Communications: troubleshooting

Fixes for common Communications and notification problems. For how it works, see Communications; for step-by-step instructions, see Communications: how-to.

A tenant didn’t receive a document or notice

Why it happens:

1. The tenant has no email address and no COHO account, so nothing could be sent.
2. The email address on the tenancy is wrong, or different from the one the tenant checks.
3. COHO has stopped sending to the address because an earlier email bounced or was marked as spam.
4. The email arrived but went to spam, junk or another folder.

How to fix it:

1. Open the tenancy’s Communications panel, Notices, and find the document. Read its history (see Check whether a tenant received a notice).
2. If it says “Email failed to send: No email address for tenant.”, add their email address, then send it again.
3. If it says “Served on … via email to [address]”, check that’s the address the tenant uses. If not, correct it and send again.
4. If it says “Email failed to send: Email address is on the suppression list.” or “Bounced on…”, see COHO has stopped sending emails to an address.
5. If it says “Delivered on…”, ask the tenant to search their inbox, spam and other folders for an email from COHO with your organisation’s name, titled “You’ve been served a new…”.
6. If the tenant has a COHO account, they can also see it on their dashboard.

COHO has stopped sending emails to an address

Why it happens: an email to that address bounced permanently (for example, the address doesn’t exist or the mailbox is closed), or the person marked a COHO email as spam. COHO then stops all email to that address, including verification codes, signing links, invites and documents, so the person isn’t sent mail they can’t receive or don’t want. Their details show “COHO has stopped sending emails to this address.”

How to fix it:

1. Check the address with the person. If it’s mistyped or old, correct it instead.
2. If it’s right and the inbox works, click Resolve next to the message. See Unblock an email address.
3. Resend whatever they missed, such as an invite, a signing link or a document. Unblocking doesn’t resend old emails.

Note

You can unblock a tenant’s address if you’re a manager in their organisation. A team member’s address can only be unblocked by the organisation owner or by the team member themselves. If Resolve isn’t shown, contact COHO support.

A tenant or applicant isn’t getting their verification code

Why it happens:

1. Their email address is blocked (see above), so the code email isn’t sent.
2. The email address on their record is wrong.
3. The code went to spam, or they’re using an older code. Each new request sends a new code.

How to fix it:

1. Check their email address on the tenancy or onboarding.
2. If their details say “COHO has stopped sending emails to this address”, click Resolve.
3. Ask them to request a new code, wait for it, and search spam for “Please confirm your email address” or “Your COHO Verification Code”.
4. If they still get “Something went wrong generating the verification notification”, contact COHO support with their name and email.

Some tenants get the document by email but others only in COHO

Why it happens: that’s how serving works. Tenants with a COHO account see the document on their dashboard; tenants with an email address are also emailed it. A tenant with an account but no email address only sees it in COHO.

How to fix it: nothing to fix. If you need everyone emailed, add the missing email addresses before sending.

The tenant can’t acknowledge the document

Why it happens:

1. You didn’t tick Require acknowledgement from tenants, so the status is Not applicable.
2. The tenant hasn’t joined COHO. Acknowledgement is only possible in a COHO account; tenants who were only emailed show Served.
3. Require acknowledgement from tenants wasn’t offered, because no tenant on the tenancy had joined COHO.

How to fix it: invite the tenant to COHO (see Tenancies) and send the document again with acknowledgement ticked. If you’ve served it another way and have proof, mark it as acknowledged.

Merge fields weren’t filled in

Why it happens:

1. The file isn’t a Word (.docx) file. PDFs and other files are sent as uploaded.
2. A field is misspelt, so COHO doesn’t recognise it.
3. The detail is missing in COHO (for example, no fixed-term end date), so the field is left blank.
4. The file was saved in another editor, which can split fields so COHO can’t read them.

How to fix it: use a .docx saved from Microsoft Word, copy field names exactly from Help & Support > AST Merge Fields, fill in the missing details, and check with Preview before sending. When you upload, COHO should say how many merge fields it found.

The document didn’t send, or sending failed

Why it happens: sending runs in the background. If something goes wrong (for example, a file can’t be converted), the panel shows “Documents sending failed: [reason]. Please contact support.”

How to fix it: check the Notices list to see which tenants received it. Try again with a fresh upload. If it fails again, contact COHO support with the message.

Send document says “No tenancies are getting picked-up in this scope”

Why it happens: no tenancies match your Send to and Tenancy status choice, for example Future at a property with no future tenancies.

How to fix it: choose another status or scope. To send to a past tenant, open their tenancy and send with Send to set to Tenancy.

I can’t find a template in Send document

Why it happens: the template is archived, or none has been added. The Template list says “Upload templates in the organisation-level Communications panel settings to save time with documents repeated over multiple tenancies.” when there are none.

How to fix it: open Menu > Communications > settings cog, turn on Show archived and click Unarchive, or add the template.

I can’t see the Communications panel, a notice type, or Send document

Why it happens: your role doesn’t include the permission. Each notice type needs its own permission, and Send document needs edit permission for Tenancies. The room panel only shows on a tenancy with a tenant.

How to fix it: ask an admin to check your role. See Who can use it.

The organisation panel list doesn’t change when I pick a filter

Why it happens: filters only apply when you click Filter (or press Enter in Search…).

How to fix it: choose your type, statuses and properties, then click Filter.

I’m getting too many notifications

Why it happens: you get notifications for every area you can access, and for every conversation you’re part of. Some come immediately by default (new messages, new repairs, assignments, viewing requests).

How to fix it:

1. Open your user menu > Settings > Subscriptions.
2. Turn off areas you don’t need, or switch them to Grouped.
3. For repair and compliance emails, check Messaging Settings too: New Repair and New Message sit there, not under Maintenance or Compliancy.

See Change your own notification settings.

I turned notifications off but still get some

Why it happens:

1. The email is a message notification (under Messaging), not part of the area you turned off.
2. It’s one that can’t be turned off, such as an invite, a signing request or a COHO invoice email.
3. It’s an Action that keeps returning because it isn’t resolved yet. Actions remind you until they’re dealt with.

How to fix it: look at the email’s subject to see which kind it is, then turn off that notification under Messaging Settings, or deal with the Action. If an Action you’ve completed keeps coming back, contact COHO support.

A tenant isn’t getting notifications from COHO

Why it happens:

1. They’ve turned notifications off in their own settings.
2. They haven’t joined COHO, so they only get emails and texts sent directly to them, not Actions or app notifications.
3. They don’t have the COHO app, or have notifications blocked on their phone.
4. Their email address is blocked, or different from the one they check.

How to fix it: ask them to check Settings > Subscriptions in COHO and their phone’s notification settings. Check their email on the Tenant Information panel, and click Resolve if COHO has stopped sending to it. You can’t change their settings for them.

A tenant gets WhatsApp messages, but wants texts (or the other way round)

Why it happens: COHO sends many notifications by WhatsApp first, and by SMS only when WhatsApp can’t be used.

How to fix it: to stop WhatsApp, the person turns off WhatsApp notifications in Settings > Subscriptions > WhatsApp Settings, or replies STOP to COHO’s WhatsApp message; they then get SMS instead. To get WhatsApp back, they turn WhatsApp notifications on again. They need a mobile number in COHO to see this setting. When you add a lead or invite someone to a viewing, COHO shows “This mobile number has opted out of WhatsApp notifications. The lead will use COHO messenger and viewing notifications will be sent by SMS.”

Texts come from “COHO” or the wrong name

Why it happens: the sender name comes from Company SMS Name. If it’s blank, COHO uses your organisation name, cut to 11 characters. Some texts, such as verification codes, always come from COHO.

How to fix it: set Company SMS Name in Your Account > settings cog > Company Settings. See Set your sender details.

Tenants reply to a COHO email and I don’t get it

Why it happens: COHO emails come from a no-reply address. Replies only reach you if a reply-to address is set.

How to fix it: set Notices default reply-to, Credit control template default reply-to and Email communication default reply-to in Company Settings, or set a reply-to when you send.

A tenant expected an automatic rent reminder

Why it happens: COHO doesn’t send rent reminders to tenants on a schedule. Reminders go only when you send them.

How to fix it: use Send a Reminder in Rent Collection (single-tenant tenancies) or a credit control email. See Rent Schedules & Rent Collection and Credit control.

Error messages

Message (as shown)	What it means	What to do
“COHO has stopped sending emails to this address.”	An email to this address bounced or was marked as spam	Check the address, then Resolve
“Email failed to send: No email address for tenant.”	The tenant has no email address	Add one, then send again
“Email failed to send: Email address is on the suppression list.”	The tenant’s address is blocked	Unblock it, then send again
“Couldn’t serve the notice by email.”	A rent change notice email bounced or failed	Check the tenant’s email; see above
“Documents sending failed: [reason]. Please contact support.”	Sending stopped part way	Check what was sent and try again
“No tenancies are getting picked-up in this scope”	No tenancies match Send to and Tenancy status	Change the scope or status
“File is required”	No document was uploaded	Upload a file or choose a template
“One or more selected tenants are not on this tenancy.”	A chosen tenant was removed from the tenancy	Close and reopen Send document
“No notices found matching your filters.”	Nothing matches the type, statuses or properties	Change the filters and click Filter
“No documents have been sent to this tenant.”	Nothing has been served to this tenant yet	Send a document if needed
“There are no document templates yet.”	No templates have been added	Add one
“You do not have permission to manage tenancies for this organisation”	Your role can’t add or archive templates	Ask an admin for edit permission for Tenancies
“You do not have permission to change compliance records for this organisation”	Your role can’t mark documents as acknowledged	Ask an admin for edit permission for Compliance
“You cannot delete this email from the suppression list”	You can’t unblock this address	Ask the organisation owner, the person themselves, or COHO support
“Email not found in suppression list”	The address isn’t blocked any more	Refresh the page; nothing to do
“This mobile number has opted out of WhatsApp notifications. …”	The person replied STOP to COHO’s WhatsApp	They’ll get SMS instead
“This user has opted out of WhatsApp communications.”	As above, shown in a conversation	Use COHO messenger, email or SMS
“Something went wrong generating the verification notification”	A verification code couldn’t be created or sent	Try again; if it persists, contact COHO support