What should a landlord shut off when a helper stops working for them?

Why the same day matters

Most problems after a helper leaves are not malice. They are forgotten access: a code that still opens a unit, an old login to the rent portal, a work-order email that still lands in a former helper's inbox, or a tenant who still texts the old number. Each one is a small risk of lost data, missed repairs or confusion. A few cases involve a person who leaves on bad terms, and then a forgotten login becomes a real problem.

FTC guidance for businesses says that access to personal information should be limited to the people who need it for their jobs, which means it should end when the job does.

The risk grows with time. A helper who worked for you three years ago may still have a login to the rent portal, a code that opens two units and a saved copy of a tenant spreadsheet on a personal laptop. None of that is visible to you until something goes wrong. Offboarding is the one moment when you know exactly what the person had, so it is the cheapest time to close every door.

The offboarding checklist

1. Accounts: remove the person from the property software, accounting tool, rent portal, bank, card accounts, email, shared drives and chat groups. Delete or disable their separate logins.
2. Shared passwords: change the password on any account that had only one login. If you use a password manager, remove them from every shared folder.
3. Two-factor: remove their phone as a code destination anywhere it was added, and print new recovery codes where needed.
4. Sessions: sign out all devices where the service lets you.
5. Locks and keys: delete their smart lock codes, collect keys and lockbox access, and rekey or change any code they knew that cannot be deleted.
6. Vendors and utilities: tell the vendors the person dealt with who to call now, and remove them as a contact on utility, insurance and permit accounts.
7. Phone and email: forward the work number or email to you or the new helper, and set an auto-reply for a short while.
8. Devices and files: ask for work files, notes and any company phone or laptop to be returned, and have local copies of tenant data deleted.
9. Money: check the bank, card and rent accounts for any payee, limit or bank detail changed in the last weeks.

Tell tenants and vendors what changed

Send a short message to every tenant: who the new contact is, how to report a repair and the one way rent is paid. Include a line that you will never ask for payment through a new method by text. A change of contact is when scammers send a fake "new account" message, so a clear notice helps tenants spot the real one.

For vendors, confirm in writing who now approves work orders and invoices, so no one is paid on a request from the former helper.

Keep a short record

Write down the date, who was removed from what and who did the work. If your state's breach law ever comes into play, a record that you acted the same day shows reasonable steps. Review the list again a week later to catch anything that surfaced.

If you run DoorKeeping, helpers have roles, so removing a role takes access away from the books and the tenant records in one step. You still need to handle lock codes, keys and accounts outside the app. DoorKeeping is $2 per unit per month and gives no legal advice.

Sources

1. FTC, Protecting Personal Information: A Guide for Business, read Oct 30, 2026
2. FTC, Cybersecurity for Small Business, read Oct 30, 2026
3. CISA, Use Strong Passwords, read Oct 30, 2026

Questions

How soon should I remove a helper's access?

The same day they stop working for you, and before they are told if the parting is on bad terms.

Do I need to change every password?

Change the ones that had only one shared login. Where each person had their own login, delete theirs instead.

Should I tell tenants a helper left?

Yes, briefly. Give the new contact and remind tenants that rent details never change by text or email.