---
id: KB-CS-011
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/use-cases-by-sector/rentals-from-contract-to-handover
idioma: en
categoria: casos-por-sector
subcategoria: inmobiliario
audiencia: usuario
nivel: basico
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-CO-015, KB-SC-006, KB-LE-017]
citadoPor: [KB-CS-034]
---

# Rentals: from contract to handing over the keys

_Signing without in-person appointments, and proving the property's condition._

**Responde a:** sign a tenancy agreement remotely · property handover inventory · condition of the flat when the tenant moves in · manage rental documentation

A tenancy has two moments that get disputed years later: what was signed and what condition the property was handed over in. The first is settled by the signature; the second, which is what ends up in a deposit dispute, by photos certified on the day.

## The four steps

1. **The tenant's documents** — Identity, payslip or proof of income, guarantor if any. Ask for the minimum: this is personal data about someone who is not yet your tenant.
2. **The contract, for signature** — Signed with a phone code. Nobody has to travel and no diaries have to match.
3. **The inventory and photos** — On handover day, with the property empty. Certified that day, not when the problem appears.
4. **The key handover receipt** — Signed too. It is what fixes the real start date.

> [!IMPORTANT]
> Handover condition photos are what decide a deposit dispute, and they only count if dated by a third party. A photo with the phone's own date proves nothing: anyone can change a phone's clock.

## On the way out, the same in reverse

Photos of the condition on return, certified that day, compared with the move-in set. With both series dated, the deposit conversation lasts ten minutes instead of three months.

> [!WARNING]
> Be careful holding more tenant data than you need. You have no reason to keep payslips from applicants who did not rent, and they are exactly what you do not want to hold if a security problem ever arises.

> [!NOTE]
> If you manage several properties, the process is identical each time: built as a template, a new tenancy costs ten minutes instead of an afternoon.

**Is a tenancy agreement signed this way valid?**

Electronic signatures are valid; for specific requirements of your contract type, ask your adviser.

**Can the tenant sign from a phone?**

Yes, and that is the norm.

**What about two tenants?**

Both as signers, in parallel: each signs when they can.

## Ejemplos

**A letting agent argues over several deposits a year about handover condition.**

- Certifies photos on handover day and on return day

→ Disputes close by comparing two dated series, with no surveyors or lawyers.

**A letting agency runs forty seasonal rentals and reclaiming a deposit means three documents in three email threads.**

- Gathers contract, inventory and receipt in each booking's project
- Captures the property's condition at handover of keys
- Shares the whole project when reclaiming the deposit

→ The claim is prepared in minutes and rests on what was recorded on handover day.

**There is a dispute about the condition the property was handed over in.**

- Captures dated photos at handover and at return

→ The dispute closes by comparing rather than arguing.

**The signed contract sits in the inbox of a salesperson who has left.**

- Stores the signed copy in the booking's project

→ The contract outlives the person's departure.

**The tenant says they never received the inventory.**

- Sends from the platform and checks delivery

→ It is on record when it was delivered and to whom.

**The contract is renewed and nobody knows which version was signed.**

- Keeps each version with its date

→ You provide the one that covered that period.

**The tenant's documentation contains personal data with no control.**

- Limits who sees anything containing it

→ Access stops being general.

**The tenancy ends and everything mixes with the next one's.**

- Closes that booking's project

→ Each season's history is readable.