What should a move-in day message to a new tenant include?

When to send it

Send the full message two days before move-in. That leaves time to book an elevator, find parking and ask questions, and it is early enough to fix a problem such as a wrong key count. Send a two-line reminder the morning of move-in with the time and a phone number.

If the lease signing message already covered money and dates, as in the lease signing day message, this one is purely logistics.

What to include

1. Meeting time, place and who will meet them.
2. How they get in: keys, lock codes or a key box, and when the locks were last changed.
3. Parking for the moving truck and for the tenant's own vehicle afterwards.
4. Building rules that affect a move: elevator reservations, loading zone, allowed hours and floor protection.
5. Trash, recycling and bulk pickup: bin location, pickup days and where boxes go.
6. The move-in condition report: when you will walk the unit together and how to note anything they find.
7. Utilities: which ones they must have in their own name by move-in, and which are included.
8. Who to call for what, with one number and one email.

The condition report matters most for your deposit. Ask the tenant to note anything they find within a set number of days and attach photos. How to run it is in the move-in checklist and condition report.

A sample message

Example a made-up move-in message. "Hi Priya, here are the details for Saturday. I will meet you at 214 Maple Street, Unit B, at noon with your keys. The locks were changed after the last tenant left. Park the moving truck in front for loading; your own car can use the driveway on the left. Trash and recycling bins are behind the building, and pickup is Wednesday. We will walk the unit together and fill in the condition report, and you can add photos for the next five days. Please have electricity in your name by Saturday. For anything urgent that day, call me at the number on your lease."

Keep it in a single message with short lines. Tenants read it on a phone, often while packing.

Treat keys and codes with care

Do not send lock codes or key box codes in a message that others may read, and change a code after the move-in is done. Prefer handing over physical keys in person and logging how many were given. Notes on key control are in rekeying between tenants.

Do not mention neighbors, "families" or "quiet" tenants in the message. Describing the building in terms of who lives there can read as steering. Stick to practical facts.

Follow up after day one

A short check-in after the first day or two catches small problems before they grow: a sticky door, a missing outlet cover, a trash question. A fix in the first week sets the tone for the whole tenancy.

Example a made-up check-in. "Hi Priya, hope the move went smoothly. Anything not working or missing? Just reply here and I will take care of it."

How DoorKeeping handles it

Ask your connected Claude or ChatGPT to draft the move-in message from the lease and property details, such as parking and trash days. A message to the tenant is shown to you first, goes out by email only after you say yes, and stays in the tenant's message history. If the tenant reports something broken, you can create a work order from the same conversation.

Sources

1. Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. 3604 (Cornell LII), read Oct 30, 2026

Questions

When should I send move-in instructions?

About two days before move-in, with a short reminder the morning of the move.

Should I send lock codes in the message?

Avoid it. Hand over keys in person where you can, and change any shared code after the move.

What does the tenant need to do on move-in day?

Meet you or collect keys, do the condition report, confirm utilities and note any problems with photos.

Should I check in after move-in?

Yes. A short message after the first day or two lets you fix small issues early.