What to put in a welcome message to a new tenant
Send the welcome message before or on move-in day. Cover how to pay rent, how to report a repair, what counts as an emergency and how to reach you. Keep it under 200 words. Most early problems come from not knowing these four things, so answering them once saves you many questions later.
The four things a new tenant needs
| Topic | What to say | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Paying rent | Where to send it, the exact amount, the due date and when a late fee starts. | Late and missing rent often start with a wrong amount or the wrong account. |
| Repairs | How to report one, with photos if possible, and what response time to expect. | A written request starts the clock and gives you a record. |
| Emergencies | What counts as one and the number to call. See what counts as an emergency. | A burst pipe at 2 am should not go to a text queue. |
| Reaching you | The one email or number to use, and the days you reply. | Avoids messages scattered across personal accounts. |
Useful extras
- Where the shutoff valves, breaker panel and smoke detectors are.
- Trash and recycling days, and parking rules.
- A reminder to review and return the move-in condition report within the time your lease allows. See the move-in checklist.
- A reminder to put utilities in their name if the lease requires it.
Skip long lectures about rules. The lease already holds them. The welcome message is a quick start guide, not a second lease.
A short template
"Welcome to unit 4C! Rent of $1,450 is due on the 1st; a late fee applies after the 5th. Payment details are in your tenant page. To report a repair, send a message with a photo through the same page and I will confirm within one business day. For a true emergency such as a gas smell, flooding or no heat in winter, call 555-0100 at any hour. The water shutoff is under the kitchen sink. Please send the move-in condition report back within seven days. Reply here with any question." (Made-up numbers; use your own.)
Drafting it with AI
Ask your assistant: "Write a welcome message for the new tenant of unit 4C using the lease terms in my records. Cover rent, repairs, emergencies and how to reach me. Under 200 words, plain language." Then check each fact. Look for three things in particular.
- The rent amount and due date match the lease exactly.
- The emergency number is yours, not an invented one.
- Nothing in the text treats this tenant differently from others, for example by assuming a language, a family size or a habit.
A welcome message is part of the tenancy, so apply the same message to every tenant of the building. Different treatment between tenants is a fair housing risk (see HUD's overview).
A light touch in the first week
One short check-in a few days after move-in catches small problems before they grow: a stuck window, a missing key, a confusing thermostat. Ask one open question, such as whether anything in the unit is not working the way you expected, and offer to fix it.
Log what the tenant tells you. A repair noted in week one is easy to separate from damage that appears later, and it keeps the move-in condition report honest.
Keep the tone warm and the content factual. The same message goes to every new tenant, so nobody gets more or less attention than their neighbors.
How DoorKeeping handles it
Each tenant gets a pay screen with the exact amount, a memo like 12B SMITH and the owner's bank details to copy. Your assistant can draft the welcome message from the lease and show it to you. The message tool shows the draft first and sends it only after you say yes. Replies and repair requests stay in the tenant's thread.
Sources
- HUD: Fair Housing Act overview, read Oct 30, 2026
- DoorKeeping: Connect Claude or ChatGPT (steps and tools list), read Oct 30, 2026
- Model Context Protocol: Tools (specification), read Oct 30, 2026
Questions
- When should I send a welcome message to a new tenant?
- Before move-in day or on the day itself. It works best when it arrives at the same time as the keys or access instructions.
- How long should a welcome message be?
- Under 200 words. Rent, repairs, emergencies and how to reach you are the essentials.
- Can ChatGPT or Claude write a tenant welcome letter?
- Yes, as a draft. Give it the lease facts and ask for plain language, then check every number and phone number.
- Should the welcome message repeat the lease?
- No. Point to the lease for the rules and use the message for the practical first steps.