See how to configure your rental application → Set up rental application templates
Product Updates: Week 42
A rebuilt rental application with customizable income requirements and instant document checks, a new fraud flag for last-minute self-guided bookings, plus Command Center, fees, and reporting updates.
Oct 21, 2026
Contents
Rental applicationsA rental application that can be completed in under 4 minutesSet what proof you require for each type of incomeWe check every income document the moment it is uploadedCollect the application fee before ID and income verificationFlag self-guided showings booked to start within minutesCommand Center updatesShow conditional fees and fee ranges on your listingsSee the showing method in the Showings reportCompare your own property against comps in the Market ToolWe are excited to introduce a new rental application flow, built so fewer applicants drop off and more of them submit. Applicants can now finish the whole thing in under 4 minutes, and every income document is checked the moment it’s uploaded. So now far fewer applications come back to you missing paperwork.
Plus, you can now collect the application fee before ID and income verification, and use new self-showing fraud guards.
Here's what's new in RentEngine.
Rental applications
A rental application that can be completed in under 4 minutes
We went through the application step by step to remove every point where applicants were dropping off, taking inspiration from high-converting consumer apps. The result is an application that can be completed in under 4 minutes.
Fewer steps. We cut the number of steps and pre-fill what the applicant already told you in prescreening.
ID verification they may not have to repeat. If an applicant recently verified their ID with another service, such as Uber, Airbnb, or Coinbase, we pull that verification automatically instead of asking them to do it again.
Apple Pay and Google Pay. Applicants can now pay the application fee in one tap, which increases conversion rates by 22%.
Built to keep applicants moving. We added animation and a progress bar that counts down the steps left, so applicants stay engaged through to the end.
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Set what proof you require for each type of income
You can now customize income verification for each type of income your applicants have. You choose the accepted document types, and how far back they need to go. You can also decide whether a payroll or bank connection is required, optional, or an alternative to uploading documents.
Applicants only see the options that fit their income. A student is not offered a payroll connection, and a self-employed applicant is not asked for pay stubs.
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Set this up now. We have moved every existing template to these new default income requirements:
Employed and gig income: a payroll connection or 4 weeks of pay stubs
Self-employed income: a bank connection, 2 years of tax returns, or 4 months of bank statements
Benefits: a benefit letter from the last 60 days
Students: no proof of income required
Templates with income verification turned off stay off. We recommend taking a few minutes to review these and match them to your own screening criteria.
Where to find it: Settings > Rental App Templates > Income.
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See how income verification works for applicants → How income verification works
We check every income document the moment it is uploaded
As an applicant uploads their income documents, we now review each one instantly. We check that it is the right file format, that it is not a duplicate, and that it matches what you asked for. We also check the document type (pay stub, bank statement, tax return, and so on) and the dates it covers.
A live checklist above the uploader ticks off each of your requirements as the applicant's files meet them. If they have not uploaded enough, or uploaded the wrong kind of document, we prompt them right away to add what is missing before they move on.
So now, applications require less manual follow-up and have a faster processing time.
Collect the application fee before ID and income verification
You can now choose to collect payment before an applicant verifies their ID and income. Going to find a photo ID and recent pay stubs is one of the biggest drop-off points in any application. With payment first, the applicant is already committed when we guide them through ID and income verification next.
Because applicants can now pay with Apple Pay or Google Pay, that payment step takes one tap.
You also collect the fee before you incur the cost of ID and income verification, so an applicant who stops partway through no longer costs you anything.
Where to find it: Settings > Rental App Templates > Pricing.
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Questions about the new rental application? Reach out to your RentEngine rep, and they will walk you through it.
Flag self-guided showings booked to start within minutes
In most self-showing fraud, the scammer tries to schedule a showing immediately. In our own data, prospects who were later blocklisted booked within 30 minutes of the start about twice as often as everyone else.
So now you can flag prospects who book a self-guided showing to start within a set number of minutes.
When a prospect books or reschedules a self-guided showing inside your window, we flag them with the reason "Last-minute booking" and hold the showing for your approval. You see the flag in the Command Center and can clear it or approve the showing from there.
Disclaimer: Around 16% of all self-guided bookings start within 30 minutes, so this setting works best for teams that can review pending showings quickly. A shorter window, such as 15 minutes, holds fewer showings.
Where to find it: Settings > Prescreening > select a template > Fraud Guard > Behavioral Checks > Last-minute booking. Off by default, with a window from 5 to 1,440 minutes.
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More on Fraud Guard → Fraud Guard 2.0
Command Center updates
We made several updates to the Command Center to help your team work through leads faster:
Bulk actions: You can now select multiple leads at once from the Inbox or the Board view, then snooze, archive, or mark them all as withdrawn in one action. Hover over a lead and tick its checkbox.
Keyboard shortcuts: You can now move between conversations without reaching for your mouse: Control/Command + K for next, Command + K for prev.
Property links in emails: You can now type @ while writing an email to add a link to one property, or to all your available properties.
Units of interest: The top of each conversation now shows how many units the prospect is interested in.
Prescreening for existing prospects: You can now fill out a prescreening for a prospect after they have already been added. This is useful when someone calls or walks in.
Multi-office inbox: If you belong to more than one office, you can now see leads from several offices in one inbox and reply from each office’s own leasing number.
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More on the new Command Center → Introducing Command Center 2.0
Show conditional fees and fee ranges on your listings
You can now set move-in and monthly fees as conditional, or as a range. This can be done in either a dollar amount or a percentage, the same way pet fees already work. This helps if you charge certain fees based on credit score or other factors.
Prospects see percentage fees as the calculated dollar amount. Conditional fees are clearly labeled, and the total move-in cost shows as a range when any fee has one. RentEngine AI explains these fees the same way over text and phone. We also send the ranges to Zillow and Apartments.com in your listing feeds.
Where to find it: Fee settings in your portfolio defaults, on a unit's details, or in bulk edit.
See the showing method in the Showings report
The Showings report in Intelligence now includes a Showing Method column. Virtual showings appear as "Accompanied (Virtual)", so you can pull every virtual showing in one report.
Where to find it: Intelligence > Showings report > Showing Method column.
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More on portfolio-level reporting → Intelligence: portfolio-level reporting
Compare your own property against comps in the Market Tool
When you search for one of your own properties in the Market Tool, we now pin it to the top of the All Units comparables list, labeled "Your property," at its current rent in RentEngine. We also hide that unit's own listing from the comps, including on PDFs and owner reports.
Where to find it: Market Tool > search for your property > All Units.
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More on the Market Tool → Market Tool
Questions or feedback? Give us a shout via the Chat!
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