Using COHO as a tenant: how-to

Step-by-step instructions for everything you do in COHO as a tenant or applicant, roughly in the order it happens. For what each screen shows, see Using COHO as a tenant; for problems, see Using COHO as a tenant: troubleshooting.

Find your task

If you’re here because…	Go to
You’ve been invited to a viewing	Respond to a viewing invite
You’ve been invited to COHO by your agent or landlord	Accept your invite and create your account
You already have a COHO account and got a new invite	Connect a new home to your existing account
You’re moving in and have an onboarding	Complete your onboarding
You’ve been asked to pay a holding deposit	Pay a holding deposit
You’ve been asked to sign a contract	Sign your tenancy agreement
You need to pay your deposit and first rent	Pay your move-in monies
You want to know what rent you owe	Check your rent and how to pay
You can’t pay on time, or you’ve paid and it isn’t showing	Tell your agent about a late or missed payment
You got a GoCardless email	Set up a Direct Debit
Something needs fixing	Report a repair
You want to talk to your agent or landlord	Message your agent or landlord
You need your contract, deposit certificate or inventory	Find your contract and other documents
You’ve been asked to acknowledge a document	Acknowledge a document
You have more than one home in COHO	Switch between homes
You’ve changed email address or phone number	Change your email, mobile number or password
You’re getting too many (or too few) notifications	Change your notification settings
You’ve forgotten your password	Reset your password
You’re moving out	Move out

Respond to a viewing invite

Do this when a letting agent or landlord invites you to view a room or property.

Before you start: you don’t need a COHO account to arrange a viewing.

1. Open the link in your invite email, WhatsApp message or text.
2. If there’s a questionnaire, click Complete questionnaire, answer the questions and accept the declaration.
3. If a date is proposed, accept it, or propose another date. If none is proposed yet, you can propose one: “Propose a viewing date or let [agent] do it”. Dates must be within the agent’s viewing hours.
4. About 24 hours and 2 hours before, you’ll be asked to confirm you’re attending. Click the link and confirm.
5. After the viewing, click Provide feedback about the viewing. Answer Do you want to move forward with the viewing? and click Send feedback.

What happens next: if you and the agent both want to go ahead, you’ll see “Congratulations! [agent] has indicated they’d like you to move-in. Next step: onboarding!” You’ll then get an onboarding invite. See Accept your invite.

Tip

You can cancel or reschedule a viewing from its conversation in your messages: Cancel viewing or Reschedule viewing.

Accept your invite and create your account

Do this when you get an email or message from your agent or landlord inviting you to COHO, to join a tenancy or start an onboarding.

Before you start: use the email address your invite was sent to. If you already have a COHO account, see Connect a new home to your existing account instead.

1. Open the link in your invite. Don’t go to the COHO website and sign up separately: only the invite link connects you to your home.
2. You’ll see Register as a tenant (or Register for your onboarding), with the property name. Check your Email address.
3. Enter a Password of at least 8 characters, tick to accept the terms, and click Register.
4. On Verify your email, enter the Verification code COHO emailed you and click Verify. No code? Click Resend Code.
5. Fill in About you. You can choose how much of your profile to share with housemates, or click Share basic profile only or Don’t share anything.

What happens next: you land on My COHO. If you’re moving in, your onboarding is under My Onboardings. If you’re joining an existing tenancy, you’ll see My Room or My Home.

Caution

If you register with a different email from the one in your invite, COHO says “You’re registering with a different email address than the one used to invite you.” Choose I’ll inform them or Please let them know. COHO may also ask you to confirm the invited email or mobile number with a code before connecting your home.

Connect a new home to your existing account

Do this when you already have a COHO account (for example from a previous home) and get an invite for a new tenancy.

1. Open the link in your new invite.
2. On the register page, click Already registered? Log in.
3. Log in with your existing email and password. If your invite went to a different email, COHO asks you to confirm it: choose By Email or By SMS, then enter the code.

What happens next: your new home appears on My COHO alongside any others. See Switch between homes.

Complete your onboarding

Do this when your agent has started your move-in through COHO.

Before you start: you need to have accepted your invite. Your onboarding is on My COHO under My Onboardings, or click the Onboardings tile.

1. Open each step in order. A step that needs you says what to do, for example “You need to pay the holding deposit” or “Provide the information requested by the manager.”
2. Reserve the room: see Pay a holding deposit.
3. Application form: click Provide Information Requested, fill in every required field, attach any documents asked for, accept the declaration and submit.
4. Reference checks: if your agent asks, give the referencing details. You may be contacted by the referencing service directly.
5. Professional guarantor (if offered): choose I’ll use a professional guarantor or I’ll ask someone instead.
6. Contract: see Sign your tenancy agreement.
7. Pay the move-in monies: see Pay your move-in monies.
8. Move in: wait for your move-in details.

What happens next: when a step is waiting for your agent, it says so, for example “The manager has to review the information provided.” or “Waiting for manager to provide move-in details”. You get an email when the next step needs you. When everything is done you get “Congratulations! Everything is ready for your move in to [property] - log in to see the next steps.”

Note

Check your application form before you submit it. You can’t edit it afterwards; message your agent if something needs changing.

Pay a holding deposit

Do this when the Reserve the room step says “You need to pay the holding deposit”.

1. In Reserve the room, click Pay holding deposit.
2. Read the amount, the Payment instructions and the payment reference. Copy the reference with the copy button.
3. If there’s a Proposed contract or Terms and Conditions, read them and tick each box.
4. Pay:
   • By bank transfer or other method: pay using the instructions and reference, then click Confirm Payment (or Acknowledge Documents & Confirm Payment).
   • By bank payment in COHO: click Pay (or Acknowledge Documents & Pay) and follow the payment pages.

What happens next: “You’re waiting for the manager to confirm receipt of the holding deposit”. Once your agent confirms it, the step reads Room reserved and the next step opens.

Sign your tenancy agreement

Do this when you see View & sign contract in your onboarding, View & sign under Proposed contract on My Room, or an Action asking you to sign.

Before you start: you need your COHO password, and access to your email or phone for a code. Log in with the email address the contract was sent to.

1. Click View & sign contract (or View & sign). If you opened the contract from an Action, click Sign this agreement.
2. Read the Contract and any Additional files. You can open and download them.
3. Under Important information, acknowledge each document listed, then continue.
4. Under Confirm identity, choose By Email or By SMS, click Send email or Send SMS, enter the Verification code and click Confirm. You only need one of the two, not both.
5. Under Sign contract, check your Forename and Surname and draw Your signature in the box.
6. Tick the confirmation box, enter your password under Confirm password, and click Sign contract.

If your agent asked for a paper signature, download the contract, sign it, and upload it under Signed contract instead.

What happens next: “You accepted this contract on [date] and it is currently awaiting confirmation from the manager.” Once everyone (including any other tenants and guarantors) has signed, your agent confirms it.

Tip

Don’t sign more than once. If you’re not sure it worked, refresh the page: if it says you accepted the contract, it’s done.

Pay your move-in monies

Do this when your onboarding shows Pay the move-in monies.

1. Open Pay the move-in monies. It shows what’s due (for example the deposit and first rent), when, and how to pay.
2. Pay using the instructions and reference shown, then click Mark as paid. If your agent takes payment in COHO, click Pay and follow the payment pages; this can also set up a Direct Debit for future rent.

What happens next: your agent confirms they’ve received it. Until then, My Rent says “Your move-in monies payment is awaiting manager approval, the payment will be shown in the table below once approved.”

Check your rent and how to pay

Do this when you want to know what you owe, when, or how to pay.

1. On My COHO, click the Rent tile, or scroll to My Rent.
2. Read “Rent is to be paid by…”, the payment reference, and Payment instructions.
3. Check Overdue and Due [date] for what’s outstanding.
4. Use the table for your full history. Click View on a line for details: amount, due date, rent period and payments against it. Show all past and Show all future show more.
5. To keep a copy, click Export (CSV).

What happens next: nothing changes until you pay. Payments appear once your agent records them, or once they come through from their bank or a Direct Debit.

Note

If My Rent says “Your rent schedule & payments are handled outside of COHO.”, or there’s no My Rent panel at all, your agent doesn’t track your rent in COHO. Ask them directly.

Tell your agent about a late or missed payment

Do this when a rent payment is due and you can’t pay on time, or it shows as overdue and you believe you’ve paid.

1. In My Rent, click View on the rent line.
2. In the message “This payment is currently due…” or “This payment is currently overdue…”, click click here.
3. Under Log missed payment information, choose a Missed payment reason: Forgotten, Unable to afford, Refusal to pay, Paid with incorrect reference, Incorrect amount paid, Paid correctly or Other.
4. Add the Payment reference provided, an Expected payment date and any Notes.
5. Click Save.

What happens next: your agent is notified and sees your reason on the rent line. They decide what to do next; only they can change the status or record a payment.

Set up a Direct Debit

Do this when your agent has asked you to pay rent by Direct Debit and you’ve received an email from COHO called “GoCardless Direct Debit Payment Request” or “GoCardless Instant Payment Request”.

1. Open the email and click the link.
2. Follow the GoCardless pages to enter your bank details and authorise the Direct Debit (and pay, if the link includes a payment).

What happens next: your agent’s COHO links the Direct Debit to your tenancy. Collections are then recorded in My Rent. A new Direct Debit can take a few working days to become active.

Caution

If the link has expired or doesn’t work, ask your agent to send a new one. COHO support can’t send it.

Report a repair

Do this when something in your home needs fixing.

Before you start: your tenancy must have started, and your agent must use COHO for maintenance. If there’s no Maintenance panel, contact your agent directly.

1. On My COHO, click Report maintenance issue on the Maintenance panel (or Report issue on My Room). You can also click the tools (repair) icon at the top of the Message Centre.
2. Choose a category and, if there are any, a sub-category.
3. If tips appear, try them. If they fix it, click Issue resolved. If not, click I still need to report an issue.
4. Choose a Severity: Low (“Low risk, a non urgent issue”), Medium (“Medium risk, causing inconvenience”) or High (“High risk of further damage to people or property”).
5. Write a Description. Add photos or a video under Images/Videos; some categories require them.
6. In a shared house, answer Does this impact your room specifically? (My room or Outside my room) and Share with housemates? (Share or Don’t share).
7. If asked whether your agent may enter your home or room to look at it, choose Yes or No.
8. Click Report.

What happens next: “Your issue was reported with success”. Click Go to maintenance conversation to message your agent about it. Follow its status in the Maintenance panel. You’ll get updates when a date is booked and when it’s done.

Message your agent or landlord

Do this when you need to contact your agent or landlord about anything other than a specific repair.

1. On My Room (or My Home), click Message manager. Or open the Message Centre (speech-bubble icon) and start a new message.
2. Under Recipients, choose who to send it to.
3. Add a Subject, your Message and any Files.
4. Send it.

What happens next: “Your message has been sent”. Click Open conversation to see it. Replies arrive in the Message Centre and, depending on your settings, by email or notification.

Tip

For onboarding or viewing questions, reply in the conversation COHO opened for it in your Message Centre. Don’t email COHO support: support can’t pass messages to your agent.

Find your contract and other documents

Do this when you need a copy of your contract, deposit certificate, inventory or safety certificates.

1. On My COHO, open My Room (or My Home).
2. Under your tenancy dates, find Contract, Additional files and Signed contract. Click a file to view or download it.
3. Deposit documents (once your agent has completed your deposit) and the latest inventory are further down the same panel.
4. Safety certificates, such as gas safety, EPC and electrical reports, are in Property Compliancy.

What happens next: nothing; downloading doesn’t notify anyone. Keep your own copies: after your tenancy ends, it no longer shows on My COHO.

Acknowledge a document or inventory

Do this when an Action or email asks you to view or acknowledge a document, such as a certificate, deposit information or an inventory.

1. On My COHO, open the Action (or the Compliance tile).
2. Open the document and read it.
3. Click Acknowledge (for deposit documents, sign and click Sign and Acknowledge).

What happens next: your agent sees that you’ve acknowledged it. If you disagree with an inventory, message your agent; you can’t change it yourself.

Switch between homes

Do this when you have more than one active or upcoming tenancy.

1. At the top of My COHO, under “You have multiple active tenancies.” or “You have upcoming tenancies.”, click Switch to [room], [property].

What happens next: My COHO shows that home’s room, rent, documents and Actions.

Change your email, mobile number or password

Do this when your contact details change, or you want a new password.

1. Open your profile menu (top right) and click Settings.
2. Under Your details, click the edit icon next to Email or Mobile Number, enter the new one, and choose I’ll inform them or Please let them know so your agent knows.
3. Under Security, click the edit icon next to Password, enter a new one and click Save.

What happens next: for a new email, COHO says “Email updated. Please check your email for a verification link.” Click the link to confirm it. Use the new email to log in from then on.

Change your notification settings

Do this when you want fewer or more emails, texts or app notifications.

1. Open your profile menu and click Settings.
2. Under Subscriptions, turn All COHO notifications off to stop everything you can control, or change each channel and area.

What happens next: the change applies straight away. Some messages can’t be turned off, such as invites, verification codes, signing requests, onboarding steps and documents your agent serves.

Reset your password

Do this when you can’t remember your password.

1. On the login page, click I’ve forgotten my password.
2. Enter your Email address and click Send email.
3. Enter the Verification code from the email and click Verify.
4. Enter a new Password (at least 8 characters), repeat it under Confirm Password, and click Set password.

What happens next: “Your password has been updated”. Log in with your new password.

Move out

Do this when you want to end your tenancy.

1. Give notice to your agent or landlord as your contract says. You can send it with Message manager, but check with them how they want notice given.
2. Before you leave, download your contract and any documents you want to keep from My Room.
3. Ask your agent about your deposit return and any final rent.

What happens next: your agent records your move-out date in COHO. After the tenancy ends, it disappears from My COHO. Your COHO account stays, so you can use it for your next home.