Leases: creating, renewing, roommates, and templates

The lease binds unit, residents, term, rent, and deposit — and it is where Stonerow enforces your state's rules before mistakes happen.

Creating a lease

Pick the unit, add residents, set term, rent, and deposit. The deposit is checked against the property state's cap at save time: two months' rent in Connecticut, one month in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. An over-cap deposit is stopped at entry, not discovered in a dispute.

Roommates, co-tenants, and guarantors

A lease holds multiple residents with roles — primary, co-tenant, occupant, guarantor. Every resident can be given a portal login to the same unit and ledger. Pets and vehicles are tracked on the lease as well.

Renewals and rent increases

A renewal carries the unit, residents, and deposit into a new term at the new rent, re-checks the deposit cap, and ends the prior term cleanly. The lease index and dashboard flag leases expiring within 30/60/90 days, each with a one-click Renew.

Lease templates and clause library

Build templates with merge fields; render one against any lease for a printable PDF. Signed documents and amendments attach to the lease record permanently.

Documents and signatures

Render a lease template against the lease for a printable PDF and sign it on paper, or send it for e-signature on Standard. The e-signature record captures the signer's typed name, the timestamp, their IP address, the consent version they agreed to, and a cryptographic hash of the exact document signed, in line with ESIGN and UETA. Signed documents and later amendments attach to the lease permanently. Statutory eviction notices are deliberately excluded from the template library — those need your attorney's language, not ours.

Common questions

What happens if the deposit is over the cap?

The lease will not save. Connecticut allows two months' rent, dropping to one month where the tenant is 62 or older; Rhode Island and Massachusetts allow one month. The check fires at creation and again at renewal, so the error is caught at the keyboard rather than in a demand letter.

Can one tenant appear on several leases?

Yes. Tenant records are reusable across units and terms within your account, and a renewal carries the residents forward rather than making you re-enter them.

Can I delete a lease I entered by mistake?

A lease with ledger history cannot be hard-deleted, by design. Correct the entries with reversals and end the term; the audit trail keeps the whole story, which is what makes the rest of your records trustworthy.

Can I track renters insurance on the lease?

Yes — carrier, policy number, coverage amount, and expiry date per lease, with expiring and expired flags so a lapsed policy surfaces before the claim does.