You viewed the place, you want it, and the landlord wants you in. Here is how a tenancy actually begins on Rentor, and what to do in your first week.

How a tenancy begins

A landlord starts the tenancy from their side, in one of two ways:

1. You already have a Rentor account. The landlord assigns you to the unit using the email on your account. The moment they do, the home appears on your dashboard — no extra steps.
2. You're new to Rentor. The landlord sends you an invite by email or SMS. The message carries a sign-up link tied to that specific unit, along with the rent, deposit and start date the landlord proposed.

Accepting an invite

1. Open the link from the email or SMS.
2. It takes you to a sign-up page locked to the email the landlord invited. Fill in your name, phone and password.
3. Verify your phone with the OTP code, and confirm your email.
4. That's it — the tenancy is created and your home hub appears.

Invite links are valid for 7 days. If yours has expired, just ask the landlord to send a fresh one.

If you already had an account under that email, the landlord's invite simply assigns you straight away.

What the landlord can see about you

Before assigning you, a landlord may look at your Rentor reputation — your trust score and reviews from past tenancies. That's all. They never see your phone number or email address; every conversation goes through the platform. A profile photo and a good payment record make your application stronger.

What appears once you're in

As soon as the tenancy is created, three things open up:

• My Home — your tenant dashboard, with your unit, rent and balance at a glance.
• Your rent ledger — a month-by-month record of what's due and what's paid, under "Rent & Payments".
• Your lease — drafted by the landlord and waiting on the Documents page.

Your first week

A short checklist to start on the right foot:

1. Review and sign your lease. You'll see a banner on the Documents page when it's ready. See Signing your lease.
2. Pay your security deposit. If any deposit is outstanding, a banner on the Payments page shows exactly how much, payable by M-Pesa, card or bank. See Your security deposit.
3. Do the move-in inspection. Walk the unit room by room with photos, so the condition at handover is on record for both of you. See Documents & inspection checklists.
4. Check your first bill. Your ledger shows the current month, its due date and a full breakdown. When you're ready, pay your rent in a minute via M-Pesa.

Karibu home — and remember, tenant accounts on Rentor are completely free.