contact to open the creation form in a side panel.
Personal Information:
| Field | Required | Details |
|---|---|---|
| First Name | Yes | Auto-focused when form opens |
| Last Name | Yes | |
| Birthdate | No | Date picker |
| Gender | No | Female, Male, or Other |
Contact Information:
| Field | Required | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | Must be a valid email format | |
| Phone Number | No | Format: (000) 000-0000 |
| Company Name | Yes | Company or employer |
Roles:
Four checkboxes — Tenant, Cosigned, Owner, Manager. You can select multiple roles.
Click Save to create the contact.
Editing a Contact
Click the edit icon on a contact row, or select a contact and click Edit Contact in the preview panel. The same form opens with existing data pre-filled.
Deleting a Contact
While editing, click the Delete button. It requires a two-step confirmation: click Delete once, then click Confirm to permanently remove the contact.
Contact Preview Panel
Click any contact in the table to see a preview panel on the right side showing:
- Avatar with initials
- Full name and company
- Email, phone, gender, and birthdate
- Assigned roles as colored badges
- Edit button
Filtering Contacts
| Filter | What it shows |
|---|---|
| All Contacts | Every contact |
| Tenants | Contacts with tenant role |
| Owners | Contacts with owner role |
| Managers | Contacts with manager role |
Sort options: Name or Company.
Use the search bar to find contacts by name, email, company, or phone number.
Exporting Contacts
Click Export to Excel to download contact data including name, email, phone, company, and roles.
Inviting Tenants to the Tenant Portal
Landlords can invite tenants to create their own Rentto account. This is done from the property-level Tenants tab (not the main People section).
Requires Standard plan or higher.
How to Invite a Tenant
- Navigate to a property's Tenants tab
- Click the Invite action on a tenant row
- A confirmation dialog explains: "This action will send a sign up email invitation to this tenant. After acceptance, the tenant will be able to view transactions and request maintenance tasks via the tenant portal."
- Click Send Invite
- The tenant receives a signup email with a unique invite link
Invite Status
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pending | Tenant created via lease, not yet invited |
| Sent | Invitation email has been sent |
| Accepted | Tenant signed up and activated their account |
| Declined | Tenant declined the invitation |
What Tenants See (Tenant Portal)
When a tenant accepts an invite and logs in, they see a simplified version of Rentto:
- View their active leases and lease terms
- View transaction history
- Request maintenance tasks for their unit
- Manage bank accounts and payment methods
- Update their profile information
Tenants cannot access properties, create leases, view accounting, or generate reports.
Unsaved Changes Protection
When editing a contact, if you try to navigate away with unsaved changes, a confirmation dialog appears: "Navigate away and lose all changes?" This prevents accidental data loss.
Empty States
- No tenants yet — Shows a message with a link to the Leases section: "Tenants are added when you create a lease."
- No contacts yet — Shows a message: "Add your first contact using the button above."