The text you'll get on day two if you skip this
"Where's the breaker panel?"
"What day is recycling?"
"Is the Wi-Fi password still on the fridge?"
"The dishwasher makes a noise—is that normal?"
You hired a property manager for screening and lease paperwork. Good. You're still the owner, and mid-term furnished tenants arrive with suitcases, not a history with the house. They don't know that the north-facing faucet needs the handle lifted half a click. They shouldn't have to discover trash day by watching neighbors sprint to the curb at 6:59 a.m.
A welcome book (PDF in email + binder on the counter) is the cheapest property manager you'll ever buy.
What a welcome book is not
- Not a duplicate of the entire lease (they signed that)
- Not a novel (they won't read 40 pages)
- Not a substitute for emergency contact and habitability obligations
- Not Airbnb "house rules" cosplay unless you're actually doing STR compliance
It's operational: how this specific house works for the next 1–12 months.
Suggested sections (copy-paste outline)
1. Welcome + essentials (page 1)
- Your name / manager contact (hours, not 24/7 unless you mean it)
- Emergency: 911, fire, gas leak utility number
- Non-emergency maintenance: how to report (email/form/text—pick one)
- Address including unit if applicable
2. Move-in snapshot
- Wi-Fi network and password
- Thermostat quick guide (with photo)
- Parking: which spots, guest rules, snow
- Mailbox key location
3. House systems cheat sheet
- Breaker panel location + labeled photo
- Water shutoff
- Furnace filter size and who replaces (you vs. them)
- Appliances: quirks ("oven runs hot," "ice maker takes 24h")
- Furnished inventory note: what's included, don't remove bedding/TV
4. Utilities and services
- Who pays what (table format)
- Trash/recycling days + cart colors
- Utility provider names and account numbers if bills are in tenant name—or "landlord billed monthly for water"
5. Local guide (keep it short)
- Nearest grocery, pharmacy, urgent care
- One coffee spot, one family dinner spot—don't write Yelp
- Employer-specific: if you market to nurses, note hospital campuses and scrub shops if relevant
6. Mid-term specifics
- Minimum stay reminder
- Extension process (how much notice to renew or vacate)
- Housekeeping expectations for furnished (linens, don't bleach couch)
- Guest policy summary from lease
7. Checkout preview
- How to return keys
- Cleaning expectations (dishes, trash out, don't strip furnished items)
- Forwarding mail—not your job, but tell them how
Format that actually gets used
Binder on kitchen counter with tabs: Welcome | House | Local | Emergencies
PDF emailed before move-in—same content, searchable on phone
One-page "quick start" taped inside cabinet or on fridge: Wi-Fi, trash, maintenance email
Photos beat paragraphs. A picture of the breaker panel with an arrow is worth four text messages.
Template sources
You don't need a paid kit. Start from:
- Your own move-in notes from the last turnover
- PM-provided checklists (merge with house-specific quirks)
- Generic "rental welcome letter" templates online—then delete 80% and add your dishwasher noise paragraph
Update after every turnover when a tenant asks something twice—that question gets a line in the book.
Legal and fair housing hygiene
Welcome book describes how to use the property, not who you prefer living there. Keep rules aligned with the signed lease. Don't invent new prohibited activities in the welcome book that aren't in the lease.
You might also like:
- What to do when a tenant gives notice: a turnover checklist for self-managing landlords
- How to advertise a rental property end to end with Manor Keeper
- Pest control in a rental lease: what small landlords should spell out
ManorKeeper holds lease and unit details your welcome book pulls from
Accurate unit data, lease terms, and manager contacts in one system make welcome books faster to regenerate each turnover. See how leases and units work.