Setting Up Deal Portal: Give Tenants & Landlords Self-Service Access

Introduction

Deal Portal is the secure workspace where your tenants and landlords upload documents, follow the progress of their tenancy, and download and return the signed contract — in a browser, with no app to install. Access belongs to the person, not to a single deal: a client who rents through you again signs in the same way and still has their earlier tenancies in front of them.

You send access as a personal link by email or WhatsApp. The link identifies the party but does not sign them in on its own — to open the portal they enter a one-time code sent to their own email address. Nothing to install, no password to invent, no account to create.

For UAE rental transactions, Deal Portal solves the biggest operational pain point: document collection. Instead of chasing documents across WhatsApp threads and email chains, your tenants and landlords upload everything directly into a structured, AI-verified workspace. For Dubai tenancies, the built-in Ejari readiness tracker checks the data fields and supporting documents an Ejari submission needs, and shows you exactly what is still missing.

This guide walks you through setting up your first Deal Portal from start to finish.

Prerequisites

Before setting up Deal Portal, ensure you have:

An active TenancyDesk account (Deal Portal is included on all plans)
Tenant contact details: Email address or mobile number for WhatsApp delivery
Landlord contact details: Email address or mobile number for WhatsApp delivery
Property information: Building name, unit number, community, and DEWA premises number
Basic deal terms: Approximate rent amount, contract start date, and duration

You do not need the actual documents yet. The entire point of Deal Portal is to collect them from the parties directly.

Step 1: Create a Deal

Navigate to the Deals section from the main sidebar and click the "New Deal" button in the top right corner.

Fill in the following information:

Deal Type: Select "New Rental" for first-time contracts, "Renewal" for extensions, or "Termination" for early endings.

Property Details:

Building name (use the official name from the title deed)
Unit number (exact unit from the title deed)
Community or area (select from the dropdown)
DEWA premises number (if you have it; the landlord can provide it via the portal)

Tenant Information:

Full name (as it appears on Emirates ID)
Email address (this is where their sign-in code is sent)
Mobile number (optional, for WhatsApp delivery)

Landlord Information:

Full name (as it appears on the title deed)
Email address (this is where their sign-in code is sent)
Mobile number (optional, for WhatsApp delivery)

Rental Terms:

Annual rent amount
Contract start and end dates
Number of cheques (payment installments)

Click "Create Deal" to save. The deal is created in Draft status with a unique ID.

Tip: You do not need every field completed at this stage. The minimum is tenant name, landlord name, and property address. Missing fields can be filled in later as parties provide their documents through the portal.

Step 2: Send Portal Access

From the deal detail page, locate the "Portal Access" section (or click the "Send Portal Link" button in the action bar).

You will see two separate sections: one for the tenant and one for the landlord.

For each party, choose the delivery method:

Email: The link is sent to their registered email address with a template explaining what they need to do.
WhatsApp: The link is sent by WhatsApp to their mobile number (if WhatsApp messaging is connected for your agency).
Copy Link: Copy the link and send it through your own preferred channel.

Whichever way the link travels, the sign-in code always goes to the party's own email address. Forwarding the link to someone else does not give them access.

What the recipient sees:

The link opens a mobile-friendly page branded with your agency name. After they enter the code sent to their email, they see:

A welcome message explaining what the portal is for
A list of required documents with clear labels
Upload buttons for each document type
A progress indicator showing how many documents are complete
The current deal status

Click "Send" for each party. TenancyDesk logs when each link was sent and when it was first opened.

Security Note: Each party gets a unique link. The tenant cannot see the landlord's documents, and the landlord cannot see the tenant's personal documents. The agent sees everything.

Step 3: Track Document Uploads

Once portal links are sent, monitor progress from the Ejari Readiness Dashboard on the deal detail page.

The dashboard displays:

Overall readiness percentage: A progress bar from 0% to 100% showing how many of the fields Ejari requires are complete. Click it to see exactly which ones are outstanding.
Document status: Each required document shows one of three states: "Missing" (red), "Uploaded" (yellow, pending AI verification), or "Verified" (green, all fields extracted successfully).
Field-level detail: Expand any document to see which specific fields were extracted and whether they pass validation checks.

Common documents tracked:

Tenant Emirates ID (front and back)
Tenant passport (photo page)
Tenant visa
Landlord Emirates ID
Title deed
DEWA bill (for premises number)
Signed tenancy contract

AI Extraction (included on all plans):

When a document is uploaded, TenancyDesk's AI automatically:

Reads the document using OCR
Extracts key fields (name, ID number, expiry date, etc.)
Cross-checks extracted data against deal information
Flags discrepancies (e.g., name on Emirates ID does not match the deal record)

Automated Reminders:

If documents are not uploaded within a configurable period (default: 48 hours), TenancyDesk sends automatic reminder notifications to the party. Reminders escalate from gentle nudges to more urgent messages. You can customize reminder frequency and tone in Settings > Notifications.

Step 4: Collect Signatures

Once all documents are uploaded and verified (readiness bar at or near 100%), it is time to get the tenancy contract signed.

Steps:

Download the prepared tenancy contract from the deal
Have the tenant and landlord sign it — in person, or using your own e-signature tool (or theirs)
Upload the signed copy back to the deal (PDF or scan)
The signed copy is shared with the counterparty in the portal, so both sides have the final version

Legal validity: Electronic signatures are recognised in the UAE under Federal Decree-Law No. 46 of 2021 on Electronic Transactions and Trust Services. If you use an e-signature tool, keep its audit certificate with the contract for your records.

The portal handles secure download of the prepared contract and upload of the signed copy, keeping the final version available to both parties.

Tip: Get the contract signed only after the Ejari readiness bar confirms that all required information is present. This avoids situations where you need to re-sign due to incorrect details.

Step 5: Register the Tenancy

Registration is an emirate-level matter, and the portal work above is the same in all of them — only this last step differs.

Dubai — Ejari, with the readiness tracker described in this guide.
Abu Dhabi — Tawtheeq, which has its own readiness check in TenancyDesk.
Ajman — Tasdeeq. Sharjah — Municipality attestation under Law 5/2024. Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, Umm Al Quwain — municipality registration.

For those emirates TenancyDesk assembles the documents and data for you; the submission itself is made on the emirate's own channel. TenancyDesk does not connect to any government portal's API and does not file on your behalf.

The rest of this step describes Dubai. When the readiness bar hits 100%, every field required for Ejari registration is verified and consistent. You are ready to submit.

Steps:

Click "Export Ejari Package" from the deal detail page
TenancyDesk generates a complete submission bundle containing:
- All verified documents in the correct format
- A summary sheet listing the checked fields with their verified values
- Any supporting documents (NOC from developer, trade license, etc.)
Download the package or proceed directly to AQARI (WhatsApp-based Ejari registration) with the pre-organized documents

Post-submission:

Mark the deal status as "Ejari Pending" to track the registration
Set a follow-up reminder (TenancyDesk can auto-create one)
When the Ejari certificate is received, upload it to the deal and mark it as "Ejari Registered"

Tips & Best Practices

Send portal links early

The sooner you send the links, the sooner documents start arriving. Ideally, send portal access within 30 minutes of creating the deal, while the transaction is still fresh in everyone's mind.

Use WhatsApp for faster response

In the UAE market, WhatsApp messages have significantly higher open rates than email. If you have the tenant's or landlord's mobile number, prefer WhatsApp delivery.

Pre-fill what you can

The more deal information you enter before sending the portal link, the fewer questions the tenant and landlord will have. Pre-filling the property address, rent amount, and contract dates makes the portal experience smoother.

Monitor the dashboard daily

Check the Ejari readiness dashboard once daily during active document collection. If a party's progress stalls, a quick phone call often resolves the issue faster than automated reminders.

Guide parties on document quality

Common reasons for upload rejection include blurry photos, cropped edges, and password-protected PDFs. When sending the portal link, add a brief note asking for clear, full-page photos taken in good lighting.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Party says they did not receive the link

Check the email address or phone number in the deal record for typos
Ask the party to check their spam/junk folder (for email)
Re-send the link from the deal detail page
If the issue persists, use the "Copy Link" option and send it manually

Document upload fails

Check the file size against the limit shown on the upload screen
Ensure the file format is supported (PDF, JPG, PNG, HEIC)
If the photo is too large, ask the party to take a new photo at standard resolution
Password-protected PDFs cannot be processed; request an unprotected version

AI extraction returns incorrect data

Review the extracted fields on the document detail page
Manually correct any incorrect fields
If the document quality is poor (blurry, low resolution), ask the party to re-upload a clearer version

Corrections you make are saved against the document and are what the deal uses from then on. Extraction itself does not learn from them, so a document type that reads badly for you will keep reading badly until the upload quality improves.

Ejari readiness stuck below 100%

Click the readiness bar to see which specific fields are missing
Common culprits: DEWA premises number (landlord needs to provide from their bill), passport visa page (tenants often forget this), or contract signatures
Use the portal's messaging feature to request the specific missing item

A party cannot get into the portal

The invitation link stays valid for 90 days and can be used more than once — an older email is usually still fine.
Signing in needs the code sent to the party's own email address. It is valid for 10 minutes; if they took longer, they can ask for a new one on the same screen after a short cooldown.
Check the code is going somewhere they can actually open. It goes to the email address on the party record — not to whoever the link was forwarded to.
Still stuck? Re-send access from the deal detail page.

Note on closed deals: portal access is not switched off when a tenancy ends. That is deliberate — your client keeps their documents and rental history. If you need to cut access off, revoke it from the party's record.

For additional help, contact support@tenancydesk.com or visit our help center.