Welcome to Guardian Landlord — AI-powered maintenance management for self-managing independent landlords. This guide walks you through everything you need to do to get fully set up, from adding your first property to preparing for Away Mode. Follow these steps in order and you'll be ready to go in under 15 minutes.

You have a free 3-month trial — no credit card required to get started. Your settings will show a countdown so you always know where you stand.

Step 1 — Add your first property

Every tenant invitation and maintenance request is tied to a property, so this is where everything begins.

  1. Go to Properties in the sidebar and click Add Property.

  2. Enter the property name and address. Choose whether it's a single-family home or a multi-unit building.

  3. For multi-unit properties, add each unit after saving the property. Units are how you track individual tenancies in a building.

  4. Save the property. It'll now appear in your portfolio.

You can add as many properties as your plan supports. The Solo plan covers 1 door, the Starter plan covers up to 5 doors, and the Growth plan covers up to 10. A "door" is one unit in a multi-unit building, or one single-family home.

Step 2 — Configure notification preferences

Before you invite anyone, take a moment to set how you want to be notified. Guardian Landlord can reach you by email, SMS, and push notification depending on your preferences.

  1. Go to Settings and scroll to Notification Preferences.

  2. Toggle on the types of notifications you want — new requests, Away Mode activity, status changes, and messages.

  3. Add your phone number in the Contact Info section. This is required for Away Mode and useful for SMS alerts.

SMS notifications require your phone number to be verified. You'll receive a one-time confirmation text the first time you enable SMS.

Step 3 — Invite your first tenant

Once your property is set up, invite your tenant so they can access the portal and submit maintenance requests.

  1. Go to Tenants in the sidebar.

  2. Scroll to the Invite Tenant section at the bottom.

  3. Select the property (and unit if applicable), enter the tenant's email address, and optionally set their lease start and end dates.

  4. Click Send Invite. Your tenant will receive a branded email with a link to create their account.

Invites expire after 7 days. If your tenant hasn't accepted, you can resend from the Tenants page. See How to invite your tenant for the full guide.

Step 4 — Set up billing

Your 3-month trial gives you full access to everything. When you're ready to subscribe — or want to lock in your billing method before the trial ends — head to Settings.

  1. Go to Settings and scroll to Billing.

  2. Click Subscribe to start your paid plan. You can choose Solo ($9/mo, 1 door), Starter ($19/mo, up to 5 doors), or Growth ($34/mo, up to 10 doors).

  3. Alternatively, click Save card — charge when trial ends to add your payment method now without being charged until your trial expires. No gaps, no surprise bills.

Step 5 — Set up property preferences and service reps

This step matters most when you use Away Mode, but it's worth setting up now while you're getting started. Preferences tell Guardian Landlord how to handle repairs on your behalf.

  1. Go to Properties and open a property.

  2. Click into the Preferences tab.

  3. Add Service Reps — the plumber, electrician, HVAC tech, or handyman you trust. Include their name, phone, and trade. Guardian will contact them first when a relevant request comes in during Away Mode.

  4. Set Appliance Preferences — for each appliance type, choose whether Guardian should repair it, replace it, or always check with you first. You can also set a cost threshold: "repair if under $300, otherwise ask me."

You can set preferences at the portfolio level (as defaults) or per-property. See How to set property preferences for the full guide.

Step 6 — Explore Away Mode

Away Mode is Guardian Landlord's signature feature. When you activate it, our team handles incoming maintenance requests on your behalf — triaging issues, contacting your service reps, and keeping tenants updated — so you can travel without your properties following you.

  1. Go to Settings and scroll to the Away Mode section.

  2. Set your away dates and an optional note (e.g. "Annual leave — contact only for emergencies").

  3. Click Schedule Away Period. From that start date, new requests are automatically routed to the Guardian Landlord team.

  4. You'll receive email updates on every request that comes in. You can take back any request at any time from the request detail page.

Away Mode requires your phone number and billing to be set up. Guardian may need to reach you for emergencies, and any repair charges are billed to your payment method on file.

See How Away Mode works for a full walkthrough including how charges work.

Step 7 — Connect a bank account for repair charges

If Guardian coordinates a repair during Away Mode, the cost is charged to your payment method. Connecting a bank account (ACH) costs 0.8% per charge (capped at $5) — significantly cheaper than the 2.9% + $0.30 card processing fee on most repairs.

  1. Go to Settings and scroll to Repair Payments.

  2. Click Connect Bank Account and follow the Plaid flow to securely link your account.

  3. Once connected, Guardian will use your bank account for all repair charges instead of your card.

See How to connect a bank account for more detail.

You're all set

With your property added, tenant invited, preferences configured, and billing sorted — you're running a fully connected property portfolio. Your tenants can now submit requests from their portal, you'll be notified instantly, and when you need a break, Away Mode has you covered.

If you ever get stuck, the Help Center has dedicated guides for every feature. You can also reach us at info@guardianlandlord.com.