Why a tenant portal pays for itself

If you're self-managing 2 or more properties, the per-property time saved by a tenant portal is the difference between a part-time hobby and a serious side income.

What the tenant gets

• One place to report a repair, with photo upload from their phone.
• Visibility on the status (Reported, Acknowledged, Contractor Assigned, In Progress, Completed).
• Their lease, deposit reference, and access codes in one place.

What the landlord gets

• No more "have you sorted that leak?" texts at 11pm.
• Photos and a clear description before any contractor visit.
• Auto-dispatch (in havelo): if you've added an approved plumber for that property and the issue is plumbing, the contractor gets emailed automatically with the brief.

The numbers

On a typical 3-property portfolio, the average landlord spends 4-6 hours per month on maintenance coordination alone. With a portal + auto-dispatch, that drops to about 1 hour. Multiply by 12 months, multiply by your hourly rate.

How to set this up in havelo

1. Add your tenants in /dashboard/tenants (each gets an access code).
2. Add your repairers in /dashboard/contractors with their trades and which properties they cover.
3. Optionally set spend caps so quotes under (say) £150 auto-approve.
4. Send tenants the portal link. They report; you decide.