> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.nyumbazetu.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Managing leases

> Create, bill, renew and end leases — the contract that everything financial hangs off.

**Leases → `/leases`**

A lease is the contract between your organisation and a resident for a unit. It is the billing
subject: invoices, statements, arrears, collections and owner statements all resolve through it.

<Note>
  A lease and its unit are separate records. The same unit has many leases over its life, and a
  lease keeps its identity — and its history — after it ends.
</Note>

## Creating a lease

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the leases list">
    **Leases → Add.**
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select the unit">
    The unit must exist and be free of an active lease. See [Units](/guides/units).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select the resident">
    The tenant responsible for the lease. Create the resident first if needed — see
    [Residents](/guides/residents).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set the term">
    Start date and end date. These drive expiry reporting, renewals and pro-rating.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set the rent and billing cycle">
    The rent amount, the frequency, and the day of the cycle it bills on.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Record the deposit">
    Security deposit amount and terms. See [Security deposits](/guides/security-deposits).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save, then add recurring charges">
    Saving the lease does not bill anything. The lease bills when it has
    [recurring charges](/guides/recurring-charges) — rent plus service charge, garbage, parking and
    anything else standing.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  **The most common onboarding mistake:** a lease created without recurring charges. It looks
  correct, the tenant looks compliant, and it bills nothing. After creating a lease, confirm its
  charges before you move on.
</Warning>

### Importing leases

Use **Admin → Bulk Upload** with the *Leases* type to onboard a portfolio. The importer groups and
validates rows before committing and records the outcome of every row. See
[Bulk upload](/guides/bulk-upload).

## The lease lifecycle

```
Draft → Pending → Active → Under Notice → Ended | Terminated | Expired
                     ↓
                 Suspended
```

For each status's precise meaning — including the TPS-only Defaulted, Repossessed and Completed —
see the [full lease-status reference](/guides/units#full-lease-status-reference).

Status is what drives occupancy, billing eligibility and arrears. Keeping it accurate is not
administrative tidiness; a lease left Active after the tenant moved out keeps billing and generates
arrears against nobody.

## Editing a lease

Open a lease to change dates, rent, charges or the responsible resident.

<Warning>
  Changing rent or dates affects **future** billing only. Invoices already issued are not rewritten.
  If past invoices are wrong, correct them with [adjustments](/guides/adjustments).
</Warning>

## Charges on the lease

The lease's charges page shows every recurring charge attached to it, with a **phase preview** of
what will bill and when. Use it to:

* confirm a new lease is billing what the agreement says;
* add a mid-term charge (a new parking bay) without disturbing the rest;
* end a charge cleanly with an end date rather than deleting it.

Increases over time belong in an [escalation schedule](/guides/charge-escalation), not in an annual
manual edit.

## Renewals

<Steps>
  <Step title="Find leases expiring soon">
    Run the **Lease Expiry Report**, or filter the leases list by end date. See
    [Reports](/guides/reports).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Agree terms">
    New rent, new term, any change to charges.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Extend or replace">
    Extend the existing lease where the parties and unit are unchanged; create a new lease where
    the agreement is materially different, so each contract's history stays clean.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Apply the new rent from the right date">
    Set the escalation or the new charge amount effective from the renewal date, not from today.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Ending a lease (move-out)

<Steps>
  <Step title="Record the notice">
    Set the lease **Under Notice** with the vacate date, so occupancy forecasting is accurate
    before the tenant leaves.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Stop future billing">
    Set end dates on the recurring charges. A charge with no end date keeps billing a vacated unit.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Final-bill and reconcile">
    Issue any final charges, apply any remaining wallet balance, and settle outstanding invoices.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Settle the deposit">
    Agree deductions, then refund the balance. See
    [Security deposits](/guides/security-deposits) and [Refunds](/guides/refunds).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Close the lease">
    Set the final status: **Ended** for a natural conclusion, **Terminated** for an early exit.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Free the unit">
    The unit becomes available for the next tenancy.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Views and reporting

The leases list supports grid and calendar views — the calendar plots both lease start and lease
end per row with a legend, which makes a season's turnover visible at a glance.

Lease-specific reports:

| Report                        | Answers                                                                  |
| ----------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Lease Report**              | The full lease book with terms and status.                               |
| **Lease Expiry Report**       | What is ending, and when.                                                |
| **Debt Aging (by lease)**     | Which leases owe what. See [Debt aging](/guides/collections/debt-aging). |
| **Tenant Ledger / Statement** | Everything billed and paid on one lease.                                 |

## Common problems

| Symptom                                        | Cause and fix                                                                                                         |
| ---------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Lease bills nothing                            | No recurring charges attached.                                                                                        |
| Vacated unit still generating invoices         | Charges have no end date, and/or the lease is still Active.                                                           |
| Arrears on a lease the tenant says they closed | The lease was never moved to Ended, so billing continued after move-out.                                              |
| Cannot create a lease on a unit                | The unit already has an active lease, or is in a different branch.                                                    |
| Rent changed but invoices did not              | The change was made after the cycle generated. Correct with an adjustment, and set future changes with an escalation. |

## Next steps

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Recurring invoices" icon="repeat" href="/guides/recurring-charges">
    Make the lease actually bill.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Security deposits" icon="vault" href="/guides/security-deposits">
    Hold, deduct and refund deposits.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Lease applications" icon="clipboard-list" href="/guides/applications">
    The intake workflow that precedes a lease.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Collections" icon="hand-holding-dollar" href="/guides/collections/overview">
    What happens when a lease falls behind.
  </Card>
</Columns>