Digital Lease Signing Tools: The Best Choice for Landlords

Digital lease signing is changing the way landlords and tenants deal with reviewing and signing rental contracts. Rather than handling stacks of paperwork, coordinating with tenants, and hunting down missed signatures, landlords can use electronic signing tools to make the entire process easier, more convenient, and more accurate. 

Electronic lease signing tools allow landlords to improve efficiency, achieve better tenant experiences, and get maximum legal protection. Read the full article to learn more about the benefits of esigning and some best practices for getting the most out of online lease signing tools. 

Visit ezLandlordForms to start customizing digital lease agreements that include unlimited access to our electronic signing tool, ezSign. 

What Is Digital Lease Signing? 

Digital lease signing means signing a lease agreement electronically rather than using pen and paper. With electronic lease signing, both the landlord and tenant: 

• Review the lease online. 
• Sign the agreement electronically with a lease e-signature. 
• Receive a signed or executed copy of the lease agreement 
• Can store an electronic copy of the executed contract. 

Electronic lease signing lets you skip the step of printing the lease, coordinating with the tenant to review and sign the lease, and then copying or scanning the contract to provide both parties with an executed copy. 

Is Digital Lease Signing Legally Valid? 

Yes, in most cases, digital signatures are treated like handwritten signatures. The ESIGN Act of 2000 gave electronic signatures the same legal standing as hard copy signatures. 

A digital signature is viewed just like a handwritten signature as long as the parties consent to using an e-signature, the signature can be attributed to the signing party, and the signature is attached to a complete and accurate document. 

For landlords and tenants, this means that as long as you use trusted e-signature or lease signing software, your lease e-signature will carry the same weight as a handwritten signature. 

Key Benefits of Digital Lease Signing for Landlords

Electronic lease signing has some clear advantages for both landlords and tenants. Some key benefits of online lease signing are: 

• Speed and efficiency: Both parties can review and sign immediately with no delay due to printing, coordinating, or mailing. 
• Remote signing: The parties can sign from anywhere, which allows for remote property management and convenience for tenants moving to a new location. 
• Documentation: Digital lease signing means there is a signing log and clear documentation of who signed the lease when. This helps avoid disputes and ensures more landlord protection. 
• Storage: Online lease signing tools provide each party with an executed copy of the lease that can be stored securely. This makes it accessible while also ensuring that personal information is secure. 
• Environmentally friendly: No need to print hard copies of your documents when everything can be reviewed, signed, and stored electronically.  

Why Should Landlords Shift to Digital Lease Signing Tools? 

Adding digital lease signing helps landlords attract and retain quality applicants. It signals to applicants and tenants that you’re a professional landlord who takes your investment seriously. Digital leases and e-signing tools improve property management systems by: 

• Creating a better tenant experience. The convenience and ease of digital lease agreements sets a good tone with tenants from day 1. 
• Attracting quality tenants. Without the delays of signing a written document, a higher number of quality applicants will become tenants. 
• Leading to increased legal protection. Better documentation means fewer errors and avoids the risk of skipped initials, incomplete signing, or lost pages. Plus, clear documentation of when the parties signed a lease can protect landlords if disputes arise. 
• Helping landlords stay organized. This is particularly important for landlords with multiple units. Having your documents organized is key and will make life easy if tenant disputes arise and you need to review the lease. Plus, it helps landlords stay on top of lease renewals. When issues arise, you need to be able to efficiently find your executed leases!

The takeaway here for landlords is that making the shift to online lease signing is an easy way to improve property management systems, build professional management routines, attract quality tenants, and reduce administrative costs. 

Best Practices When Using Digital Lease Signing Tools

For landlords ready to incorporate digital lease agreements or lease signing software, here are some best practices for getting started: 

1. Use a trusted e-signing platform – this can be either through landlord lease management tools or digital lease signing tools. 
2. Review the entire digital lease agreement before sending it to the parties for online lease signing. 
3. Ensure that all parties consent to electronic lease signing. 
4. Don’t rush tenants to sign – give all parties adequate time to review online rental agreements. 
5. Ensure all parties receive an executed copy of the digital lease agreements. 
6. Store the signed lease securely – this will happen automatically if you use property management software. 

Find the Digital Lease Template That Meets Your Property Management Needs

Landlord lease management tools can help make life easier for landlords and lead to better experiences for tenants. Digital leases are easy for both parties to review and sign. Plus, they ensure landlords are legally compliant and have maximum legal protection. 

Landlords need a state-specific lease agreement that can be customized to their needs. At ezLandlordForms, you can customize online rental agreements and build a personalized lease package that is guaranteed to comply with your state’s laws. Plus, all Pro Leases include unlimited access to our electronic signing tool, ezSign. 

Not sure you’re ready to make the shift to a digital lease tool? You can build your lease for free in about 15 minutes and then decide if it’s right for your rental business. Visit ezLandlordForms now to select your state and find the digital lease template to meet your property management needs.