Leases and e-signatures
A lease goes out from the application once the household has a unit. It can be printed and signed on paper for free, or sent for e-signature for one credit, however many people sign it. Credits cost $2.50 each and are bought in the Housing app under Settings → E-signatures.
Setting up
- Settings → Standard lease. Give the lease a name under What to call it, pick What it is (Our lease or HAP contract (vouchers)) and press Upload lease. The file is a PDF of 5 MB or less.
- Set up fields. For a fillable PDF, match each blank to a fact from the household's file or a fixed value, so the office checks the values rather than typing them. A flat PDF is used as it is.
- Settings → E-signatures → Who signs for the authority. The name and email of the person who countersigns after the household. Staff can change it on any one lease.
- Optional: Settings → Signing the lease → Require a signed lease before admitting. With it on, the lease is signed before the household is admitted rather than after.
Where each person signs is found for you. Housing uses the PDF's own signature fields first, then "signature" lines in the text, then the bottom of the last page. Household members sign where the lease says tenant, resident, lessee or occupant; the authority signs where it says landlord, lessor, owner, agent, manager or authority.
Buying e-signatures
Settings → E-signatures shows the balance as "N e-signatures left".
- Enter how many under E-signatures to buy (1 to 200 at a time).
- Press Buy for $…. The price is $2.50 a send.
- Pay in the checkout window that opens.
The credits show a few seconds after payment. They belong to the authority, not to any CivicPort community it is linked to: the two balances are separate, and a community's credits cannot pay for a Housing lease.
There is no monthly allowance. CivicPort staff can add credits by hand, for a pilot say, with Grant credits (CivicPort staff) on the same card. A grant names a reason, is capped at 200 signatures, and shows in the card's history.
Sending a lease
- Open the application. A unit must be assigned.
- On the Lease card, press Prepare the lease.
- Choose Download to print or Send for e-signature.
- Tick who signs: up to six people. A helper can sign only when the authority allows helpers to sign.
- Press Send for e-signature.
Each signer gets an email. The card shows "Waiting for N of M signatures" until everyone has signed, then the signed PDF is filed on the household and, where the property is linked, on the resident's CivicPort lease.
Changing your mind after downloading
Downloading a lease to print is not final. While the card says "Printed, waiting to be signed", Send for e-signature instead opens the send screen on Send for e-signature with the same template and dates filled in. The printed copy goes into the card's history, and the send costs a credit as usual. The button only appears where e-signatures are set up.
What a send costs
| Event | Credits |
|---|---|
| Lease sent for e-signature | 1, however many sign |
| HAP contract sent to the owner and the authority | 1 |
| Lease printed and signed on paper | 0 |
| Send that fails to go out | 0 — the credit is put back |
| Lease voided or declined | The credit stays spent |
A lease is voided on its own when the unit or rent offer changes or the offer is withdrawn, and a replacement costs a new credit. When a household declines, the unit offer is dropped and the unit goes back on the vacancy list.
With no credits left
The send screen starts on Download to print and Send for e-signature is greyed out, with a note to buy more in Settings or print the lease. Printing still works.