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Landlord newsletters: how to use them

Each newsletter explains one rental topic in plain language for your landlords, and invites them to reply or WhatsApp you with questions. They keep you in front of your landlords as the professional who knows this stuff.

These are templates, not finished emails. Everything in them can be edited: the subject, the wording, the examples, the call to action. Read each one before you send it, change anything that doesn't fit how your agency works, and make it sound like you.

The two versions

  • A (Plain): plain text, no logo or colour. Reads like a personal email and usually lands best in the inbox.
  • B (Design): your logo and main colour, a headline bar and a WhatsApp button. Looks more polished.

The wording is the same in both. Pick the one that suits you.

1. One-time setup

The newsletters fill in your details automatically from Settings → Custom Values. Check these before your first send:

  • Agency name, address and website
  • Agent name, phone and email
  • WhatsApp number (international format, e.g. 27821234567)
  • Logo URL and primary colour (Version B only)
  • PPRA registration line and FFC numbers
PPRA: the Property Practitioners Act requires "Registered with the PPRA" on your marketing. Only send if you are registered. Candidate practitioners must use "Candidate Property Practitioner Registered with the PPRA" in the registration line. If the newsletter goes out from the agency rather than a named agent, remove the agent line at the bottom of the email.

2. Make it yours

  1. Go to Marketing → Emails → Templates and open the newsletter.
  2. Read it all the way through. Change any wording, examples or claims that don't match how your agency works.
  3. Save it. Your edits stay in your account.

3. Sending it

  1. Go to Marketing → Emails → Campaigns and create a new campaign.
  2. Choose the template, e.g. RHQ-L002A or RHQ-L002B.
  3. Check the subject and preview text (suggestions for each are below; change them if you like).
  4. Choose your landlord contacts. Under POPIA (section 69), electronic direct marketing needs the person's consent or an existing client relationship. Every send includes an unsubscribe link.
  5. Send a test to yourself and tap every link.
  6. Send or schedule.

4. When a landlord responds

  1. They tap "WhatsApp us"WhatsApp opens on their phone with a message ready to send to your number, mentioning the newsletter topic. It arrives on your WhatsApp, not in RentHQ.
  2. They share itThe P.S. lets them forward the email or share it on WhatsApp with a link to chat to you.
  3. They reply to the emailThe reply lands in your inbox.
Your part: answer within one business day. A quick, helpful reply is what turns a newsletter reader into a client.

The newsletters

RHQ-L002Tenant Vetting

The wrong person arrives to move in. Why applications need checking, and why every occupant belongs in the lease.

Subject: What happens if the wrong person arrives to move in?
Preview text: The lease is signed, moving day has come, and someone completely different is standing at the door.

RHQ-L003Should You Represent Yourself at the Tribunal?

What the Rental Housing Tribunal does, how a complaint plays out, and why going in unprepared is risky.

Subject: Called to the Rental Housing Tribunal? Read this before you go it alone.
Preview text: It's free and informal, but its rulings are binding. Here's what landlords need to know first.

RHQ-L004Renting Out in a Complex: Scheme Rules and Your Lease

Why the scheme rules must form part of the lease, and why the tenant should sign for receipt of them.

Subject: Renting out in a complex? Your lease and the scheme rules need to line up.
Preview text: Not every body corporate rule is enforceable, and your tenant's fines land on your account.

RHQ-L005Arrears, Recovery and Blacklisting

Why acting on day one matters, getting the property back first, and the realistic picture on recovery.

Subject: Tenant behind on rent? The realistic picture on getting it back.
Preview text: A court judgment doesn't automatically put money back in your account.

RHQ-L006FICA: Why It Protects You

Why FICA checks protect the landlord, and what gets checked when a property practitioner is used.

Subject: Why your agent asks for so many documents (and why it protects you)
Preview text: Everyone groans at the word FICA. Here's why it's working in your favour.

Before you send: check this is true for your agency: it says your vetting includes checks against the targeted financial sanctions list and adverse media screening.

RHQ-L007Long-Term, Short-Term or Let-to-Let?

Long-term, short-term and let-to-let compared, with a free rental assessment offer.

Subject: Long-term, short-term, or let-to-let? What to weigh up before you decide.
Preview text: More tenants want to lease long-term and sublet on Airbnb. Risk or opportunity?

Before you send: check this is true for your agency: it offers landlords a free rental assessment.

RHQ-L008The End-of-Lease Notice Window

The notice landlords must give before a fixed-term lease ends, and what happens if no renewal is signed.

Subject: Lease ending soon? The notice window you can't afford to miss.
Preview text: Miss it and you lose control of the renewal, and possibly the rent increase.

RHQ-L009What Happens Before a Viewing

Pre-screening before a viewing, and why a verified bank statement is the source document.

Subject: What happens before we let someone view your property?
Preview text: Tenant screening doesn't start at the application form. It starts long before that.

Before you send: check this is true for your agency: the subject line says you pre-screen applicants before viewings.

RHQ-L010Discrimination, Debt Review and Choosing a Tenant

What landlords can and can't screen for, why debt review isn't an automatic no, and checking references properly.

Subject: Discrimination, debt review and tenant risk: what landlords need to know
Preview text: Should applicants under debt review be declined as a matter of course? Not necessarily.

RHQ-L011When the Complex's Utilities Get Cut

Electricity and water cuts to whole complexes, and the warning signs of a scheme in trouble.

Subject: Paid your levies, but the complex's water and lights were cut? Here's why.
Preview text: Electricity and water are increasingly being cut to entire complexes over unpaid municipal accounts.

RHQ-L012Fair Wear and Tear vs Damage

Where the line falls between fair wear and tear and damage, and the inspections that prove it.

Subject: Fair wear and tear or damage? The deposit mistake that loses Tribunal cases.
Preview text: Normal living isn't claimable from the deposit. Here's where the line is drawn.

RHQ-L013Deposit Claims and Depreciation

Why a damaged item usually can't be claimed at full replacement cost, with a worked example.

Subject: A tenant wrecked the oven. Can you claim a brand-new one?
Preview text: When an expensive item must be replaced, the deposit only covers what's left of its life. Here's how that's worked out.

RHQ-L014Tenant in Breach: What You Must Not Do

Why landlords must never lock out or cut off a tenant, and the proper breach process.

Subject: The tenant hasn't paid. What can you do?
Preview text: Taking matters into your own hands gives the tenant the upper hand, and usually costs you another month's rent.

Before you send: check this is true for your agency: it says your agency deals with breach notices every week.

RHQ-L015Married Tenants: Why We Ask

Why the application form asks about marriage, and how it decides who you can recover from if the rent stops.

Subject: Why does our application form ask if your tenant is married?
Preview text: It looks like admin. It decides who you can recover from if the rent stops.

Before you send: check this is true for your agency: it says your application form asks about marriage, that you confirm marital status with Home Affairs, and that you may insist both spouses sign.

Need help? Setup and technical questions: [email protected]. Everything else: [email protected].