Quick question: Can you tell me, right now, without looking anything up—which of your tenancies expire in the next 60 days?
If you can answer that instantly, you're doing better than most letting agents. But if you had to pause, think about where that information lives, maybe check a spreadsheet or calendar... you're not alone.
This week, we built complete tenancy management into LetAdmin. Not just a list of current tenants, but the full lifecycle—applications, agreements, renewals, rent increases, and automatic status tracking. Here's what it means for agencies trying to stay on top of their portfolio.
The Problem: Tenancy Information Is Everywhere (and Nowhere)
Most letting agents have tenancy data scattered across multiple systems:
The Common Chaos
- Spreadsheets: A master list somewhere with tenant names, start dates, maybe rent amounts
- Paper files: Original agreements in filing cabinets (good luck finding them quickly)
- Calendar reminders: "Tenancy renewal - 23 Oak Street" with no context attached
- Email threads: Negotiations buried in your inbox from 8 months ago
- Your memory: "I think the Smiths renewed last April... or was it March?"
The result? Renewals get missed. Rent review opportunities slip by. When a landlord asks "what's the tenancy history for my property?" you're piecing together information from four different places.
What This Costs You
Missing a tenancy renewal isn't just inconvenient—it has real costs:
- Lost rent: If tenants leave because you didn't contact them in time, that's void periods
- Landlord frustration: "Why didn't you renew them? They were good tenants!"
- Admin scramble: Last-minute renewal negotiations are stressful and time-consuming
- Compliance risk: Rolling onto periodic without proper documentation
One letting agent told me: "I found out a tenancy had expired three weeks ago when the tenant called to say they were leaving. We'd just... forgotten about it."
That's not a failure of effort—it's a failure of systems.
How LetAdmin Handles Tenancy Management
We built tenancy tracking that mirrors how tenancies actually work in the real world. Not just a simple start/end date field, but the complete lifecycle with all the complexity that comes with it.
The Tenancy Lifecycle
1. Application Stage When prospective tenants express interest, you create an application. This tracks:
- Applicant details (linked to your people/contacts database)
- Which property they're applying for
- Application status (pending, approved, rejected, withdrawn)
- Notes and communication history
2. Agreement Creation Once approved, the application converts to a tenancy with its first agreement:
- Initial fixed-term agreement (typically 6 or 12 months)
- Start and end dates
- Rent amount and payment frequency
- Deposit details and scheme registration
- Special conditions (pets allowed, garden maintenance, etc.)
3. Renewals and Extensions When it's time to renew, you don't create a new tenancy—you add a new agreement to the existing tenancy:
- Renewal agreements link to the same tenancy record
- Full history preserved (original terms, all renewals)
- Rent changes tracked between agreements
- Easy to see: "This tenancy started in 2019, renewed 4 times, current rent £1,450"
4. Rent Increases Track rent reviews independently:
- Proposed increase amounts
- Effective dates
- Whether increase was accepted or negotiated
- Full audit trail for compliance
Automatic Status Tracking
Tenancies update themselves. Based on agreement dates:
- Pending: Application approved, waiting for move-in
- Active: Current date is within an active agreement period
- Periodic: Fixed-term ended, now rolling monthly
- Ended: Tenants moved out, tenancy closed
You don't have to manually update statuses. LetAdmin checks daily and keeps everything current.
Real-World Example: The 3-Year Tenancy
Sarah moved into your two-bed flat in January 2022. Here's what her tenancy record looks like in LetAdmin:
Tenancy: Sarah Thompson - 45 High Street
- Status: Active
- Started: 15 January 2022
- Current Rent: £1,350/month
- Deposit: £1,350 (DPS Scheme)
Agreements:
- Initial (6 months): Jan 2022 - Jul 2022 @ £1,200/month
- Renewal 1 (12 months): Jul 2022 - Jul 2023 @ £1,250/month
- Renewal 2 (12 months): Jul 2023 - Jul 2024 @ £1,300/month
- Renewal 3 (12 months): Jul 2024 - Jul 2025 @ £1,350/month ← Current
Rent Increases:
- Jul 2022: £1,200 → £1,250 (+4.2%)
- Jul 2023: £1,250 → £1,300 (+4.0%)
- Jul 2024: £1,300 → £1,350 (+3.8%)
One screen. Full history. No digging through files.
When the landlord calls and asks "what rent increases have we done?"—you can answer in 10 seconds instead of 10 minutes.
Why "Consolidated" Tenancies Matter
Here's something most property software gets wrong: they treat each renewal as a separate tenancy.
The problem with that approach:
- You end up with 5 "tenancies" for a tenant who's been there 5 years
- Hard to see the continuous relationship
- Reporting becomes messy ("how many active tenancies?" includes renewals)
- You lose the narrative of a long-term tenant
LetAdmin consolidates consecutive agreements into one tenancy record. Same tenant, same property, continuous occupation = one tenancy with multiple agreements.
This means:
- Accurate tenant counts: A 5-year tenant is 1 tenancy, not 5
- Clear history: Full timeline visible at a glance
- Better landlord reports: "This tenant has been here since 2019, renewed 4 times, never missed rent"
- Realistic portfolio view: Your 150 properties might have 180 tenancy agreements but only 140 actual tenancies
Filtering Properties by Tenancy Status
Once you have proper tenancy data, filtering becomes powerful.
New property filters added this week:
- All Properties: Everything in your portfolio
- With Active Tenancy: Currently occupied
- No Active Tenancy: Vacant or between tenants
Why this matters:
Need to find your vacant properties? One click.
Want to see which properties have tenants? One click.
Running a landlord report on occupied vs vacant? The data is there.
Combined with marketing status filters (On Market, Under Negotiation, Let STC, Let), you can slice your portfolio any way you need:
- "Show me all vacant properties that are On Market"
- "Show me all Let properties with active tenancies"
- "Show me properties Under Negotiation with no tenant yet"
What About Migrating Existing Data?
If you're currently tracking tenancies somewhere else (spreadsheets, another system), we've built import tools to bring that data in.
The import process:
- Export your tenancy data to CSV
- Upload to LetAdmin
- System automatically:
- Matches tenants to properties by reference
- Consolidates consecutive renewals into unified tenancies
- Preserves all historical agreements and dates
- Imports notes and special conditions
We've successfully imported 1,500+ tenancy records from legacy systems, including all historical renewals and rent changes. The import handles the complexity of merging consecutive agreements automatically.
Expiring Tenancies: Never Miss Another Renewal
With proper tenancy data, you can finally answer that question from the start of this article:
"Which tenancies expire in the next 60 days?"
LetAdmin shows you:
- Tenancies expiring this month
- Tenancies expiring next month
- Upcoming rent review dates
- Properties moving from fixed-term to periodic
No more calendar reminders with no context. Click on an expiring tenancy and you see:
- Full tenant history
- All previous agreements
- Rent progression over time
- Contact details for the conversation
You have everything you need to have the renewal conversation, in one place.
Coming Next: Automated Renewal Workflows
Tenancy tracking is the foundation. What we're building next:
Renewal Automation:
- Automatic alerts 90/60/30 days before expiry
- Template renewal letters and agreements
- One-click renewal creation from expiring tenancy
- Rent review calculation suggestions based on market data
Tenant Portal:
- Tenants can view their tenancy details
- Online signing for renewal agreements
- Rent payment history visible to tenants
Landlord Reporting:
- Tenancy status summaries per landlord
- Rent income tracking over time
- Void period analysis
The Bottom Line: Tenancy Chaos → Tenancy Clarity
Before tenancy management:
- Information scattered across systems
- Renewals missed or last-minute
- No clear tenant history
- "Let me check the files and get back to you"
After tenancy management:
- One place for all tenancy data
- Automatic status updates and expiry tracking
- Complete history per tenant
- "Yes, that tenancy started in 2019, currently £1,350, renews in July"
How much time do you spend chasing tenancy information? If it's more than a few seconds per query, there's a better way.
We'd Love Your Feedback
How do you currently track tenancies? Spreadsheets? Legacy software? Paper files?
What's your biggest frustration with tenancy management? Missing renewals? Finding historical information? Reporting to landlords?
What would make the biggest difference for your agency? Automated reminders? Better reporting? Simpler data entry?
We're building this based on real agency needs. Your input shapes what we prioritize next.
Get in touch: paul@letadmin.com
LetAdmin is in active development, built by letting agents for letting agents. This tenancy management system is being refined based on real-world usage at Phillip James (370+ properties). If you're drowning in tenancy admin and want to see a better approach, we'd love to hear from you.